Curiosity Chronicle

I just co-hosted a three-day retreat with a group of multimillionaire entrepreneurs in Cabo. This podcast episode is a recording of my journal reflections from the event, which includes 10+ learnings (that everyone should hear)...

Question: How to flip the script on your fears. Framework: The 80% rule (kick the afternoon slump).

Every journey has two fundamental sides: (1) The Positive: Where we want to go; and (2) The Negative: Where we want to avoid along the way. The Anti-To-Do List is our tool for governing the negative, for avoiding the traps along the journey. Your Anti-To-Do List has the set of daily actions, behaviors, and habits to avoid; the things that will hold you back or lead you into trouble. The Anti-To-Do...

Question: Are you fulfilled, or just less lonely? Framework: Grayscale Mode.

Researchers studying zebras in the wild placed a red dot on the target zebras to distinguish them, but they were quickly eaten by lions. The Zebra Effect says that blending into the crowd is a survival mechanism. Standing out is risky. In his final shareholder letter, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos called out the difficulty and importance of the fight against normalcy. Specifically, he said that your d...

Question: What game are you playing? Framework: The Diderot Effect.

Mastering the art and science of conversation is essential to creating the deep human connection that provides rich texture to life. Four principles of connected conversation: (1) Create doorknobs, (2) Be a loud listener, (3) Repeat and follow, and (4) Make situational eye contact. Use my list of potential conversation starter or conversation developer doorknobs to thrive in your next social situa...

Question: How would you accomplish your 5-year goals in the next year? Framework: Inversion

Last weekend, I attended my 10-year Stanford University reunion. It was an opportunity to look back on those formative years, reconnect with old friends, and reflect on the lessons learned. 10 lessons from 10-year college reunion: (1) The Medici Effect is real; (2) Your daily habits show up on your face after 10 years; (3) Insecurity tells, confidence shows; (4) Plans are great, but life will gene...

Question: How is your definition of success harming your life? Framework: The 90% Rule.

I have spent time with a lot of very successful people. I have observed two common trends: (1) A struggle to appreciate the present and (2) A struggle to identify the key actions to create the desired future. The tool we can all use to fight back: Mental Time Travel. This involves the vivid imagination of both the past and the future. You use your mind to figuratively "travel" to the experienced p...

The first in a series of impromptu, off-the-cuff episodes based on my daily learnings and notes. This episode covers 10 key lessons learned from spending time with 50 multimillionaire entrepreneurs at a retreat in Texas.

Question: How would you want your loved ones to describe you? Framework: The Life Force Pyramid.

Pixar Animation Studios has a 30+ year history of creating award-winning animated films. One of their secrets for consistently excellent output: The Braintrust. The Braintrust is a group of individuals who meet regularly to pressure test in process films. It is a diverse group not directly involved in the film's production, but with a vested interest in its success via their roles at the company....

Question: Who are your Winter Friends? Framework: The 3x5 Notecard Strategy.

The world lost a beautiful soul over the weekend. My grandmother, Vimala Reddy ("Avva" to me), passed away peacefully in the early morning hours on October 1. She was 94-years-old. Life is cyclical. When I was born, she was there to welcome me to this world. In the end, I had to bid her farewell from it. 10 short lessons from her that changed my life (and may change yours): (1) Don’t fear sadness,...

Question: What am I certain of today that I'll laugh at in 10 years? Framework: The Bike Shed Effect.

I recently re-read an old Paul Graham essay that got me thinking about the composition of professional time—what "types" of time exist in our workdays and how we can find a more optimal balance across those types. I identified four types of professional time: Management, Creation, Consumption, and Ideation. Most of us have a lot of Management, a little bit of Creation, and almost no Consumption an...

Question: What would you invest in today assuming you had to hold the investment forever? Framework: Survivorship Bias.

I just completed my first marathon in 2:57:31 just 6 months after I started running. By achieving the sub 3-hour marathon time, I had hit my Big Goal. It felt great, at first. But then came the rut, one which led to a fundamental change in how I'm going to think about goal setting and achievement in the future. Big Goals create a perfect storm for unhappiness. If we miss them, we feel like a failu...

Question: The 1-Second Decision. Framework: Maximizers vs. Satisficers.

Dr. Peter Attia uses a framework with his patients called the Centenarian Decathlon to organize physical aspirations for life’s later years. The idea is to choose 10 physical tasks the person wants to be able to do at 100 and then reverse engineer the necessary actions in the present to achieve that future. Using a similar exercise to look at the broader scope of your life can be very helpful. Wha...

Question: What does your perfect workday look like? Framework: The 3-3-3 Method.

A Stanford business professor split her class into groups and gave each group $5 and 2 hours to generate as high of a return as possible. The losing groups bartered with the $5 or used the time to generate income. The winning group sold the ad space of the presentation time at the end of the challenge and generated a 12,000% return. When faced with a challenge with the potential for outsized rewar...

Question: If everything stays the same, what is the one change that would have the greatest impact? Framework: The Locksmith Paradox.