The Knowledge Project with Shane Parrish (Farnam Street)

My guest today is Shopify co-founder and CEO Tobi Lütke.  We discuss the differences between founders and professional managers, how he’s scaled with Shopify, the constant fight against bureaucracy, how he thinks about innovation in a large company, and how he manages to keep his head when everyone else is losing theirs.

 

A coder at heart who emigrated from Germany to Canada two decades ago, Lütke co-founded the e-commerce giant Shopify in Ottawa in 2006. The Globe and Mail named Lütke "CEO of the Year" in November 2014,  and in May 2021 the company reported that it had more than 1.7 million businesses in approximately 175 countries using its platform. As of July 2022, Shopify is among the top 20 largest publicly traded Canadian companies by market capitalization, and the company’s total revenue for 2021 was $4.611 billion. Lütke previously appeared on Episode 41 of The Knowledge Project.

 

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When Princeton-educated attorney Erin Wade left law to open a restaurant, she didn't just create award-winning comfort food—she engineered a revolutionary workplace culture. This conversation reveals how she transformed an Oakland mac and cheese restaurant into a laboratory for modern management principles.

Wade shares her groundbreaking 'color code of conduct' system (now adopted globally) and her radical approach to open-book management. A masterclass in building culture, solving industry-wide challenges, and leading with precision rather than convention.

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(00:00) Intro

(02:30) Wade's surfing obsession

(04:42) Defeating overthinking

(05:00) Wade's background in food

(06:40) Wade's law detour

(10:20) On being fired

(12:40) Early mistakes and freedom

(20:00) Employee-centric companies

(32:30) Homeroom Hard Times

(34:40) How Wade's law background helped (and hurt)

(42:40) The Color Code of Conduct

(49:30) Why Wade sold Homeroom (and how she felt)

(55:58) Impact vs. Intent

(59:00) Why titles are important

(01:04:00) On success

On this episode of the Knowledge Project Podcast, I chat with Patrick Collison, co-founder and CEO of the leading online payment processing company, Stripe. If you’ve purchased anything online recently, there’s a good chance that Stripe facilitated the transaction.

What is now an organization with over a thousand employees and handling tens of billions of dollars of online purchases every year, began as a small side experiment while Patrick and his brother John were going to college.  

During our conversation, Patrick shares the details of their unlikely journey and some of the hard-earned wisdom he picked up along the way. I hope you have something handy to write with because the nuggets per minute in this episode are off the charts. Patrick was so open and generous with his responses that I’m really excited for you to hear what he has to say.

Here are just a few of the things we cover:

• The biggest (and most valuable) mistakes Patrick made in the early days of Stripe and how they helped him get better
• The characteristics that Patrick looks for in a new hire to fit and contribute to the Stripe company culture
• What compelled he and his brother to move forward with the early concept of Stripe, even though on paper it was doomed to fail from the start
• The gaps Patrick saw in the market that dozens of other processing companies were missing — and how he capitalized on them
• The lessons Patrick learned from scaling Stripe from two employees (he and his brother) to nearly 1,000 today
• How he evaluates the upsides and potential dangers of speculative positions within the company
• How his Irish upbringing influenced his ability to argue and disagree without taking offense (and how we can all be a little more “Irish”)
• The power of finding the right peer group in your social and professional circles and how impactful and influential it can be in determining where you end up.
• The 4 ways Patrick has modified his decision making process over the last 5 years and how it’s helped him develop as a person and as a business leader (this part alone is worth the listen)
• Patrick’s unique approach to books and how he chooses what he’s going to spend his time reading

...life in Silicon Valley, Baumol’s cost disease, and so, so much more.

Patrick truly is one of the warmest, humblest and down-to-earth people I’ve had the pleasure to speak with and I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation together. I hope you will too!

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Famed investor Joel Greenblatt is the Managing Principal and Co-Chief Investment Officer at Gotham Asset Management, the successor to Gotham Capital, an investment firm he founded in 1985. He’s also spent more than two decades on the adjunct faculty at Columbia Business School, and he’s the author of five books focused on investment strategy, including You Can Be A Stock Market Genius and The Little Book that Beats the Market. Joel and Shane discuss a wide array of topics, including the differences between luck and skill, stock options, traits of successful management teams, lessons learned from Warren Buffett and what Joel fears most about today’s stock market.

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From Cambridge startup to NYSE heavyweight, HubSpot co-founder Brian Halligan reveals the sophisticated frameworks behind scaling a $30B enterprise. Now a Sequoia Capital Senior Advisor, Halligan shares rare insights into the nuanced decisions that separate exceptional companies from merely successful ones.

Learn the strategic principles of modern company building, including the counterintuitive culture choices, talent algorithms, and leadership pivots that defined HubSpot's trajectory. A masterclass in scaling excellence from startup to global enterprise.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:36) Halligan's life-changing snowmobile accident

(09:38) Shane's life-changing medical mystery

(14:38) The different phases a CEO goes through while growing companies

(20:44) Lessons learned from Steve Jobs

(23:18) How to hire and fire people (and when)

(27:55) The problems with "Best Practices" in business

(31:11) The most underrated public CEOs (and why Jerry Garcia from The Grateful Dead is on this list)

(43:38) The history and future of inbound marketing

(51:08) On decision making

(55:18) On work-life balance

(58:28) On success

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Mike Maples, a partner at the VC firm Floodgate, shares how mental models shape his decision-making process, where to find the next big idea, and how to rally people to your cause.

 

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In the fourth installment in a series of episodes, The Knowledge Project curates essential segments from six guests revolving around one theme: philosophy. This episode will help you control your anger in heated circumstances, explain how what you focus on makes achieving goals easier, gives you a recipe to increase happiness through gratitude, walk you through the three layers of emotion according to the stoics, teach you the importance of focusing on directives, and will explain how happiness isn’t a rate, but a rate of change.

The guests on this episode are author Ryan Holiday (Episode 128), Associate Professor of Psychology at New York University Emily Bacletis (Episode 154), author and happiness-expert Neil Pasricha (Episode 72), a Distinguished University Professor and Professor of Philosophy at Georgetown University Nancy Sherman, (Episode 126), “philosopher-king” and author Derek Sivers (Episode 88), and professional heavy-weight boxer, philosopher, and poet Ed Latimore (Episode 22).

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What ancient wisdom and modern science reveal about raising exceptional children. Through years of anthropological research and scientific inquiry, NPR correspondent Michaeleen Doucleff uncovers the counterintuitive principles that shape human development across cultures.

This isn't about quick fixes or parenting hacks—it's a deep examination of how successful cultures have developed emotionally intelligent, capable humans for generations. Essential insights for leaders who understand that raising children, like building great organizations, requires sophisticated systems thinking and proven frameworks.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(04:12) How (and why) we've lost our way as parents

(08:02) The rise of the nuclear family

(13:46) TEAM Parenting: T

(17:20) TEAM Parenting: E

(23:01) Why you don't need to praise your child

(26:12) TEAM Parenting: A

(36:42) TEAM Parenting: M

(38:34) "Kids do not need to be entertained"

(39:12) Technology, parenting, and transmitting values

(1:02:59) Resources parents can use to educate kids about technology

(1:04:50) How you can use the environment to give kids autonomy

(1:09:56) Success and parenting

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Blake Eastman has dedicated his entire life to psychology and nonverbal behavior.   In 2009 he founded The Nonverbal Group, a  behavioral research and education company in New York City which conducts large scale studies on human behavior and uses a wide range of technologies to systematically deconstruct and improve human communication.   Eastman dives deep into how we communicate with one another, including the ability to read nonverbal cues, his thoughts on big talkers vs. silent types, how we can communicate with our partners without complaining, the value of watching ourselves communicate on video, understanding the power structures and social dynamics at work, and so much more.   Eastman has also served as an adjunct psychology professor at the City University of New York for six years where he taught General Psychology, Developmental Psychology, and Group Dynamics. He is also a former professional poker player and the founder of School of Cards, the first brick-and-mortar poker school in New York City.   Listen and Learn

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Seth Godin is the author of 20 bestselling books, founder of altMBA, the Akimbo podcast and runs one of the most popular blogs in the world. Seth and Shane chat about creative work, fear, shame, trusting yourself, what it means to be a professional, how to become an observer of reality, emotional labor, how we learn and so much more.

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When Pixar was dreaming up the idea for Inside Out, a film that would explore the roiling emotions inside the head of a young girl, they needed guidance from an expert. So they called Dacher Keltner.

Dacher is a psychologist at UC Berkeley who has dedicated his career to understanding how human emotion shapes the way we interact with the world, how we properly manage difficult or stressful situations, and ultimately, how we treat one another.

In fact, he refers to emotions as the “language of social living.” The more fluent we are in this language, the happier and more meaningful our lives can be.

We tackle a wide variety of topics in this conversation that I think you’ll really enjoy.

You’ll learn:

• The three main drivers that determine your personal happiness and life satisfaction
• Simple things you can do everyday to jumpstart the “feel good” reward center of your brain
• The principle of “jen” and how we can use “high-jen behaviors” to bootstrap our own happiness
• How to have more positive influence in our homes, at work and in our communities.
• How to teach your kids to be more kind and empathetic in an increasingly self-centered world
• What you can do to stay grounded and humble if you are in a position of power or authority
• How to catch our own biases when we’re overly critical of another’s ideas (or overconfident in our own)

And much more. We could have spent an hour discussing any one of these points alone, but there was so much I wanted to cover. I’m certain you’ll find this episode well worth your time.

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Rob Fraser unveils the untold story of OUTWAY—from hawking socks on street corners to building an eight-figure empire. Surviving near-catastrophic business crises, he leveraged lessons from his professional sports career to navigate the business world. Discover the counterintuitive mental models that transformed a world-class athlete into a business maverick, turning the humble sock into a ten-million-dollar revolution.

As a special offer to listeners, the TKP community can get 30% off using the code SHANE at checkout. https://outway.com/

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Television personality, activist, mother, and wife to Canada’s Prime Minister, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau discusses her battle with eating disorders, why nature and art play such a huge role in her life and what unites us as people.  

 

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Are you a giver or a taker? Have you ever struggled to find work/life balance? How do you build resilience in yourself, your team, or your children?

I tackle these topics and many more in this interview with my special guest, Adam Grant.

In this interview, we cover a lot, including:

• How to tell if you are a giver or a taker (Spoiler: if you just told yourself you’re a giver, you might be in for a rude awakening)
• How Adam filters down hundreds of ideas and opportunities to the select few he focuses on
• How to tell if your business idea is a winner or a huge waste of time
• Why “quick to start and slow to finish” is great advice for budding entrepreneurs
• How to nurture creativity and resilience in your children (or team culture)
• How to create positive competitive environments that bring out the best in people
• Adam’s two core family values and how he instills them in his children
• “Mental time travel” and how it can make you resilient to any challenge or obstacle
• Why “how can I be more productive” is the wrong question to ask (and what to ask instead)
• How Adam and I each address the topic of work/life balance

And so much more.

 

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Internationally renowned health and performance psychologist Dr. Leah Lagos discusses the concept of Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and how you can improve your mental and physical health by using signals from your body to gain control over stress. She’s also joined on this episode by Head Coach of Boston Celtics, Joe Mazzulla, who has worked with Dr. Lagos on HRV training. He discusses how he uses techniques taught by Dr. Lagos to help him manage his HRV and lower stress levels during his first season as an NBA head coach in 2022.

Dr. Lagos has served as a Clinical and Performance Psychologist in private practice for the past 14 years. She consults a global hedge fund as well as elite performers in entertainment, business, and sport. Dr. Lagos is the author of Heart Breath Mind: Conquer Stress, Build Resilience, and Perform at Your Peak.

Mazzulla took over as the interim head coach of the Boston Celtics in September 2022 and was officially named the team’s head coach in February 2023. In his first full season on the job, he led the Celtics to the Eastern Conference semifinals and was named one of three finalists for the NBA Coach of the Year.

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Dr. Sue Johnson is a researcher, clinical psychologist and developer of EFT or Emotionally Focused Therapy. In this interview, we discuss how to create, protect, and nourish fulfilling sexual and emotional relationships.

 

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Matthew Holland is one of the world’s leading authorities in cyber security. He explains exploits, hacking, and defending while providing insight on the mind of the attacker, Huawei, Snowden and what you should be asking your cyber security vendor.

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Greg Walton, Associate Professor of Psychology at Stanford University shares the four types of interventions, how they’re used to create positive behavior change, and strategies we can use right now to improve our health, well-being, and relationships.

 

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From a single storefront to a $200M enterprise, David Segal reveals the sophisticated frameworks behind building a category-defining business.

Learn the counterintuitive principles that separate exceptional operators from average founders, including the hidden challenges of success and the strategic tension between working in versus on your business.

A look into the mind of a builder who has mastered both the science of operations and the art of scale. And watch in real-time as he does it again with Firebelly Tea.

TKP listeners can receive a special 15 percent discount on Firebelly Tea products by visiting www.firebellytea.com and entering the code Shane15 at checkout.

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(00:00) Intro

(04:59) What entrepreneurship is

(07:10) How to manage your psychology

(10:40) Yearly planning, daily action

(15:50) Avoiding "ivory-tower syndrome"

(18:30) Segal's childhood and background

(25:15) The history of DAVIDsTEA and Firebelly

(36:40) The evolution of tea and business over the last twenty years

(42:30) On failures

(49:00) Dealing with depression

(52:30) Lessons about money

(56:55) Business and life lessons from Warren Buffett

(1:00:00) On time management

(1:04:50) What's missing in Segal's life

(1:08:39) On success

From near bankruptcy after a devastating flood to a $13.7 billion Amazon acquisition, Whole Foods founder John Mackey reveals how a small health food store became an empire that revolutionized American eating.

Discover how a single near-death experience transformed a 25-year-old college dropout into the pioneer of the organic food movement. Mackey shares raw insights from the frontlines: how he turned hostile customers into evangelists, survived multiple extinction-level threats, and built a mission-driven billion-dollar business without compromising its soul.

John Mackey is the co-founder of Whole Foods Market, where he was the CEO of the company from 1980 to 2022. He is the author of the bestselling book, Conscious Capitalism.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tkppodcast

00:00 Introduction

02:30 From Safer Way to Whole Foods: The Early Days

03:46 The Struggles and Successes of Whole Foods

05:22 Navigating Criticism and Market Realities

08:36 The Lamar Location and the 100-Year Flood

10:46 Rebuilding and Realizing Stakeholder Value

14:57 Learning the Retail Ropes

22:35 Growth, Challenges, and Entrepreneurial Resilience

35:51 Acquisitions and Expanding the Whole Foods Empire

41:17 The Drive to Build a Chain

42:17 Founder-Led vs. Professional Management

44:38 Challenges of Bureaucracy

46:56 The Importance of Cost Control

50:44 Entrepreneurial Spirit and Creativity

52:56 Facing Leadership Challenges

01:02:57 The Amazon Merger

01:19:01 Capitalism vs. Socialism

01:26:27 The Illusion of Control in Socialism

01:27:44 The Kibbutz Experiment: Idealism vs. Reality

01:30:53 Capitalism: A Win-Win Game

01:32:04 The Power of Win-Win-Win Philosophy

01:34:28 A Personal Story: Winning Over Deborah

01:37:29 The Role of Business Planning

01:38:49 Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs

01:49:12 The Hero's Journey: Advice for Young Entrepreneurs

01:51:05 Introducing Love Life: A Holistic Health Venture

01:57:18 The Importance of Whole Foods and Nutrition

02:08:09 Concluding Thoughts on Success and Happiness

Legendary activist investor, Bill Ackman talks about lessons he’s learned growing up, raising a family, what drives him forward and back up from failure, consuming information and ideas, and facing criticism.

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The Knowledge Project closes 2022 with a look back at some of the best conversations of the year. Featuring interviews from 10 of the most downloaded and acclaimed episodes of 2022, this collection of conversations offers a variety of insights into evidence-based approaches to happiness, getting things done, small things you can do to make life great, eliminating drama, impulse control, making faster and better decisions, the core human nature that drives us all, sleeping better, slowing down your aging process, and what really matters. 

Guests on this episode include: Happiness expert Laurie Santos, former Ford Motor Company CEO Alan Mulally, executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, leadership expert Diana Chapman, leading neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Kunal Shah, sleep scientist Matthew Walker, aging expert David Sinclair, and business leader Sarah Jones Simmer.

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New England Patriots Coach Michael Lombardi and I discuss the four aspects of leadership, high stakes decision making, creating a winning culture at work and at home and much more.

 

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In this episode, I chat with professor and value investing genius Sanjay Bakshi about the power of mental models, multidisciplinary thinking, reading, and acquiring worldly wisdom.

 

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Paul Rabil knows what it takes to reach the top in both sports and business. In this episode, he teaches us the mindsets to succeed, where confidence comes from, and even tells us about the time Bill Belichick recruited him to play in the NFL.

 

Rabil spent 14 years as a professional lacrosse player in the United States and in 2019 co-founded the Premier Lacrosse League, where he played for the final three seasons of his career before retiring in 2021. He was a 10-time All-Star in Major League Lacrosse, where he also won two league titles. He also won two World Lacrosse Championship gold medals.

 

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Master storyteller Matthew Dicks unveils the hidden blueprint behind stories that win million-dollar deals, transform resistant teams, and turn skeptical investors into champions. Learn why most leaders tell stories that fail, and discover the counterintuitive techniques that make audiences lean in, remember, and act. From high-stakes boardrooms to viral TED talks, Dicks reveals the psychological triggers that turn everyday moments into weapons of mass persuasion.

(00:00:00 Intro

(00:03:28) What makes a good story

(00:06:57) Stories vs anecdotes

(00:08:29) A Story: The Spoon of Power

(00:17:42) The art of story architecture

(00:21:28) Create compelling stories

(00:36:30) Common mistakes & how to fix them

(00:55:01) Strategic Listening

(01:03:32) Can you lie in stories?

(01:05:10) 'And' stories vs. 'but / therefore' stories

(01:10:05) Finding engaging stories in everyday life

(01:20:05) Structuring a story

(01:24:00) Storytelling for an unforgettable brand

(01:31:20) Learn confidence

(01:38:40) Writing vs telling a story

(01:51:53) Teach kids to love writing

(01:55:15) Define success

Newsletter

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This special pop-up episode explores Covid-19, with Balaji Srinivasan. Balaji is one of the more thought-provoking, interesting, and multi-disciplinary thinkers I know and we do a deep dive, including possible second and third-order consequences.

For a list of references check out: https://fs.blog/balaji-srinivasan/

 

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In this interview with AI expert Pedro Domingos, you’ll learn about self-driving cars, where knowledge comes from, and the 5 schools of machine learning.

 

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Hugh Howey had two dreams: to make a living from writing and sail around the world. In this interview, he describes how he did both, why traveling is so good for the soul, and how he sold millions of books on his own (even turning down a 7 figure book deal.)

 

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Are you in love with your own ideas regardless of how good they are Would you like to make better decisions and fewer mistakes? Would you like to improve the most important relationships in your life?

These are just some of the topics I discuss with my guest, Ray Dalio.

Ray Dalio is the founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, and is the author of the new book Principles: Life and Work. He is also a leading figure in the world of philanthropy, is an avid supporter of transcendental meditation, and has appeared on Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Ray gave me over an hour and a half of his time, and I didn’t waste a minute of it. 

 

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Todd Simkin calls on experiences from his lengthy career in financial services and educating traders to help Shane understand how to make better decisions. Simkin breaks down all the influences that go into how and why we make decisions, why financial decisions are different than inter-personal ones, the strategies involved with teaching other people to make better decisions, what he looks for when he’s hiring, the value of asking the right questions, and so much more.

Simkin is Associate Director at Susquehanna International Group, a privately held trading and technology firm. During his 25 years with the company he has held a variety of roles, including responsibility for SIG’s firm-wide education and trader development, where he taught the company’s new traders what questions to ask and what criteria to weigh before making hugely impactful decisions for the firm.

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Best-selling author of The Smartest Guys in the Room and All the Devils are here, Bethany McLean, discusses how to write a story, the behaviors of CEO’s, visionaries and fraudsters and so much more.

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Author, educator, and hedge fund advisor, Adam Robinson returns for part 2 of our fascinating discussion. We talk chess, AI, handicapping horse races, and the secret to learning that nobody is teaching.

 

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Succeeding in both life and business is very difficult. The skills needed to scale a company often clash with those required to cultivate a thriving home life. Yet, Brent Beshore seems to have cracked the code—or at least he's actively working on it. In this conversation, he spills his secrets on excelling in both arenas.

This episode is split into two parts: the first 45 minutes covers life and how to be a better person. Brent opens up about the evolution of his marriage, physical health, and inner life.

The rest of the episode focuses on business. Shane and Beshore discuss private equity, how to hire (and when to fire) CEOs, incentives, why debt isn’t a good thing in an unpredictable world, stewardship versus ownership, and why personality tests are so important for a functional organization.
After beginning his career as an entrepreneur, Brent Beshore founded Permanent Equity in 2007 and leads the firm as CEO. He works with investors and operators to evaluate new investment opportunities.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(05:08) Why Brent examined his life

(09:44) How Brent "fixed" his relationships

(20:04) How helping hurts

(32:13) How Brent was subtly controlling relationships

(40:36) Why Brent stopped drinking (mostly)

(50:29) How to run a business with love yet competitively

(01:00:34) Win-win relationships

(01:05:34) On debt

(01:19:28) On incentives

(01:29:08) How to hire and fire CEOs

(01:34:18) What most people miss about hiring

(01:44:19) Brent's playbook for taking over a company

(01:51:20) On projections

(01:55:52) Revisiting investments

(01:58:44) How "hands-off" is Brent?

(02:08:34) Where people go wrong in private equity

(02:14:07) On success

Author and co-founder of the Enneagram Institute, Russ Hudson, explains how the Enneagram was developed, how it helps us grow personally and with others, the nine interconnected personality types and what it means to be present.

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Musician, speaker, writer and entrepreneur, Derek Sivers chats about creating and running CD Baby, reading, mental models, living a meaningful life and that biggest mistake he’s ever made.

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Investor Adam Karr reveals his hidden playbook for spotting exceptional CEOs and building extraordinary businesses. Learn his counterintuitive techniques—from the surprising link between writing skills and executive performance to the 10-minute test that unveils a leader's true potential. Packed with battle-tested wisdom, Karr shares the deceptively simple principles that separate great business leaders from the merely good.

Adam Karr is the President and Portfolio Manager at Orbis Investments.

(00:00) Intro

(02:44) Investing Strategies and Market Games

(04:08) Adapting and Evolving Investment Styles

(05:20) The Importance of Obsession and Environment

(06:29) Aligning with Long-Term Investment Goals

(07:11) Identifying and Evaluating Obsessed CEOs

(08:13) The Role of Culture in Investment Decisions

(08:54) Building Long-Term Positions and Overcoming Short-Term Pressures

(12:21) The Blueprint for Success

(15:24) Learning from Role Models and Mentors

(21:25) The Power of Writing and Decision Analytics

(29:11) The Magic in the Last 5% of Investment Research

(35:25) Understanding Roll-Ups: Success Factors and Challenges

(36:01) Applying Knowledge for an Unfair Advantage

(37:42) Learning from Feedback and Case Studies

(40:47) The Importance of Independent Thinking

(43:06) Lessons from Industry Leaders

(49:32) The Will to Practice and Time Management

(56:44) Positioning for Success and Resilience

(01:08:59) Defining Success and Helping Others

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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For over a decade, Kris Cordle worked directly with the CEOs at Yahoo, Twitter, and Slack. She joined Twitter and Slack early and helped them scale into public companies. Most recently she was Chief of Staff at Slack but left to launch Devenu Collaborations, helping rapid-growth CEOs scale. Kris and Shane discuss life in a religious cult, automatic rules for success, lessons in decision making and scaling, why it's hard for founders to scale, the common patterns to success, and much more. It's time to Listen and Learn.

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Most families who obtain immense wealth squander it by the third generation. But Chris Davis comes from a family whose grandfather and father all became independently wealthy of each other, and Davis has done the same. How does that keep happening? In this conversation, we find out.

Shane and Chris discuss life and investment lessons he learned from his father and grandfather, why writing is more important to clarify one's thinking no matter who's reading it, and the surprising benefit of reading physical newspapers and wearing ties to work. Davis also shares his value-investing philosophy, what he learned from working with and meeting Charlie Munger, and what parents can do to raise kids who aren't entitled. Davis talks about his alcohol drink tracker and why it's important to him, why he never puts himself in situations where envy can grow, and the insights from Warren Buffett's key letter about why investment managers underperform.

Chris Davis is on the board of Berkshire Hathaway and The Coca-Cola Company. Davis is Chairman of Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc., an independent investment management firm founded in 1969. Davis joined Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc. in 1989 as a financial analyst, and in 1995, he became a portfolio manager of the firm’s flagship funds.

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

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My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/ 

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(00:00) Intro

(03:20) Life lessons Davis learned from his grandfather and father

(26:24) The importance of writing things no one reads

(36:55) Davis' experiences through financial crises

(52:31) Why Davis loves managing a mutual fund

(55:49) Why Berkshire Hathaway operates with margin

(01:01:05) What is risk?

(01:04:02) On low interest rates and their future impact

(01:14:46) The mismatched timelines between CEOs, companies, investors, and policy

(01:22:19) How Davis and Munger met

(01:30:20) Lessons learned from Munger

(01:41:29) Why avoiding weaknesses is the ultimate recipe for success

(01:55:46) How to raise non-entitled kids and avoid lifestyle creep

(01:16:10) On happiness

(02:27:00) Good vs. bad board meetings

(02:31:34) Three generations of wealth

(02:37:15) On success

Former IBM executive April Dunford reveals the sophisticated frameworks behind market leadership. This isn't about marketing tactics but how category leaders reshape markets to their advantage.

Drawing from decades of experience, Dunford shares the nuanced art of market definition, competitive positioning, and strategic narrative. These are essential insights for leaders who understand that winning isn't about being better—it's about being different in meaningful ways.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:07) Positioning, explained

(16:47) Why is positioning important?

(20:40) B2B vs. B2C positioning

(29:03) When re-positioning a product failed

(32:31) How to identify customer's pain points

(34:35) How to position a product on a sales page

(38:06) How technology has changed positioning

(41:40) How to evaluate product positioning

(45:43) Who's in charge of positioning at a company?

(50:27) On storytelling

(56:35) Should a company have a point of view on the market?

(1:00:21) Dealing with gatekeepers in B2B marketing

(1:03:02) Mistakes people make with positioning

(1:05:21) What schools get wrong about marketing

(1:08:59) Secrets of B2B decision-making

(1:11:18) On success

An earnest student and powerful teacher, mega best-selling author Jim Collins goes under the hood and shows what all enduring companies have in common. We talk luck, leadership, and business longevity. 

 

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The Founder and CEO of Social Capital Chamath Palihapitiya sits down with Shane Parrish to chat about what it means to be an observer of the present, how to think in first principles, the psychology of successful investing, his thoughts on the best public company CEO’s and much more.

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In this incredible episode, I’m joined by Maestro Alexander Shelley. We dive deep into the architecture of music, the necessity of arts, and what makes Beethoven’s 5th Symphony is so popular.

 

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Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman gives advice on attracting and assessing strong talent, making smart decisions, and how to press forward when the chips are down.

 

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There are only a handful of websites that I read religiously. One of those is MarginalRevolution.com, started by my next guest, Tyler Cowen.

Other than hosting one of the most popular economic blogs in the world, Tyler is also an economics professor at George Mason University, a regular New York Times columnist, and the author of over a dozen books, including Average is Over, and The Complacent Class.

With such a prolific guest, it’s no wonder that we cover a lot of ground. In this episode, we discuss:

• How the future of labor will look drastically different than it does today, and what we can do to future-proof our livelihood
• The pros and cons of virtual reality and the impact it could have on society
• The fate of newspapers and how information will be more and more “bundled” according to our tastes and preferences
• Race relations in the world, and how in many ways we’ve taken discouraging steps backwards
• How we’re losing touch with the physical world, and some of the symptoms that indicate that we could be in for a rough ride
• What Tyler suggests doing to improve decision making and how important (and rare) that skill will be in the coming years
• Tyler’s advice to parents about how to foster resilience, tenacity and internal drive in their children
• Tyler’s “quake books” and the reading process he’s developed over the years that keeps him sharp
• Why giving books as gifts can be dangerous
• The one skill every person should possess before Googling anything
• What playing competitive chess as a child taught Tyler about how he thinks and views the world today

And much more, including Tyler’s thoughts on minimum wage, bitcoin, and his favorite television programs.

If you want to upgrade your thinking so you’re prepared for the brave new world that’s rapidly developing before our eyes, you won’t want to miss this fascinating episode.

 

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Ever wondered why the world’s most successful individuals seem to have an uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time? It’s not luck; it’s positioning. They are rarely backed into a corner by circumstances, and you don’t have to be either. On this special episode of The Knowledge Project, host and Farnam Street founder Shane Parrish offers a sneak peek into his upcoming book, Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results, by sharing five essential insights from the book you can use for success in life and decision-making.

Clear Thinking is not just another self-help book — it's a transformative guide that hands you the tools to master your fate, sharpen your decision-making, and set yourself up for unparalleled success. To learn more about the book, visit fs.blog/clear

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Matt Ridley is the author of several books related to science and human progress, biologist, newspaper columnist and member of the House of Lords in the UK. Matt and Shane discuss writing books about science, the age-old battle between viruses and humans, rational optimism, the difference between innovation and invention, the role of trial and error and the effects of social media on seeing others’ points of view.

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Michael Mauboussin returns for a fascinating encore interview on the Knowledge Project. We geek out on decision making, luck vs. skill, work life balance, and so much more.

***

Michael Mauboussin is back as a returning guest on the Knowledge Project!

He was actually the very first guest on the podcast when it was still very much an experiment. I enjoyed it so much, I decided to continue with the show. (If you missed his last interview, you can listen to it here, or if you’re a member of The Learning Community, you can download a transcript.)

Michael is one of my very favorite people to talk to, and I couldn’t wait to pick up right where we left off.

In this interview, Michael and I dive deep into some of the topics we care most about here at Farnam Street, including:

• The concept of “base rates” and how they can help us make far better decisions and avoid the pain and consequences of making poor choices.
• How to know where you land on the luck/skill continuum and why it matters
• Michael’s advice on creating a systematic decision-making process in your organization to improve outcomes.
• The two most important elements of any decision-making process
• How to train your intuition to be one of your most powerful assets instead of a dangerous liability
• The three tests Michael uses in his company to determine the health and financial stability of his environment
• Why “algorithm aversion” is creating such headaches in many organizations and how to help your teams overcome it, so you can make more rapid progress
• The most impactful books that he’s read since we last spoke, is reading habits, and the strategies he uses to get the most of every book
• The importance of sleep in Michael's’ life to make sure his body and mind are running at peak efficiency
• His greatest failures and what he learned from them
• How Michael and his wife raised their kids and the unique parenting style they adopted
• How Michael defines happiness and the decisions he makes to maximize the joy in his life

Any one of those insights alone is worth a listen, so I think you’re really going to enjoy this interview.

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Véronique Rivest and I explore the fascinating world of wine, including an on-air tasting, tips and tricks for serving wine that will impress your friends and so much more.

 

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Financial writer Morgan Housel and I discuss reading, writing, filtering information, admitting error, important qualities to have in friends and so much more.

 

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The world-renowned surgeon, writer, and researcher Atul Gawande shares powerful lessons about creating a culture of safe learning, the critical difference between a coach and a mentor, and how to ensure constant improvement in key areas of your personal and professional life.

 

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Today’s guest is Stratechery author and founder Ben Thompson. If you’re an investor in Silicon Valley, work at a tech start-up, or just love to geek out on technology and business analysis, odds are good that Stratechery is on your short list of must-read blogs.

What started as a side project, quickly ballooned into one of the most influential tech blogs on the web. The New York Times called Stratechery, “one of the most interesting sources of analysis on any subject.”

I agree.

In this interview, Ben and I cover a lot of ground. Here are a few of the things we discuss:

• Learn once and for all how to pronounce Stratechery. :)
• How Ben’s business model was developed and how he massaged it over the years to become what it is today
• The one metric Ben looks at each day to gauge the health of his business
• How Ben deals with people who rip off his work and pass it off as their own
• Ben’s thoughts on pricing, free trials, content and other important aspects of online membership sites
• How Ben structures his day to churn out such incredible content so consistently
• How Ben handles being wrong on his site, and his process for screening his work for confirmation bias
• How the internet has changed the traditional view of supply and demand, and what companies should do about it
• What Ben would teach an MBA class about internet strategy (if you do any business online, you need to hear this)
• What it would take for a start-up to overtake Google or Apple, and the vulnerabilities that all companies share, no matter how big or profitable
• The new era of technology and how companies like Netflix, Airbnb, and Amazon are doing it right (and what you can do in your own business to take full advantage)

This is one of the most jam-packed interviews I’ve done on the Knowledge Project. Ben’s answers are so thoughtful and informative that you’re going to want to have a notebook handy.

 

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Jonathan Haidt is an author, social psychologist and one of the world’s leading experts in moral psychology. On the show we discuss helicopter parenting, the rise of the “call out culture,” and the dangers of social media.

 

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Basecamp CEO and co-founder Jason Fried gives us a peek behind the scenes of his company and discusses his philosophy on doing great work, making a positive difference, and learning to breathe in the fast-paced culture of today’s workplace.

 

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Jason Karp was living what he thought was a successful life in his 20s. He graduated near the top of his class from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and was well on his way to becoming a successful hedge fund manager. But when he noticed a series of health issues cropping up - including the frightening diagnosis that he would go blind by the age of 30 - he made a series of life-altering decisions focused on his health and wellness. On this episode Karp dives deep into the changes he made that saved his life, and offers valuable insights into what you can do to live a healthier life.

Karp is the Founder and CEO of HumanCo., a private holding company that invests in and builds brands focused on healthier living and sustainability, including Snow Days, Cosmic Bliss, and Against The Grain. He also co-founded Hu Products and Hu Kitchen, and Hu is now one of the fastest growing snacking companies in the U.S. with a strict focus on transparent, simple ingredients to help everyone live a healthier life. Prior to founding Hu, Karp was the founder  CEO of Tourbillon Capital Partners, an investment fund that managed over $4 billion.

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Brad Jacobs doesn't just build big companies – he builds industry giants. As the founder of eight multibillion-dollar companies, he's cracked the code on scaling businesses from zero to billions. In this conversation, the secrets he's earned over decades.

You'll discover where billion-dollar opportunities are hiding in plain sight, how to spot massive trends years before your competitors, and the most crucial factor determining a company's success.

Currently serving as Chairman and CEO of QXO, Jacobs brings a mathematician's precision and a musician's creativity to scaling businesses. His track record speaks for itself: every company he's founded has reached billion-dollar status or beyond.

(00:00) Intro

(04:44) The future of AI

(07:21) How to think rationally

(08:48) The major trend

(10:57) The research process

(13:29) On asking better questions

(19:35) On rearranging your brain

(22:23) On music, math, simplicity, and business

(32:26) Leverage, debt, and optionality

(35:11) What it takes to take contrarian bets

(40:45) Confidence and parents

(50:21) Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees

(56:14) Money lessons

(58:13) A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies)

(01:07:51) Questions to immediately get to know anyone

(01:11:14) On boards and board meetings

(01:16:57) On decision-making

(01:23:37) The role of capital markets

(01:25:41) The type of person you don't want to hire

(01:31:16) The best capital allocators

(01:33:53) Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year

(01:37:20) On success  

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos

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Author, educator, and hedge fund advisor, Adam Robinson shares powerful lessons on winning the game of life. He teaches us how to learn, how to fail, and his three secrets of happiness and success.

 

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Douglas Rushkoff is obsessed with technology and how it impacts our lives. In this interview, he offers insight into how we shape and are shaped by technology, what’s happening with mainstream media, and some tips on remaining sane online.

 

Rushkoff is an author, professor, and documentarian who focuses on the ways people, culture, and institutions create, share and influence each other's values. He is the author of 17 books including the 2019 release Team Human, and he is a Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics at CUNY/Queens.

 

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What are the best strategies to get people to say “Yes” to your requests in life? Acclaimed psychologist Robert Cialdini dives deep into the seven small things that make a huge impact in influencing others, as well as the difference between being influenced and being manipulated into making decisions. What are the tactics, how do they work, and how do we defend against them? This episode is jam-packed with practical advice that will make you more persuasive in life.

 

Known colloquially as “The Godfather of Influence,” Cialdini is a foundational expert in the science of influence and how to apply it ethically in business. His books, including Influence: Psychology of Persuasion and Pre-Suasion, have sold more than 7 million copies in 44 different languages, and he is the Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Psychology and Marketing at Arizona State University. 

 

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Speaker, author and radio journalist Celeste Headlee has had decades of experience fine tuning the recipe for engaging and rewarding conversation. She shares some tips to help us instantly improve our conversational skills and meaningfully connect with others.

 

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Ed Latimore might be the most interesting person you'll ever meet.

Ed is a professional heavyweight boxer, physics major, and philosopher. He's also the author of the cult-hit Not Caring What Other People Think Is a Superpower. If there's anything Ed feels like doing, he simply does it.

This interview explores the physics of boxing, the value of a coach, and much of Ed’s hard-fought wisdom. You’ll discover:

• How the painful end to a relationship lit a fire under Ed that hasn’t stopped burning
• How Ed knows when he’s bitten off more than he can chew and needs to ease up on the accelerator
• Why motivation is a terrible way to achieve great things (and what to do instead)
• The unlikely way that Ed’s runaway best selling book came about
• Why Ed thinks every person should step into the boxing ring at least once in their life
• How people get stuck on the “dopamine treadmill” which feels productive but actually gets you nowhere (this is the kiss of death if you want to accomplish any important goal)
• Ed’s brilliant philosophy on pain and suffering that will change the way you view hardships in your life
• Ed’s somewhat controversial approach to coaching children and getting the very best out of them
• The most important element of creating a positive habit (most people get this wrong)

And more.

After listening to this warrior poet, you won’t look at life the same again.

 

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Few episodes in The Knowledge Project’s nine-year history have impacted people’s relationships and lives more than when Esther Perel shared her infinite wisdom for the first time in 2019.

Shane and Esther discuss how the stories you tell yourself shape how you see the world (and what to do about that), the important conversations to have at the beginning of a relationship, the most common arguments couples have and how to prevent them, what to say to a partner if the relationship isn’t working out, the relationship between desire, love, and pleasure, and so much more. Plus, the conversation starts out on an interesting note: Esther Perel shares stories about her parents surviving the Holocaust and how their experiences shaped her childhood and continue to shape her life today.

(This episode is a replay of one of our most popular episodes ever and was recorded in 2019.)

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(02:38) Coming back to life after the war
(08:09) The myth of stability
(11:30) The power of reflections
(19:48) Important conversations for early relationships
(24:20) Can values change in relationships?
(27:20) Being secure in a relationship
(30:40) Better conversations with your partner
(33:00) What's behind every criticism
(36:52) Too much honesty
(39:37) What happens if I don't love my partner
(47:12) Why does good sex fade in relationships?
(50:59) Love vs. desire
(55:38) How to have difficult conversations with your partner
(01:05:13) Conscious uncoupling

Watch the episode on YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos⁠⁠⁠

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: ⁠⁠⁠https://fs.blog/newsletter/⁠⁠⁠

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - ⁠⁠⁠https://fs.blog/clear/⁠⁠⁠

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Jim Dethmer, founder of The Conscious Leadership Group shares practical advice about becoming more self-aware, ditching the victim mindset, and connecting more fully with the people in our lives. 

 

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Mathematician and author of Hello World and The Mathematics of Love, Hannah Fry discusses the role of maths in society, the dating world and we explore what it means to be human in the age of algorithms.

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Thomas Zurbuchen is currently Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA, where he seeks answers to big questions about the universe and our place in it. Previously, he was a professor of space science and aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan and a founding director of its Center for Entrepreneurship. In this episode, Thomas and Shane discuss the origin of his passion for astrophysics, commercial spaceflight, exciting experiments going on at the International Space Station, the challenges of space flight, how he makes decisions, whether humans will ever live on Mars, and more.

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In this episode, Charlie Hoehn explains the secrets behind why some books are unforgettable, and others no one seems to remember. He shares his journey of helping authors transform their ideas into best-selling books and provides actionable advice on structuring, writing, and marketing a book. You'll learn how to craft titles that make people want to read your book, design compelling covers that stand out on the shelves, and use certain strategies to engage readers effectively depending on the ideas you communicate. Hoehn also shares the psychology behind book promotion, how to leverage feedback, and the dynamics of traditional versus self-publishing. Whether tackling a novel or email, this episode will transform how you write and communicate.

Charlie Hoehn is the founder of Author.Inc and a 3-time New York Times bestselling editor. He's the mind behind some of the influential books from Tim Ferriss, Ramit Sethi, Codie Sanchez, and Noah Kagan. Charlie's expertise has helped sell over 10 million books.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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(00:00) Intro

(03:04) Helping Authors Succeed

(03:38) Writing for a Specific Audience

(07:14) The Importance of Real Feedback

(10:18) Traditional vs. Self-Publishing

(20:50) The Economics of Self-Publishing

(24:42) The Art of Book Cover Design

(30:29) Crafting a Compelling Title

(36:42) The Importance of Book Structure

(47:22) Editing: The Final Touch

(51:35) Book Sales Percentiles

(52:32) The Harsh Reality of Book Sales

(54:20) The Emotional Impact of Writing

(55:12) Dealing with Compliments and Criticism

(58:24) The Quest for Bestseller Lists

(1:00:04) The Complexities of Hitting the New York Times List

(1:12:25) Leveraging AI in Writing

(1:20:21) Effective Marketing Strategies for Authors

(1:28:14) Creating Evergreen Content

(1:35:30) The Importance of Authenticity in Writing

(1:40:54) Final Thoughts

Ryan Holiday unpacks the subtle and not-so-subtle messages life sends us—and what happens when we ignore them. From mismatched tattoos and injured ankles, Ryan reflects on the lessons he’s learned about preparation, awareness, and humility. Using examples ranging from personal missteps to famous entrepreneurial gambles, this episode is a deep dive into the art of learning from experience, knowing when to listen, and the cost of stubbornness. Plus, Holiday revisits his roots to discuss how Stoic principles can guide you in navigating feedback, balancing ambition with self-awareness, and understanding the fine line between determination and delusion.

Holiday is a New York Times bestselling author. He has written over 10 books, covering both the fundamentals of Stoicism as well as key elements of modern-day marketing and media. His most recent release is Right Thing, Right Now. Holiday has been a guest on the podcast twice before.

Newsletter - The Brain Food newsletter delivers actionable insights and thoughtful ideas every Sunday. It takes 5 minutes to read, and it’s completely free. Learn more and sign up at https://fs.blog/newsletter/

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Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@tkppodcast

(00:00) Intro

(02:20) When to Ignore Advice

(04:49) The Importance of Reflection and Journaling

(07:26) Balancing Emotions and Stoic Practices

(24:34) Misconceptions and Historical Context of Stoicism

(29:53) The Pursuit of Excellence and Its Trade-offs

(40:58) The Power of Saying No and Opportunity Costs

(49:09) The Role of Anger and Emotional Control

(52:58) Defining Self-Discipline

(53:43) The Essence of Self-Discipline

(54:29) Balancing Discipline and Life

(55:09) Consistency and Overcoming Setbacks

(56:09) The Struggle with Compulsive Tendencies

(58:33) Navigating Competition and Personal Goals

(01:01:22) Cultivating Discipline Through Physical Practice

(01:02:15) Instilling Discipline in Children

(01:04:22) Understanding Character and Virtue

(01:23:32) The Impact of Modern Technology on Writing

(01:35:04) Defining Success and Managing Expectations

Today, I interview fellow Ottawan and the founder and CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lütke. In case you’re still new to the internet, Shopify is the largest ecommerce platform that allows people to easily set up online storefronts to sell everything from jewelry to surfing lessons.

Shopify began as a simple two man operation selling snowboards online, but it became clear rather quickly that it had the potential to grow into much more. Now Shopify employs more than 4,000 people and supports more than 600,000 businesses online. It’s a remarkable story, with a remarkable leader at the helm.

There was so much I wanted to talk to Tobi about that we hop around quite a bit. Here are a few of the topics we discuss:

• Tobi’s thoughts on how video games helped him prepare to run a company
• How selling snowboards online slowly transitioned to the creation of one of the biggest tech companies in the world
• Why Tobi intentionally headquartered Shopify outside of Silicon Valley and how that fits into his overall growth strategy
• One of the most underrated resources Tobi leans on to mine nuggets of wisdom when trying to get insight or solve a problem
• The hard and valuable lessons Tobi learned as they scaled from a 2 employee company to a 4,000 employee company
• What the “Tobi test” is, and how it helps Shopify team members become more adaptable, unified and prepared when things go haywire
• How employees use the “trust battery” and how it fosters better teamwork, communication, and productivity throughout the company
• The benefits of hiring employees in a “secondary market” as opposed to a “primary market” and how that contributes to the unique culture at Shopify
• Tobi’s decision-making process and his philosophy on making quick vs analytic decisions
• Tobi’s unusual morning routine that gets him in the right mindset to tackle the day
• His optimistic view of AI and machine learning and how they will impact the way we do things in the future

And more…

Whether you’re building a business of your own, want to create a more dynamic and unified culture at work, or just like hearing entrepreneur war stories, this episode will not disappoint.

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Few figures have shaped the way we think about business over the past 20 years more than Reid Hoffman. The co-founder of LinkedIn and former PayPal executive is also a wildly successful venture capitalist, author and podcaster, but he didn’t get to his place as a Silicon Valley giant without making plenty of crucial decisions. On this episode Hoffman discusses lessons learned from decades spent as a hands-on operator and investor, including what he knows about scaling that others miss, the three principles of decision making, how to constantly evolve your learning pattern, and why the best leaders adapt to the crisis at hand.

Hoffman is perhaps best known for co-founding the professional networking site LinkedIn, which he started in 2003 and later sold for a reported $26.2 billion to Microsoft in 2016. Prior to founding LinkedIn, Hoffman was one of the first employees at PayPal, where he served as an executive vice president. He is also a partner at the venture capital firm Greylock Partners, an investor in Airbnb, the author of a series of successful business books including Masters of Scale, and the host of the podcast of the same name.

Want to hear the entire episode with Reid Hoffman? Become a member today! Members get early access, hand-edited transcripts, member-only episodes, and so much more.

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Sahil Lavingia is the founder and CEO of Gumroad, an online marketplace for creators. In this conversation Sahil and Shane cover building a billion dollar business, the most critical skills for success, how he hires, his worst mistake, the patterns of success and failure and so much more.

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Balaji Srinivasan makes a return appearance to The Knowledge Project, this time to go in-depth on Web3, Crypto, and the state of the world today. Srinivasan offers his unfiltered thoughts on the advantages and disadvantages of established democracies, the Russia-Ukraine situation, housing as an investment, education, legacy wealth, and which country he would bet on to dominate the future.

Srinivasan is the former CTO of Coinbase and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz, and is an early investor in many successful tech companies and crypto protocols. He is also the author of the book The Network State: How To Start a New Country.

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Investigative journalist Abigail Shrier reveals an uncomfortable truth: our culture's overwhelming embrace of therapy might be harming the next generation. In this thought-provoking conversation, she challenges conventional wisdom about mental health, drawing from extensive research and disturbing patterns among lifelong therapy patients.

Learn when therapy helps, when it hurts, and how successful parents navigate emotional resilience in their children.

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Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/

(00:00) Intro

(05:44) Inverse: How do we raise mentally unstable kids?

(08:29) How we got to now

(11:45) Bad therapy...or just social trends?

(13:21) Being your kids' friend: good or bad?

(15:55) The parenting type that raises the BEST kids

(21:35) Is this all the parents' fault?

(29:53) Is "Bad Therapy" a world-wide problem?

(32:57) Talk to your kids' therapist about these things

(42:09) The importance of facing adversity in childhood

(47:06) Can we blame grad schools for all of this?

(49:14) On technology and social media

(51:03) Schools should "never" have gotten involved in mental health

(54:43) Did COVID accelerate "bad therapy?"

(56:07) How to return to normalcy

(58:21) Why Shane shares negative YouTube comments with his kids

(01:01:23) Shrier's experience being "cancelled"

(01:04:13) On prestige media

(01:07:47) Small steps parents can take to return to normal

(01:11:02) Dealing with schools saying one thing and parents saying another

(01:13:32) Why is the silent majority...silent?

(01:16:32) If this continues, what happens?

(01:18:19) What makes someone a successful parent?

From a tiny village, John Bragg quietly built an empire that controls half the world's wild blueberries and North America's largest private telecom network. In this rare interview, the famously private billionaire reveals how he defied conventional wisdom by transforming a small farm into two multi-billion-dollar giants. Discover the contrarian principles that helped Bragg dominate seemingly unrelated industries—from frozen foods to fiber optics—and build businesses designed to thrive for generations, not just quarters.

Newsletter

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Upgrade

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8x Olympic medalist and short-track speed skating legend, Apolo Ohno chats about his origin story, recovering from multiple failures, mental training, confidence, and leaving it all on the ice.

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In this episode of the Knowledge Project, I chat with professor and New York Times best-selling author Philip Tetlock about how we can get better at the art and science of predicting the future.

 

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Angel investor Jason Calacanis talks high stakes poker, how to make intelligent investing decisions, how systems enable or forbid, and demystifies the culture of Silicon Valley.

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Author and philosophy professor William Irvine goes in-depth on Stoicism, and why the fundamental tenets of this ancient philosophy can provide answers to some of the toughest problems in today’s society. On this episode Irvine offers a definition and some useful background on Stoicism and its origins, the original Stoics, their thoughts on failure, their advice on decision making, and how we can train ourselves to be more stoic.

 

Irvine has written seven books including the wildly popular 2008 release A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, and the 2019 follow-up, The Stoic Challenge: A Philosopher's Guide to Becoming Tougher, Calmer, and More Resilient. Irvine also teaches philosophy and logic courses at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

 

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The founder and co-head of the Leadership Practice at CRA and the Admired Leadership Institute, Randall Stutman is an incredible executive coach with an impressive roster of clients. You’ll walk away from this episode with some tools to put into practice to make you a better leader, partner and parent as Randall discusses the behavioral versus psychological view of leadership, what really drives results, and the uncommon routines of the world’s best leaders.

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Samuel Arbesman is a complexity scientist focusing on the changing nature of science and technology. We discuss learning, reading, and how to optimize both to get the best outcome.

 

Go Premium: Members get early access, ad-free episodes, hand-edited transcripts, searchable transcripts, member-only episodes, and more. Sign up at: https://fs.blog/membership/

 

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Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

Esther Wojcicki discusses the current education model and how we can fix it and shares her powerful TRICK acronym, Esther’s secret for raising happy, resilient children.

 

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Today, I’m joined by speaker, international executive and five-time author Margaret Heffernan. We discuss how to get the most out of our people, creating a thriving culture of trust and collaboration, and how to prevent potentially devastating “willful blindness.”

 

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Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

 

Shane Parrish and Maya Shankar dive into the complexities of identity and personal transformation. They explore how significant life changes can reshape one's sense of self and explain how to navigate these transitions.

Maya shares her personal stories and tips on making proactive choices and keeping a flexible, layered sense of self. They also discuss the psychological and philosophical aspects of identity, offering practical advice on goal-setting and personal growth.

Maya Shankar is a cognitive scientist and the creator, executive producer, and host of the podcast, A Slight Change of Plans. Shankar was a Senior Advisor in the Obama White House, where she founded and served as Chair of the White House Behavioral Science Team. She holds a Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from Oxford and a B.A from Yale.

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Follow me: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:40) Shankar's "almost unbelievable" story of getting into Julliard

(05:30) Why Shankar studied identity

(11:38) What is identity?

(14:52) Using your identity to accomplish your goals

(18:00) Using anti-identities to accomplish your goals

(18:51) What to do when your identity is "attacked"

(26:30) How to re-establish trust in institutions

(32:30) Use identity to start a positive habit

(35:35) How to debunk myths with stories and facts

(37:18) How does how we frame our goals help (or prevent) us from accomplishing them

(43:11) The one motivational technique Shankar uses every day

(45:15) On success

Watch the episode on YouTube: ⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos⁠⁠

Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: ⁠⁠https://fs.blog/newsletter/⁠⁠

My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - ⁠⁠https://fs.blog/clear/⁠⁠

Follow me: ⁠⁠https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish⁠⁠

Join our membership: ⁠⁠https://fs.blog/membership/

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Want even more? Members get early access, hand-edited transcripts, member-only episodes, and so much more. Learn more here: https://fs.blog/membership/

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Follow Shane on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/ShaneAParrish

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