The last links of the year. Enjoy;
Why Amazon has no profits (Andreessen Horowitz) Even when Buffett loses, he still wins (ZeroHedge) Private vs Public healthcare in India (Marginal Revolution) Hedge fund building a model of the (WSJ) Support the podcast and blog by doing your holiday shopping through this Amazon link.
Continuing to provide thoughtful content through the holidays.
What happens when you quit watching the news (Raptitude) China is ready to take American teachers (Bloomberg) Life is getting better (Vox) Fastest internet by country (Big Picture) Jerry Seinfeld (HBR) Support the podcast and blog by doing your holiday shopping through this Amazon link. As 2016 draws to a close, I’m taking a moment to review the goals I set at the beginning of the year. I’m sharing because I think it’s super important to keep it real about
1. Podcast - Produce 100 episodes This was very intentionally my primary goal since the podcast is my central personal project. Hitting 100 episodes was more than a goal, it was an expectation on which I would not allow myself compromise. I ended up producing 119 episodes, and, in the process, learning that I am capable of a work rate greatly superior than anything I’d previously done. As podcasts continue to grow in popularity (we are approaching 100,000 active podcasts on iTunes), differentiation simultaneously increases in difficulty. Consistency provides the foundation for differentiation in a couple of ways;
2. Frisbee - AUDL All-Midwest Team Total fail. As I acknowledged in my analysis of the goal at the beginning of the year, health would be the primary variable to success;
A hip injury in my fourth game of the season put the kibosh on this pretty firmly. I also did not anticipate missing the first two weeks of the season traveling to Asia. This completely disrupted my training, which I had been building all winter. Another two weeks off after my hip injury left me a step behind for the remainder of the season. Interestingly, this was also the only goal I set that was tied directly to external validation. Lesson learned. Only process goals from now on, still had a lot of fun this year. 3. Video - Produce 6 Videos for YouTube I’d say this was the biggest success after hitting 100 podcast episodes. A brief recap; 3 Ultimate Videos - Including 2016 Callahan winner Trent Dillon 4 Live Podcast Recordings - Including Pittsburgh mayor Bill Peduto 3 Asia Vlogs - South Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong 1 Trailer - Filmed at StudioMe As I travel through Asia in 2017, I’ll be doing more travel vlogging. 2016 was great practice for sharpening my skills. 4. Email List - 500 email addresses Failed, but found a silver lining. I did not quite hit 500 email addresses on my email list, but I did get all the basics down. I’m approaching a 2% conversion rate on people who are visiting my site for the first time. Additionally, I’m averaging over a 50% open rate and 10% clickthrough rate on my monthly newsletter. Both are well above average. Definitely making this a bigger focus in 2017. Let me know if you want to get in on the action. 5. Read 30 Books Nailed it- right on the nose. Read my full 2016 reading review. On a more personal note, this year has been amazing and unlike anything I've experienced in my life. Getting to meet so many amazing people and connect around the globe is simaultaneously humbling and thrilling. Thank you so much for checking out the stuff I do and for being involved some way or another. I had a few people connect with me this past year to check in on goals and hold each other accountable. If you'd be interested in doing that in 2017, drop me a line. And from my family to yours, I hope you have a happy, healthy, and successful 2017. - Aaron
Continuing to provide thoughtful content through the holidays.
Amazon disrupts everything (Bloomberg) Tangled up spacetime (Scientific American) Trump conservatism (National Review) Deep sea fisherman’s Twitter account is amazing (Gizmodo) Support the podcast and blog by doing your holiday shopping through this Amazon link. 2016 was the first complete year I was able to dedicate to my blog and podcast, and I ended up doing a great deal of reading. I read A LOT of online articles/blog posts, but I also read a lot of books. For a review of my favorite book, blogs, and podcasts of 2016, check out my podcast with Mike Dariano. Here's a list of all the books I read in 2016. (1) The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield The book I’ve gifted the most in 2016. (2) Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson 500 pages flew by for this master entrepreneur’s autobiography. (3) A Wealth of Common Sense by Ben Carlson Practical advice on personal finance, clearly written. (4) Growth Hacker Marketing by Ryan Holiday Defining Growth Hacking from the marketing head of American Apparel. (5) Steal the Show by Michael Port A fantastic manual for building skills in public speaking. (6) $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future by Chris Guillebeau A lite version of Tim Ferriss’ 4 Hour Workweek. (7) Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman by Richard Feynman Physicist studied broadly and masterfully connected insights together. (8) Deep Survival: Who Lives, Who Dies and Why by Laurence Gonzales Stoic philosophy and Antifragile principles baked into tales of survival and “chance”. (9) The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries & Jack Trout Short, sweet, and timeless rules for marketing anything. (10) The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future by Kevin Kelly Kelly was a guest and went deep on all the research that went into his predictions. (11) Boys Among Men by Jonathan Abrams Abrams did a ton of interviews chronicling the prep-to-pro generation of NBA stars. (12) Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson An absolute classic. Unlike anything else I’ve ever read. (13) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway If you haven’t read this, you need to read it. (14) #AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness by Gary Vaynerchuk Gary Vee’s broadest book on business, leadership, and family. (15) The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene Often cited by leaders in politics, entertainment, and business. (16) How to Be Interesting by Jessica Hagy Derek Sivers recommended this short, easy read. (17) The Book In a Box Method by Tucker Max & Zach Obront Tucker is a multi-time bestseller and lays out the fundamentals of book creation. (18) Turning Pro: Tap Your Inner Power and Create Your Life's Work by Steven Pressfield Pressfield’s well-crafted sentences cut through the excuses and negative self-talk stopping creatives from producing. (19) Influence by Robert Cialdini One of the most oft-cited psychology books by business leaders. (20) Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb A “lightbulb” book with new ideas you won’t be able to ignore. (21) The Call of the Wild by Jack London Beautiful imagery and an exciting tale of unlocking the beast within. (22) Meditations by Marcus Aurelius Stoic philosophy classic. Should be in every high school curriculum. (23) Fast Forward: What Is Your College Degree Worth? by Tucker Matheson and Pichon Duplan Getting real about extracting maximum value from your degree. (24) How to Shoot Video the Doesn’t Suck by Steve Stockman Title says it all. (25) What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly Founding editor of Wired magazine lays out the trends of technologies over many centuries and what to expect. (26) The Resilience Advantage by Richard Citrin Learning the resilience resides within all of us is key to developing confidence. (27) Chimpanzee Politics by Frans de Waal Analyzing chimps to better understand your fellow man. (28) The Way of the Superior Man by David Deida A masterclass on masculinity and one of Tony Robbins’ favorites. (29) Life Inc.: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back by Douglas Rushkoff Rushkoff obliterates assumptions baked into your everyday corporate lifestyle. (30) Enchiridion by Epictetus In the tradition of Stoic philosophers like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius, Epictetus offers practical short passages of advice. Recommendations For College Students & Job Hunters The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks and Win Your Inner Creative Battles by Steven Pressfield Pressfield eloquently lays out the mental framework required to get shit done. Best Gift Losing My Virginity by Richard Branson Entertaining, well-written, and informative tales of business triumphs and near-death adventures. Top Intellectual Stimulation Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder by Nassim Nicholas Taleb I explained it in episode 171, but this just a powerhouse book. Your brain will never be the same. I'm always looking for suggestions for future reading, drop me a line if you have any recommendations. Here are my starting five for the beginning of 2017. Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis On the Road by Jack Kerouac The Social Organism by Oliver Luckett House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski I set a goal of reading 30 books in 2016 at the beginning of the year. I ended up nailing 30, so I’m pushing for 40 next year. I think I can do it. What will you be reading in 2017?
Continuing to provide thoughtful content through the holidays.
There are 433 pain pills for every man, woman, and child in West Virginia (WV Gazette) Apple consistently is disrespected (BGR) Poland's Power Broker (Politico) Avoid Sugar (Philip) Silicon Valley’s political endgame (Medium) Support the podcast and blog by doing your holiday shopping through this Amazon link.
Continuing to provide thoughtful content through the holidays.
Prosecute Wells Fargo (New Republic) Nike’s quest to break the 2-minute mile (Wired) Stitchfix uses machine learning and algorithms to dress you (Mercury) Aphorisms from Nassim Taleb (Thought Catalog) Napoleon Hill’s life of fraud (Gizmodo) Support the podcast and blog by doing your holiday shopping through this Amazon link.
Continuing to provide thoughtful content through the holidays.
The Year in Search (Google) How to save mutual funds (Reformed Broker) Lesser Evilism doesn’t work (Rollingstone) Corporate Execs who doubted disruption (CB Insights) Dominance of Google and Facebook (Ritholtz) Support the podcast and blog by doing your holiday shopping through this Amazon link.
Continuing to provide thoughtful content through the holidays.
Andreessen Horowitz and USV invest in digital token hedge fund (Forbes) The magic of AirBnB (FEE) Uncanny Valley (n+) Facing one fear per week (Medium) A guide to the alt-right (Breitbart) Support the podcast and blog by doing your holiday shopping through this Amazon link. |
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