What I Read This Week - 3.10.24
Weekly finds from across the internet.
Welcome back everyone for edition #5, and happy Sunday!
Today, some finds on college football’s best program builder, VO2 Max’s impact on longevity, the power of a name, and where we are going as Crypto Summer returns.
Enjoy!
- CG
Sports/High Performance
How Lance Leipold Became College Football’s Most Fearless Program Builder - The Athletic (~15 min)
You don’t build something of out nothing without an effective process behind the scenes. Lance Leipold, Kansas football’s head coach, has done just that - not once, not twice, but three times. From part time cop to one of the most highly respected coaches in the country, this is a great read on his journey and the relentless pursuit of better that gave rise to it.
My favorite anecdote from the piece: while at Buffalo, he badgered the administration for a new equipment truck after seeing their much smaller one next to the truck of fellow MAC member Bowling Green.
When the standard is high, no detail is too small.
Health/Fitness
Zone 2 Cardio & VO2 Max / Longevity & VO2 Max - Rhonda Patrick (~3 min)
Two resources from Found My Fitness founder Rhonda Patrick on VO2 max. Measured as the maximum amount of oxygen an individual can consume while exercising, research suggests VO2 max to be one of the strongest indicators of longevity. Simply by taking your VO2 Max from below normal to high normal, you can earn an average of 3 years increase in life expectancy.
But there is a catch - you won’t just move the needle through your daily Zone 2 cardio (walking, elliptical, etc.). High intensity training is a necessity. So in order to raise your VO2 max and improve your chances at a longer life, you have to do the hard work.
Storytelling
Make a Name for Yourself - Jack Butcher (~3 min)
A short but powerful read from Jack Butcher (founder of Visualize Value) on the power of customizing/owning language. He argues that we can roughly approximate the quality of a name by how well it stores the ‘equity’ of an idea. Think of Nassim Taleb’s ‘Antifragile’ concept of James Clear’s ‘Atomic Habits’ - both beautiful condensations of powerful ideas that are now attached to their names. You think of one, you also think of the other.
In a world of short attention spans, people will naturally judge a book by its cover. So don’t lament the fact that this is true - create a powerful one instead by customizing language that you own yourself.
Worldbuilding - Alex Danco (~8 min)
An old favorite I resurfaced this week. In the piece, Shopify executive Alex Danco puts a spin on the old adage “Everyone works in sales, even if they don’t realize it” by modifying it to “Everyone’s job is world-building, even if they don’t realize it”.
He argues that in world rife with competition, differentiation - as a person, company, etc. - lies in the ability to create captivating narratives and purposeful environments. In other words, you aren’t building a culture so much as you are constructing a world.
Modern Gospels - The Generalist (~15 min)
In an excellent tie in to Danco’s Worldbuilding piece, Mario Gabriele takes a look at modern technologies and companies through the lens of religion.
What do Bitcoin, Tesla, and Peter Thiel all have in common? Each creates a compelling narrative (a world, we might say) centered around the core tenets of ancient religion: unified beliefs, moral community, and sacred objects. They borrow from the rules of history, while also serving as the modern version of ‘new testaments’ - new gospels invented according to the rules of our increasingly digital world.
The Future (AI, Tech, Crypto etc.)
Chat GPT Can Turn Anyone Into a Video Game Developer - Every (~8 min)
Every continues to be one of the best sources on the internet for thoughtful commentary on the impact and implications of AI. Yet my favorite aspect is how they make the abstract practical, through articles and podcasts like How I Use Chat GPT.
In this episode, Dan Shipper (Every Co-Founder) and Logan Kilpatrick (Developer Relations at OpenAI) use ChatGPT to build a video game.
Focus less on what they build, and more so on the fact that they do. This to me is one of the greatest powers of AI: it lowers the burden to innovation by reducing both the time and friction required to take an idea from thought to creation. You are now a builder, whether you think you are or not.
Don’t F*ck This Up - Raoul Pal (~60 min)
Crypto summer is finally back. If you are at all interested in following along or participating, I’d highly encourage giving Raoul Pal’s crypto cycle think piece a listen. The founder of Real Vision & Global Macro Investor, I appreciate Raoul’s perspective as he tackles the crypto landscape through a macro lens built up from decades of experience.
His key point: this cycle has a highly probability of chaos. Don’t F*ck This Up.
Remember - Raoul Pal (~1 min)
If you can’t spare the time for the above and want the cliff notes, here they are.
Personal Growth
23 Pieces of Career Advice - Ryan Holiday (~4 min)
A great read on lessons and insights from the career of Ryan Holiday - former apprentice to master writer Robert Greene and writer of the Daily Stoic.
Three of my favorites:
The thing that’s wrong about imposter syndrome is that for the most part no one is thinking about you at all. They’re too busy with their own doubts and their own work.
All success is a lagging indicator… all the good stuff (and bad stuff) is downstream from choices made long before.
From Peter Thiel: “Competition is for losers.”When people compete, somebody loses. So go where you’re the only one. Do what only you can do. Run a race with yourself.