Avsnitt
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What I learned from rereading George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones.
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Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com
You can read, reread, and search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast.
You can also ask SAGE any question and SAGE will read all my notes, highlights, and every transcript from every episode for you.
A few questions I've asked SAGE recently:
What are the most important leadership lessons from history's greatest entrepreneurs?
Can you give me a summary of Warren Buffett's best ideas? (Substitute any founder covered on the podcast and you'll get a comprehensive and easy to read summary of their ideas)
How did Edwin Land find new employees to hire? Any unusual sources to find talent?
What are some strategies that Cornelius Vanderbilt used against his competitors?
Get access to Founders Notes here.
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(0:01) George Lucas unapologetically invested in what he believed in the most: himself.
(1:00) George Lucas is the Thomas Edison of the modern film industry.
(1:30) A list of biographies written by Brian Jay Jones
(6:00) Elon Musk interviewed by Kevin Rose
(10:15) How many people think the solution to gaining quality control, improving fiscal responsibility, and stimulating technological innovation is to start their own special-effects company? But that’s what he did.
(17:00) When I finally discovered film, I really fell madly in love with it. I ate it. I slept it. 24 hours a day. There was no going back.
(18:00) Those on the margins often come to control the center. (Game of Thrones)
(21:00) As soon as I made my first film, I thought, Hey, I’m good at this. I know how to do this. From then on, I’ve never questioned it.
(23:00) He was becoming increasingly cranky about the idea of working with others and preferred doing everything himself.
(34:00) Francis Ford Coppola: A Filmmaker's Life by Michael Schumacher. (Founders #242)
(42:00) The film Easy Rider was made for $350,000. It grossed over $60 million at the box office.
(45:00) The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)
A Mind at Play: How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age by Jimmy Soni and Rob Goodman (Founders #95)
Steve Jobs & The NeXT Big Thing by Randall Stross. (Founders #77)
(47:00) What we’re striving for is total freedom, where we can finance our pictures, make them our way, release them where we want them released, and be completely free. That’s very hard to do in the world of business. You have to have the money in order to have the power to be free.
(49:00) You should reject the status quo and pursue freedom.
(49:00) People would give anything to quit their jobs. All they have to do is do it. They’re people in cages with open doors.
(51:00) Stay small. Be the best. Don’t lose any money.
(59:00) That was a very dark period for me. We were in dire financial strait. I turned that down [directing someone else’s movie] at my bleakest point, when I was in debt to my parents, in debt to Francis Coppola, in debt to my agent; I was so far in debt I thought I’d never get out. It took years to get from my first film to my second film, banging on doors, trying to get people to give me a chance. Writing, struggling, with no money in the bank… getting little jobs, eking out a living. Trying to stay alive, and pushing a script that nobody wanted.
(1:02:00) “Opening this new restaurant might be the worst mistake I've ever made."
Stanley [Stanley Marcus of Neiman Marcus] set his martini down, looked me in the eye, and said, "So you made a mistake. You need to understand something important. And listen to me carefully: The road to success is paved with mistakes well handled."
His words remained with me through the night. I repeated them over and over to myself, and it led to a turning point in the way I approached business.
Stanley's lesson reminded me of something my grandfather Irving Harris had always told me:
“The definition of business is problems."
His philosophy came down to a simple fact of business life: success lies not in the elimination of problems but in the art of creative, profitable problem solving. The best companies are those that distinguish themselves by solving problems most effectively.
Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer.
(1:05:00) My thing about art is that I don’t like the word art because it means pretension and bullshit, and I equate those two directly. I don’t think of myself as an artist. I’m a craftsman. I don’t make a work of art; I make a movie.
(1:06:00) I know how good I am. American Graffiti is successful because it came entirely from my head. It was my concept. And that’s the only way I can work.
(1:09:00) Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda. (Founders #281)
(1:21:00) The budget for Star Wars was $11 million. In brought in $775 million at the box office alone!
(1:25:00) Steven Spielberg made over $40 million from the original Star Wars. Spielberg gave Lucas 2.5% of Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Lucas gave Spielberg 2.5% of Star Wars. That to 2.5% would earn Spielberg more than $40 million over the next four decades.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading Steven Spielberg: A Biography by Joseph McBride.
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Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com
You can read, reread, and search all my notes and highlights from every book I've ever read for the podcast.
You can also ask SAGE any question and SAGE will read all my notes, highlights, and every transcript from every episode for you.
A few questions I've asked SAGE recently:
What are the most important leadership lessons from history's greatest entrepreneurs?
Can you give me a summary of Warren Buffett's best ideas? (Substitute any founder covered on the podcast and you'll get a comprehensive and easy to read summary of their ideas)
How did Edwin Land find new employees to hire? Any unusual sources to find talent?
What are some strategies that Cornelius Vanderbilt used against his competitors?
Get access to Founders Notes here.
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Episode Outline:
Whatever is there, he makes it work.
Spielberg once defined his approach to filmmaking by declaring, "I am the audience."
"He said, 'I want to be a director.' And I said, 'Well, if you want to be a director, you've gotta start at the bottom, you gotta be a gofer and work your way up.' He said, 'No, Dad. The first picture I do, I'm going to be a director.' And he was. That blew my mind. That takes guts."
One of his boyhood friends recalls Spielberg saying "he could envision himself going to the Academy Awards and accepting an Oscar and thanking the Academy.” He was twelve.
He was disappointed in the world, so he built one of his own.
Spielberg remained essentially an autodidact. Spielberg followed his own eccentric path to a professional directing career. Universal Studios, in effect, was Spielberg's film school. Giving him an education that, paradoxically, was both more personal and more conventional than he would have received in an academic environment. Spielberg devised what amounted to his own private tutorial program at Universal, immersing himself in the aspects of filmmaking he found most crucial to his development.
At the time he came to Hollywood, generations of nepotism had made the studios terminally inbred and unwelcoming to newcomers. The studio system, long under siege from television, falling box-office receipts, and skyrocketing costs, was in a state of impending collapse.
When Steven was very discouraged trying to sell a script and break in, he always had a positive, forward motion, whatever he may have been suffering inside.
In the two decades since Star Wars and Close Encounters were released, science-fiction films have accounted for half of the top twenty box-office hits. But before George Lucas and Spielberg revived the genre there was no real appetite at the studios for science fiction. The conventional wisdom was science-fiction films never make money.
Your children love you. They want to play with you. How long do you think that lasts? We have a few special years with our children, when they're the ones who want us around. So fast, it’s a few years, then it's over. You are not being careful. And you are missing it.----
Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes.com
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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What I learned from reading Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino.
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Some questions other subscribers asked SAGE:
I need some unique ideas on how to find new customers. What advice do you have for me?
What are some strategies that Cornelius Vanderbilt used against his competitors?
How did Edwin Land find new employees to hire? Any unusual sources to find talent?
What are the most important leadership lessons from history's greatest entrepreneurs?
Can you give me more ideas about how to avoid competition from Peter Thiel?
Have any of history's greatest founders regretted selling their company?
What is the best way to fire a bad employee?
How did Andrew Carnegie know what to focus on?
Why was Jay Gould so smart?
What was the biggest unlock for Henry Ford?
Can you give me a summary of Warren Buffetts best ideas?
If Charlie Munger had a top 10 rules for life what do you think those rules would be?
What did Charlie Munger say about building durable companies that last?
Tell me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. How did he make his money?
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(9:00) Tarantino is possibly the most joyously infectious movie lover alive.
(14:00) On the ride home, even if I didn't have questions, my parents would talk about the movie we had just seen. These are some of my fondest memories.
(14:00) He has a comprehensive database of the history of movies in his head.
(17:00) The Futurist: The Life and Films of James Cameron by Rebecca Keegan and The Return of James Cameron, Box Office King by Zach Baron (Founders #311)
(25:00) Robert Rodriguez interviews Quentin Tarantino in the Director’s Chair
(26:00) Like most men who never knew their father, Bill collected father figures. (Kill Bill 2)
(27:00) When people ask me if I went to film school, I tell them, No, I went to films.
(29:00) Invest Like the Best #348 Patrick and John Collision
(31:00) Tarantino made his own Founders Notes [Comparinig himself and another director] Nor did he keep scrapbooks, make notes, and keep files on index cards of all the movies he saw growing up like I did.
(32:00) Napoleon and Modern War by Napoleon and Col. Lanza. (Founders #337)
(41:00) On Spielberg and greatness: Steven Spielberg's Jaws is one of the greatest movies ever made, because one of the most talented filmmakers who ever lived, when he was young, got his hands on the right material, knew what he had, and killed himself to deliver the best version of that movie he could.
(46:00) I've always approached my cinema with a fearlessness of the eventual outcome. A fearlessness that comes to me naturally.
(51:00) The Big Score: Robert Friedland and The Voisey’s Bay Hustle by Jacquie McNish (Founders #131)
(51:00)
Tarantino's top 8 movies have cost around $400 million to make and made about $1.9 billion in box office sales
Pulp Fiction
$8 million
$213 millionJackie Brown
$12 million
$74 millionKill Bill 1
$30 million
$180 millionKill Bill 2
$30 million
$152 millionInglorious Basterds
$70 million
$321 millionDjango Unchained
$100 million
$426 millionThe Hateful 8
$60 million
$156 millionOnce Upon A Time In Hollywood
$90 million
$377 million(58:00) What made Kevin Thomas so unique in the world of seventies and eighties film criticism, he seemed like one of the only few practitioners who truly enjoyed their job, and consequently, their life. I loved reading him growing up and practically considered him a friend.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness: Being Very Good Is No Good,You Have to Be Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Good by David Ogilvy and Ogivly & Mather.
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Get access to the World’s Most Valuable Notebook for Founders at Founders Notes
Some questions other subscribers asked SAGE:
I need some unique ideas on how to find new customers. What advice do you have for me?
What are some strategies that Cornelius Vanderbilt used against his competitors?
How did Edwin Land find new employees to hire? Any unusual sources to find talent?
What are the most important leadership lessons from history's greatest entrepreneurs?
Can you give me more ideas about how to avoid competition from Peter Thiel?
Have any of history's greatest founders regretted selling their company?
What is the best way to fire a bad employee?
How did Andrew Carnegie know what to focus on?
Why was Jay Gould so smart?
What was the biggest unlock for Henry Ford?
Can you give me a summary of Warren Buffetts best ideas?
If Charlie Munger had a top 10 rules for life what do you think those rules would be?
What did Charlie Munger say about building durable companies that last?
Tell me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. How did he make his money?
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(0:01) But what did David actually mean by divine discontent? Here's an interpretation:
DON'T BOW YOUR HEAD.
DON'T KNOW YOUR PLACE.
DEFY THE GODS.
DON'T SIT BACK.
DON'T GIVE IN.
DON'T GIVE UP.
DON'T WIN SILVERS.
DON'T BE SO EASILY HAPPY WITH YOURSELF.
DON'T BE SPINELESS.
DON'T BE GUTLESS.
DON'T BE TOADIES.
DON'T GO GENTLE INTO THAT GOOD NIGHT.
AND DON'T EVER, EVER ALLOW A SINGLE SCRAP OF RUBBISH OUT OF THE AGENCY
(5:00) We have to work equally hard to replace the old patterns of self-defeating behaviors. An old Latin proverb tells us how: a nail is driven out by a nail, habit is overcome by habit.
(7:00) Brilliant thinking is rare, but courage is in even shorter supply than genius. — Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel. (Founders #278)
(7:00) Fear is a demon that devours the soul of a company: it diminishes the quality of our imagination, it dulls our appetite for adventure, it sucks away our youth. Fear leads to self-doubt, which is the worst enemy of creativity.
(10:00) Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth. — The NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)
(13:00) How great we become depends on the size of our dreams. Let's dream humongous dreams, put on our overalls, go out there and build them.
(14:00) If you asked an oracle the secret to doing great work and the oracle replied with a single word my bet would be on “curiosity” — How To Do Great Work by Paul Graham. (Founders #314)
(17:00) Only dead fish go with the flow.
(18:00) If I have to choose between agreement and conflict, I’ll take conflict every time. It always yields a better result. — Jeff Bezos
(20:00) It's the cracked ones that let light into the world.
(20:00)
Rule #1. There are no rules.
Rule #2. Never forget rule #1.(21:00) Bureaucracy has no place in an ideas company.
(23:00) You see, those who live by their wits go to work on roller coasters. The ride is exhilarating, but one has to have a stomach of titanium. For starters, you're never a hundred per cent certain you'll ever get there. If you (even) get to your destination, you sometimes wonder why you've ever bothered.
Other times the scenery pleasantly surprises you.
(24:00) Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.
(25:00) God is with those who persevere.
(25:00) Dogged determination is often the only trait that separates a moderately creative person from a highly creative one.
That's because great work is never done by temperamental geniuses, but by obstinate donkey-men.
(26:00) Against the Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson (Founders #300)
(26:00) We are what we repeatedly do. Our character is a composite of our habits. Habits constantly, daily, express who we really are.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant.
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(1:00) This is a 100 page biography of the human species
(1:00) The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant (Full Set)
(2:30) Generations of men establish a growing mastery over the earth, but they are destined to become fossils in its soil.
(4:00) Ruthlessly prioritize how you spend your time.
(4:00) The influence of geographic factors diminishes as technology grows.
(4:30) ALL OF THE NAPOLEON EPISODES:
Napoleon: A Concise Biography by David Bell. (Founders #294)
The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Wordsedited by J. Christopher Herold. (Founders #302)
Napoleon and Modern War by Napoleon and Col. Lanza. (Founders #337)
(8:00) Our job is to make our companies and ourselves better equipped to meet the test of survival.
(11:30) Economic development specializes functions, differentiates abilities, and makes men unequally valuable to their group.
(12:30) The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness by Naval Ravikant and Eric Jorgenson. (Founders #191)
(14:30) In the end, superior ability has its way.
(16:30) Nothing is clearer in history than the adoption by successful rebels of the methods they were accustomed to condemn in the forces they deposed.
(19:00) The imitative majority follows the innovating minority and this follows the originative individual, in adapting new responses to the demands of environment or survival.
(20:00) If you can identify an enduring human need you can build a business around that.
(21:00) In every age men have been dishonest and governments have been corrupt.
(25:00) Survival at all costs: Nature and history do not agree with our conceptions of good and bad; they define good as that which survives, and bad as that which goes under.
(25:00) Victory in our industry is spelled survival. — Steve Jobs
(25:00) All that matters is to survive. The rest is just words. — Charles de Gaulle by Julian Jackson. (Founders #224)
(26:00) By being so cautious in respect to leverage and having loads of liquidity, we will be equipped both financially and emotionally to play offense while others scramble for survival. — The Essays of Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett and Lawrence Cunningham (Founders #227)
(27:00) History reports that the men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, and the men who can manage money manage all.
(31:00) The Iron Law of Oligarchy
(32:00) Every advance in the complexity of the economy puts an added premium upon superior ability.
(33:00) The General and the Genius: Groves and Oppenheimer—The Unlikely Partnership that Built the Atom Bomb by James Kunetka. (Founders #215)
(34:00) Freedom's Forge: How American Business Produced Victory in World War II by Arthur Herman
(37:00) All technological advances will have to be written off as merely new means of achieving old ends
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from rereading Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer by Stephen Dando-Collins.
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(0:01) Vanderbilt was only interested in two things: making money and winning
(3:00) Cornelius Vanderbilt, the descendant of poor Dutch immigrants, would die in 1877 possessing more money than was held by the United States treasury.
(3:00) The First Tycoon: The Epic Life of Cornelius Vanderbilt by T.J. Stiles(5:00) The NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)
(6:00) “If I had learned education. I would not have had time to learn anything else.”
(7:00) Vanderbilt wrote nothing down, keeping every detail of his business dealings in his head, and at any given time he knew his income and expenditures down to the last cent.
(10:00) From Founders Notes. I asked the chat feature:
Tell me about Cornelius Vanderbilt. How did he make his money?
One trait it identified in Vanderbilt was this:
Vanderbilt's approach to business was often marked by a sly concealment of his intentions, keeping information close while simultaneously gathering intelligence on competitors. This strategic obfuscation allowed him to make moves that others often couldn't predict or comprehend until it was too late
(This feature will be available to Founders Notes subscribers very soon!)
(15:00) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields (Founders #292)
(24:00) The Founders: The Story of PayPal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley by Jimmy Soni. (Founders #233)
(26:00) Gentlemen, you have undertaken to cheat me. I won’t sue you, for the law is too slow. I’ll ruin you. Yours truly, Cornelius Vanderbilt.
(37:00) He's turning everyone against Walker by appealing to their interests. He’s not saying do this for me to get my ships back. He appeals to their interests and aligns their interests with his own.
(40:00) Vanderbilt had more money than all the Central American governments combined.
(41:00) As far as my nature is concerned, I do not meet competition, I destroy competitors.
— The 38 Letters from J.D. Rockefeller to His Son by John D. Rockefeller. (Founders #324)
(41:00) Vanderbilt said why don’t you pay me to not compete with you?
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover and Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness by Tim Grover.
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(3:00) What I am giving you is insight into the mentality of those who have found unparalleled success by trusting their own instincts.(3:00) Mozart: A Life by Paul Johnson. (Founders #240)
(6:00) Michael was the best because he was relentless about winning. No matter how many times he won he always wanted more and he was always willing to do whatever it took to get it.
(6:00) Michael never cared about achieving mere greatness. He cared about being the best ever.
(7:00) These are the most driven individuals you'll ever know, with an unmatched genius for what they do: they don't just perform a job, they reinvent it.
(8:00) Alex Rodriguez interviews Kobe Bryant
(11:00) The most important thing, the one thing that defines and separates him from any other competitor: He's addicted to the exquisite rush of success and he'll alter his entire life to get it.
(11:00) The mind will play tricks on you. The mind was telling you that you couldn't go any further. The mind was telling you how much it hurt. The mind was telling you these things to keep you from reaching your goal. But you have to see past that, turn it all off if you are going to get where you want to be. —
—Driven From Within by Michael Jordan and Mark Vancil. (Founders #213)
(12:30) If one thing separated Michael from every other player, it was his stunning ability to block out everything and everyone else. He was able to shut out everything except his mission.
(14:00) At some point you made something simple into something complicated.
(16:00) Being at the extreme in your craft is very important in the age of leverage. The best person in the world at anything gets to do it for everyone.
(20:00) A 600 page biography of Kobe Bryant: The Life of Kobe Bryant by Roland Lazenby. (Founders #272)
(21:00) This could be an ad for FOUNDERS NOTES
The greats never stop learning.
All the hours of work have created an unstoppable internal resource you can draw on in any situation.
(22:00) Mostly he tested himself. It seemed that he discovered the secret quite early in his competitive life: the more pressure he heaped on himself the greater his ability to rise to the occasion.
— Michael Jordan: The Life by Roland Lazenby. (Founders #212)
(23:00) Kobe and Ahmad Rashad interview
(23:00) Be indifferent to the opinions of other people. Michael does not care what you think. Kobe does not care what you think. There is no one that can hold them to a higher standard than themselves.
(34:00) How Kobe Bryant knew he was going to win a lot of championships:
It was easy to size other players up in the NBA. I found that a lot of guys played for financial stability. Once they got that financial stability the passion, the work ethic, and the obsessiveness was gone. Once I saw that I thought, “This is going to be like taking candy from a baby. No wonder Michael Jordan wins all these fucking championships.”
(35:00) Michael Jordan worked on consistency, relentlessly.
(49:00) A good competitor always evaluates his oppenent. And you understand him for what he really is. You never try to give him confidence you try to take it at all times. — Michael Jordan video
(53:00) Everyone wanted to be like Mike. Mike did not want to be like anyone else.
(1:07:00) Creative Selection: Inside Apple's Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs by Ken Kocienda. (Founders #281)
(1:07:00) Stop adding. Start deleting. Winning demands total focus.
(1:11:00) It started with hope.
It started with hope.
We went from a shitty team to one of the all time greatest dynasties.
All you needed was one little match to start that whole fire.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading Decoded by Jay Z.
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(1:39) I would practice from the time I woke in the morning until I went to sleep
(2:10) Even back then I though I was the best.
(2:57) Bourdain: The Definitive Oral Biography (Founders #219)
(4:32) Belief becomes before ability.
(5:06) Michael Jordan: The Life (Founders #212)
(5:46) The public praises people for what they practice in private.
(7:28) Lock yourself in a room doing five beats a day for three summers.
(7:50) Sam Walton: Made In America (Founders #234)
(9:50) He was disappointed in the world, so he built one of his own — from Steven Spielberg: A Biography (Founders #209)
(12:47) The Pmarca Blog Archive Ebook by Marc Andreessen (Founders #50)
(13:35) I'm not gonna say that I thought I could get rich from rap, but I could clearly see that it was gonna get bigger before it went away. Way bigger.
(21:10) Over 20 years into his career and dude ain’t changed. He’s got his own vibe. You gotta love him for that. (Rick Rubin)
(21:41) Against The Odds: An Autobiography by James Dyson (Founders #200)
(25:27) I believe you can speak things into existence.
(27:20) Picking the right market is essential.
(29:29) All companies that go out of business do so for the same reason – they run out of money. —Don Valentine
(29:42) There are two things in business that matter, and you can learn this in two minutes- you don’t have to go to business school for two years: high gross margins and cash flow. The other financial metrics you can forget. —Don Valentine
(31:54) I went on the road with Big Daddy Kane for a while. I got an invaluable education watching him perform.
(33:12) Everything I do I learned from the guys who came before me. —Kobe
(34:15) I truly hate having discussions about who would win one on one or fans saying you’d beat Michael. I feel like Yo (puts his hands up like stop. Chill.) What you get from me is from him. I don’t get 5 championships without him because he guided me so much and gave me so much great advice.
(34:50) Steve Jobs: The Exclusive Biography (Founders #214)
(37:20) This is a classic piece of OG advice. It's amazing how few people actually stick to it.
(38:04) Nuts!: Southwest Airlines' Crazy Recipe for Business and Personal Success(Founders #56)
(39:04) The key to staying on top of things is to treat everything like it's your first project.
(41:10) The Founders: The Story of Paypal and the Entrepreneurs Who Shaped Silicon Valley (Founders #233)
(44:46) We (Jay Z, Bono, Quincy Jones) ended up trading stories about the pressure we felt even at this point in our lives.
(45:22) Competition pushes you to become your best self. Jordan said the same thing about Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.
[46:43] If you got the heart and the brains you can move up quickly. There's no way to quantify all of this on a spreadsheet, but it's the dream of being the exception.
(52:26) He (Russell Simmons) changed the business style of a whole generation. The whole vibe of startup companies in Silicon Valley with 25 year old CEOs wearing shell toes is Russell's Def Jam style filtered through different industries.
(54:17) Jay Z’s approach is I'm going to find the smartest people that that know more than I do, and I'm gonna learn everything I can from them.
(54:49) He (Russell Simmons) knew that the key to success was believing in the quality of your own product enough to make people do business with you on your terms. He knew that great product was the ultimate advantage in competition.
(55:08) In the end it came down to having a great product and the hustle to move it.
(56:37) Learn how to build and sell and you will be unstoppable. The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness (Founders #191)
(58:30) We gave those brands a narrative which is one of the reasons anyone buys anything. To own not just a product, but to become part of a story.
(59:30) The best thing for me to do is to ignore and outperform.
(1:01:16) Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger. (Founders #90)
(1:06:01) Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth With Commentary (Founders #78)
(1:08:42) Jony Ive: The Genius Behind Apple's Greatest Products(Founders #178)
(1:11:46) Long term success is the ultimate goal.
(1:12:58) Runnin' Down a Dream: How to Succeed and Thrive in a Career You Love - Bill Gurley
(1:15:11) I have always used visualization the way athletes do, to conjure reality.
(1:18:14) The thing that distinguished Jordan wasn't just his talent, but his discipline, his laser-like commitment to excellence.
(1:19:42) The gift that Jordan had wasn't just that he was willing to do the work, but he loved doing it because he could feel himself getting stronger and ready for anything. That is the kind of consistency that you can get only by adding dead serious discipline of whatever talent you have.
(1:21:37) when you step outside of school and you have to teach yourself about life, you develop a different relationship to information. I've never been a purely linear thinker. You can see it to my rhymes. My mind is always jumping around restless, making connections, mixing, and matching ideas rather than marching in a straight line,
(1:27:41) Samuel Bronfman: The Life and Times of Seagram’s Mr. Sam (Founders #116)
(1:34:15) The real bullshit is when you act like you don't have contradictions inside you. That you're so dull and unimaginative that your mind never changes or wanders into strange, unexpected places.
(1:36:25) There are extreme levels of drive and pain tolerance in the history of entrepreneurship.
(1:38:45) Hit Men: Power Brokers and Fast Money Inside the Music Business
(1:42:24) I love sharp people. Nothing makes me like someone more than intelligence.
(1:44:17) They call it the game, but it's not. You can want success all you want but to get it you can't falter. You can't slip. You can't sleep— one eye open for real and forever.
(1:51:49) The thought that this cannot be life is one that all of us have felt at some point or another. When a bad decision and bad luck and bad situations feel like too much to bear those times. When we think this, this cannot be my story, but facing up to that kind of feeling can be a powerful motivation to change.
(1:54:18) Technology is making it easier to connect to other people, but maybe harder to keep connected to yourself.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
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What I learned from reading The Days of Duveen by S.N. Behrman.
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Patrick and I are looking for partners. If you are building B2B products get in touch here.
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(0:01) Duveen noticed that Europe had plenty of art and America had plenty of money, and his entire astonishing career was the product of that simple observation.
(2:30) The great American millionaires of the Duveen Era were slow-speaking and slow-thinking, cautious, secretive, and maddeningly deliberate.
(3:30) How Larry Gagosian Reshaped The Art World by Patrick Radden Keefe. (Founders #325)
(4:30) Invest Like The Best #342 Will England: A Primer on Multi-Strategy Hedge Funds
(6:00) There is an old two-part rule that often works wonders in business, science, and elsewhere:
1. Take a simple, basic idea and
2. Take it very seriously. — the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)
(10:00) The art dealer Joseph Duveen insisted on making the paintings he sold as scarce and rare as possible. To keep their prices elevated and their status high, he bought up whole collections and stored them in his basement. The paintings that he sold became more than just paintings—they were fetish objects, their value increased by their rarity. — The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.
(14:00) Duveen had enormous respect for the prices he set on the objects he bought and sold. Often his clients tried, in various ways, to maneuver him into a position where he might relax his high standards, but he nearly always managed to keep them.
(16:00) Wildcatters: A Story of Texans, Oil, and Money by Sally Helgesen. (Founders #338)
(18:00) You don’t need many customers if the few customers you do have are the riches people in the world.
(22:00) His enthusiasm was irrepressible.
(26:00) Duveen felt that his educational mission was two fold —to teach millionaire American collectors what the great works of art were, and to teach them that they could get those works of art only through him.
(27:00) When you pay high for the priceless, you're getting it cheap.
(31:00) He was interested in practically nothing except his business.
(31:00) Certain men are endowed with the faculty of concentrating on their own affairs to the exclusion of what's going on elsewhere in the cosmos. Duveen was that kind of man.
(32:00) Monopoly was his method.
(38:00) Duveen would pay the servants of staff that worked in the homes of his clients. This was the result: They developed a feeling that it was only fair to transmit to Duveen any information that might interest him.
(41:00) The art dealer Joseph Duveen was once confronted with a terrible problem.
The millionaires who had paid so dearly for Duveen’s paintings were running out of wall space, and with inheritance taxes getting ever higher, it seemed unlikely that they would keep buying.
The solution was the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., which Duveen helped create in 1937 by getting Andrew Mellon to donate his collection to it. The National Gallery was the perfect front for Duveen.
In one gesture, his clients avoided taxes, cleared wall space for new purchases, and reduced the number of paintings on the market, maintaining the upward pressure on their prices. All this while the donors created the appearance of being public benefactors.
— The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.
(48:00) His clients felt better when they paid a lot. It gave them the assurance of acquiring rarity.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading Wildcatters: A Story of Texans, Oil, and Money by Sally Helgesen.
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Vesto shows you all of your company's finances in one view. Schedule a demo with Vesto's founder Ben and tell him David from Founders sent you.
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(0:01) Family and business were the same thing to him.
(1:00) We're one-hundred percent family owned, unincorporated, and independent, and we intend to stay that way.
(1:00) He possessed the directness and the utter simplicity of the old and the truly great.
(2:00) His unquestioning confidence in the worthiness of his enterprise made him seem impervious to doubts.
(5:00) The Morgans always believed in absolute monarchy. While Junius Morgan lived, he ruled the family and the business. Until Junius died his massive shadow dominated his son’s life. — The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow. (Founders #139)
(8:00) Everywhere they looked, they saw opportunity without limits. The land itself was empty, and so these men built cities upon it and founded dynasties. They left behind them a world made in their own image.
(9:00) The old wildcatters had neither the time nor the inclination to question their own purposes, or to agonize about what the future consequences of their efforts might be. They just went out and did whatever was there to be done.
(10:00) The trouble with this business is that everybody expects to find oil on the surface. If it was up near the top, it wouldn't be any trick to it. You've got to drill deep for oil. — The Big Rich: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Texas Oil Fortunes by Bryan Burrough (Founders #149)
(14:00) Charlie’s surfing model. One thing I learned from having dinner with Charlie was the importance of getting into a great business and STAYING in it. There’s a tendency in human nature to mess up a good thing because of an inability to sit still:
"There are huge advantages for the early birds. When you're an early bird, there's a model that I call surfing—when a surfer gets up and catches the wave and just stays there, he can go a long, long time.
But if he gets off the wave, he becomes mired in shallows. But people get long runs when they're right on the edge of the wave, whether it's Microsoft or Intel or all kinds of people."
— the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)
(18:00) Ted Turner's Autobiography (Founders #327)
(19:00) All the stories seem to be about the same prickly individual. They are giants, successful predators, acute and astute, tamers of the untamable and defenders of vast treasure.
(26:00) There are times when certain cards sit unclaimed in the common pile, when certain properties become available that will never be available again. A good businessman feels these moments like a fall in the barometric pressure. A great businessman is dumb enough to act on them even when he cannot afford to. — The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King by Rich Cohen. (Founders #255)
(29:00) Delusional optimism: Go from one setback to another setback without any loss of enthusiasm.
(31:00) There's no what if. There's only what happened.
(33:00) Rainmakers Podcast
(34:00) I’d rather be lucky than smart, because a lot of smart guys go hungry.
(36:00) Optimism is the personal quality that nurtures luck.
(36:00) Chaos and defiance ruled the day, and those who led the way made little secret of their refusal to be controlled.
(44:00) Anybody who's got an idea of his own has to be a little bit crazy. Being crazy is something big companies just don't understand.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
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What I learned from reading Roots of Strategy by Thomas R. Phillips and Napoleon and Modern War by Napoleon and Col. Lanza.
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(0:01) Napoleon fought more battles than Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar combined.
(5:00) The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words edited by J. Christopher Herold. (Founders #302)
(7:00) Insull: The Rise and Fall of A Billionaire Utility Tycoon by Forrest McDonald. (Founders #336)
(8:00) No one should believe more in your business than you do. If this is not the case you are in the wrong business.
(11:00) If you do everything you will win.
(13:00) Napoleon episodes:
Napoleon: A Concise Biography by David Bell. (Founders #294)
The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words edited by J. Christopher Herold. (Founders #302)
(14:00) What is the bigger number, five or one? One. One army, a real army, united behind one leader, with one purpose. A fist instead of 5 fingers. — Robert Baratheon in Game of Thrones (YouTube)
(17:00) Keep your forces united. Be vulnerable at no point. Bear down with rapidity upon important points. These are the principles which insure victory.
(17:00) Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic. Make them your models. This is the only way to become a great general and to master the secrets of the art of war. With your own genius enlightened by this study, you will reject all maxims opposed to those of these great commanders. [If Napoleon was alive you know he’d listen to Founders podcast]
(20:00) The Tao of Charlie Munger by Charlie Munger and David Clark (Founders #295)
(20:00) Advance orders tend to stifle initiative. A commander should be left free to adapt himself to circumstances as they occur.
(23:00) The art of war consists in a well organized and conservative defense, coupled with an audacious and rapid offensive.
(26:00) Ten people who yell make more noise than ten thousand who keep silent.
(29:00) Long orders, which require much time to prepare, to read and to understand are the enemies of speed. Napoleon could issue orders of few sentences which clearly expressed his intentions and required little time to issue and to understand.
(31:00) A great leader will resort to audacity.
(32:00) “Alexander the Great thought, decided, and above all, moved swiftly. He appreciated the importance of speed and the terrifying surprises speed made possible. His enemies were always stunned and shocked by his arrival. He invented the blitzkrieg.” — Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle by Paul Johnson. (Episode #226)
(34:00) It is no harm to be too strong; it may be fatal to be too weak.
(41:00) Napoleon on single threaded leadership: Once a campaign has been decided upon there should be no hesitation in appointing one commander to assure its success. When authority is divided, opinions and actions differ, and confusion and delay arises. A single chief proceeds with vigor; he is not delayed by necessity to confer.
(42:00) Posess obstinate will.
(43:00) Experience must be supplemented by study. No man's personal experience can be so inclusive as to warrant his disregarding the experiences of others. (This is a great reason why you should invest in a subscription to Founders Notes )
(44:00) It is profitable to study the campaigns of the great masters.
(47:00) Skill consists in converging a mass of fire upon a single point. He that has the skill to bring a sudden, unexpected concentration of artillery to bear upon a selected point is sure to capture it. (A lesson from Peter Thiel: Don’t divide your attention: focusing on one thing yields increasing returns for each unit of effort.)
(49:00) All great captains have been diligent students [of history].
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth
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What I learned from reading Insull: The Rise and Fall of A Billionaire Utility Tycoon by Forrest McDonald.
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(0:01) Insull had been in the electric business as long as there had been an electric business.
(4:00) He awoke early, abruptly, completely, bursting with energy; yet he gained momentum as the day wore on, and long into the night. Sam had near-demonic energy.
(5:00) Sam's most obvious attribute was a capacity for racing through large quantities of reading material, effortlessly perceiving its important assumptions and generalizations, and thoroughly assimilating its salient details.
(7:00) He eagerly embraced platitudes:
• Idle hands are the devil's workshop
• Time is money
• Things are simply "done" or "not done"
• One reveres one's family
• Only that which is useful is good
• Survival of the fittest
(8:00) Opportunity handled well leads to more opportunity.
(12:00) He developed an ability to concentrate on a single subject and to completely shut out everything else, no matter how pressing.
(13:00) A theme from the robber baron era: How do we turn a luxury product into a necessity?
(18:00) If you do everything you will win. — Working by Robert Caro. (Founders #305) and The Mind of Napoleon: A Selection of His Written and Spoken Words edited by J. Christopher Herold. (Founders #302)
(19:00) Insull reread every one of Edison's European contracts, and he took it upon himself to write weekly letters to Johnson, summarizing the fluctuations in the telephone situation and outlining Edison's shifting interests in connection with it. These letters proved to be the best selling points Johnson could have in recommending Insull to Edison.
(20:00) One of his most deep-rooted traits was that he was absolutely unable to imagine the possibility of his own failure; he entirely lacked the sense of caution of those who doubt themselves.
(21:00) Caution, like relaxation, was unnatural to him.
(21:00) We will make electric lights so cheap that only the rich will be able to burn candles.
(27:00) Edison had an almost pathological hostility to any form of system, order, or discipline imposed from without.
(33:00) Warren Buffett on leverage:
Unquestionably, some people have become very rich through the use of borrowed money. However, that's also been a way to get very poor. When leverage works, it magnifies your gains. Your spouse thinks you're clever, and your neighbors get envious. But leverage is addictive. Once having profited from its wonders, very few people retreat to more conservative practices.
And [to repeat] as we all learned in third grade-and some relearned in 2008–any series of positive numbers, however impressive the numbers may be, evaporates when multiplied by a single zero. History tells us that leverage all too often produces zeroes, even when it is employed by very smart people.
Leverage, of course, can be lethal to businesses as well. Companies with large debts often assume that these obligations can be refinanced as they mature. That assumption is usually valid. Occasionally, though, either because of company-specific problems or a worldwide shortage of credit, maturities must actually be met by payment. For that, only cash will do the job.
— The Essays of Warren Buffett by Warren Buffett and Lawrence Cunningham. (Founders #227)
(35:00) Smart men go broke three ways: liquor, ladies and leverage. — Charlie Munger
(42:00) To make electricity as cheap as possible we need the largest base of customers. The way to get the largest base of customers is through monopoly.
(45:00) He understood the potential of his industry in a way others did not.
(45:00) We are only going to do things that other people can not do.
(47:00) While money may not buy friends it will keep many a man from becoming an enemy.
(50:00) The moment of applause was the moment for action.
(1:00:00) You need to tell your customers what goes into making your product. It may be normal to you because it is your everyday thing. It is not normal to them. And if you explain and you educate your customers they will find it fascinating. And as a result it will make the service and the product you provide more valuable in their eyes.
(1:00:00) Sam Insull made electric power so abundant and cheap in the United States that people who had never expected to use it, found it as natural and as necessary as breathing.
(1:06:00) He took his leverage too high and the structure of the leverage was a problem. — Ted Turner's Autobiography.(Founders #327)
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading How To Make A Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs.
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(0:01) I'm what's called a moneymaker. I've started five companies from scratch—seven if you include two spin-offs and turned them all into billion dollar or multibillion-dollar enterprises.
(2:00) I love working with outrageously talented people to deliver outsized returns for shareholders in public stock markets.
(5:00) All of the successful people I know have rearranged their brains to prevail at achieving big goals in turbulent environments where conventional thinking often fails.
(5:00) The single most powerful pattern I have noticed is that successful people find value in unexpected places and they do this by thinking about business from first principles. — Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future by Peter Thiel (Founders #335)
(7:00) So much of success in business comes from keeping your head in a good place.
(8:00) I'm an ambitious person by nature and a dealmaker by inclination.
(9:00) Episode #295: I Had Dinner With Charlie Munger
(13:00) Listen to Think Big and Move Fast: Brad Jacobs on Invest Like the Best
(14:00) Setting the Table: The Transforming Power of Hospitality in Business by Danny Meyer. (Founders #20)
(15:00) If you want to make money in the business world, you need to get used to problems, because that's what business is.
(20:00) I am not surprised when things don’t go perfectly. That is the nature of the universe.
(21:00) Listen to this incredible conversation between Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best.
(28:00) Invest in technology. The savings compound, it gives you an advantage over a slower moving competitor, and can be the difference between a profit and a loss. (Lesson from Andrew Carnegie)
(31:00) How Larry Gagosian Reshaped The Art World by Patrick Radden Keefe. (Founders #325)
(36:00) While the rental industry overall was slow to computerize, the larger regional players were more tech-savvy. By 1997, nearly all of them were running on software developed by a company called Wynne Systems.
I bought Wynne.
Owning Wynne accomplished two things.
We had an industry-best platform that we could continue to develop internally for our own use, and the acquisition gave us access to aggregated, anonymized data on macro-trends across the industry.
This gave us a high-level view of emerging market trends, such as equipment gluts or shortages in the making. We could proactively adjust our pricing and asset management, while the rest of the industry was being reactive.
(40:00) The deals I've avoided have contributed more to my success than the deals I've done.
(42:00) I love these questions for a business and a family:
“What's your single best idea to improve our company?"
and
"What's the stupidest thing we're doing as a company?"
(47:00) There are few mistakes costlier than hiring the wrong person. An empty seat is less damaging than a poor fit.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
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What I learned from reading the transcripts of Young Oprah on Her Life and Career and Oprah on Career, Life and Leadership.
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(1:00) Oprah fired her agent and replaced him with a Chicago lawyer named Jeffrey Jacobs. "I heard Jeff is a piranha. I like that. Piranha is good."
(3:00) I will just create. And if it works, it works. And if it doesn’t, I’ll create something else. I don’t have any limitations on what I think I could do or be.
(4:30) Dr. Julie Gurner’s Ultra Successful newsletter
Dr Julie Gurner's Website
(7:00) Imitation precedes creation. — Stephen King On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King. (Founders #210)
(9:00) On getting demoted from anchor to talk show host: I was embarrassed by the whole thing because I had never failed before. It was that “failure” that led to the talk show. (Opportunity is a strange beast. It frequently appears after a loss.)
(9:00) The talk show immediately felt right to her: This is what I should have been doing because it was like breathing to me. It was like breathing. I knew it was the right thing to do.
(10:00) Oprah has an intense, powerful belief in herself. And she has had that since she was 4.
(11:00) I truly believe that thoughts are the greatest vehicle to change power and success in the world. Everything begins with thoughts.
(12:00) If you actually have to choose between the most experienced person, or the most educated person, or the person who actually wants it the most, you always pick the person who wants it the most. — Josh Kushner on the Invest Like the Best podcast
(14:00) Visualize.
If in your mind's eye you see a successful venture, a deal made, a profit accomplished, it has a superb chance of actually happening. Projecting your mind into a successful situation is the most powerful means to achieve goals.
If you spend time with pictures of failure in your mind, you will orchestrate failure.
Countless times, before the event, I have pictured a heroic sale to a large department store every step of the way and the picture in my mind became a reality. I've visualized success, then created the reality from the image.
Great athletes, business people, inventors, and achievers from all walks of life seem to know this secret.
— Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)
(17:00) I am going to have what I deserve.
(19:00) I was watching my grandmother boiling clothes (they had no indoor plumbing) and I was four years old and I remember thinking: My life won’t be like this. My life won’t be like this. It will be better.
(22:00) I thank whatever God there is for my unconquerable soul.
(22:00) And whatever you do, if you do a lot of it, you get good at it. And that is how this broadcasting career started for me. I’ve been an orator for a long time. I’ve been an orator all of my life.
(27:00) I feel that my show is a ministry.
(27:00) I loved books so much as a child. They were my outlet to the world.
(29:00) I had a very strict father. I remember my father saying you can not bring C’s in this house because you are not a C student. You’re an A student. It was just so matter of fact.
(31:00) Paul Graham on how to make yourself a big target for luck:
“When you read biographies of people who've done great work, it's remarkable how much luck is involved.They discover what to work on as a result of a chance meeting, or by reading a book they happen to pick up.So you need to make yourself a big target for luck, and the way to do that is to be curious.Try lots of things, meet lots of people, read lots of books, ask lots of questions.”
— How To Do Great Work by Paul Graham. (Founders #314)
(33:00) Her schedule in college was intense: I’d do all my classes from 8am to 1pm. Then I worked at the tv station from 2pm to 10pm. Then I’d study until 1am and then do the routine all over again the next day.
(34:00) I demand only the best for myself.
(35:00) Oprah on the parasocial relationship with her audience: It’s not like other celebrities. I see people react to other people and it’s not like it is to me.
(37:00) Asking for help is a superpower no one uses.
(39:00) The ability to read at an early age saved my life. I knew there was a better way. I knew there was a way out because I had read about it.
(41:00) I sign every check. It is tedious. It gets to be a lot. I have piles of checks. The idea of having money and not being responsible and knowing how much money you have and keeping control of it is not something that I personally can accept. I watch it very carefully.
(42:00) Henry Singleton pays all the bills and signs all the checks, calling it "a form of discipline. Through doing the signing it's amazing how much you learn about the business. There's a reminder of each event or action behind each check. — Distant Force: A Memoir of the Teledyne Corporation and the Man Who Created It by Dr. George Roberts. (Founders #110)
(42:00) How do you learn to be a founder? You do it the same way you do anything else: 14, 15 hour days. I feel most comfortable working.
(43:00) For me, work just meant discovery and fun. If I heard somebody complaining, “Oh, I work so hard, I put in ten- and twelve-hour days,” I would crucify him. “What the fuck are you talking about when the day is twenty-four hours? What else did you do?” —Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story by Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Founders #141)
(43:00) It doesn’t feel like work.
(46:00) Intuition is a very powerful thing. More powerful than intellect in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work. — Steve Jobs
(48:00) I am only a little dress-maker, trying to make women young and pretty. These other designers that do the pretty little sketches, the boys, they don't understand women, they don't know how they live. Their idea is to make them weird, freaks. — Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life by Justine Picardie. (Founders #199)
(51:00) I live from the inside out.
(54:00) Acquired’s podcast episode on Oprah and Harpo
(54:00)
Self belief
Ownership
Do the same thing for 25 years
Stay within your circle of competence
(55:00) Find what feeds your passion. Your real job is to find out why you are really here and then get about the business of doing that.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
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What I learned from reading The Red Bull Story by Wolfgang Fürweger and Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac by Duff McDonald.
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(1:30) "In literal financial terms, our sports teams are not yet profitable, but in value terms, they are," he says. "The total editorial media value plus the media assets created around the teams are superior to pure advertising expenditures."
(2:30) "It is a must to believe in one's product. If this were just a marketing gimmick, it would never work."
(5:00) He doesn't place a premium on collecting friends or socializing: "I don't believe in 50 friends. I believe in a smaller number. Nor do I care about society events. It's the most senseless use of time. When I do go out, from time to time, it's just to convince myself again that I'm not missing a lot."
(7:30) The most dangerous thing for a branded product is low interest. (Edwin Land: The test of an invention is the power of an inventor to push it through in the face of the staunch-not opposition, but indifference-in society. (Indifference is your enemy)
(9:00) Nike, Adidas and Vans episodes:
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike by Phil Knight. (Founders #186)
Sneaker Wars: The Enemy Brothers Who Founded Adidas and Puma and The Family Feud That Forever Changed The Business of Sports by Barbara Smit. (Founders #109)
Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans by Paul Van Doren. (Founders #216)
(11:00) The lines between Red Bull, Red Bull athletes, and Red Bull events are blurry on purpose. To Mateschitz, it's just one big image campaign with many manifestations.
(12:00) He has no plans to sell or take Red Bull public. "It's not a question of money. It's a question of fun. Can you imagine me in a shareholders' meeting?”
(13:00) Red Bull’s Billionaire Maniac https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2011-05-19/red-bulls-billionaire-maniac
(16:00) He is universally described as a person with great charisma.
(16:30) The Invisible Billionaire: Daniel Ludwig by Jerry Shields. (Founders 292)
(17:00) He has a fierce desire for privacy. He buys a society magazine to make sure he never appears in it.
(22:00) There is no market for Red Bull. We will create one.
(24:00) Estée Lauder: A Success Story by Estée Lauder. (Founders #217)
(30:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger. (Founders #329)
(31:00) Gossip and malicious rumors are worth more than the most expensive publicity campaign in the world.” — Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior (Founders #331)
(36:00) Control your costs and maintain financial discipline even when making record profits.
(38:00) Cult brands have their own laws, otherwise they would not be cultish.
(38:00) Red Bull is Dietrich Mateschitz and Dietrich Mateschitz is Red Bull.
(38:00) Many companies outsource their marketing and advertising activity. Red Bull consistently took the opposite route: It outsourced production and distribution and takes care of sales and advertising itself.
(40:00) Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best #355
Rolex: Timeless Excellence on Invest Like The Best
(41:00) If you are making a physical product make it look different from its competitors from the start.
(43:00) Everything is marketing.
(45:00) Never do anything that compromises your survival.
(46:00) He keeps his empire constantly in motion
(46:00) All corporate projects like Formula 1, football, Air Race, and media serve the core business: the sale of the energy drink.
(47:00) This is a battle for attention.
(49:00) Red Bull owns their events. They never relinquish media rights to any event. They invest in making the content and then they give their content to other media distributors for free. A very clever way to multiply their advertising and marketing spend.
(52:00) The Bugatti Story by L’Ebe Bugatti. (Founders #316)
The Dream of Solomeo: My Life and the Idea of Humanistic Capitalism by Brunello Cucinelli. (Founders #289)
(54:00) Why he moved Red Bull’s headquarters to a little village on a lake: The aim was to create a more pleasant working atmosphere.
(54:00) On why fitness is so important to him: “Everything that gives me pleasure in life is connected with a certain physical fitness and physical well-being. I like going to the mountain, I like skiing, I like sailing, I like riding a motorbike, I like fooling around - and everything is connected with a minimum of physical agility, motor skills, dexterity, strength, stamina. In order to enjoy it outdoors, I need the indoor program.”
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading Jesus: A Biography from a Believer by Paul Johnson.
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(3:00)
Churchill by Paul Johnson. (Founders #225)
Socrates: A Man for Our Times by Paul Johnson. (Founders #252)
Mozart: A Life by Paul Johnson. (Founders #240)
Heroes: From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle by Paul Johnson. (Founders #226)
(10:00) Jesus was:
-observant
-detail oriented
-maintained intense eye contact
-confident
-decisive
-charismatic
-gifted communicator
(11:00) The most important step when starting anything new is recruiting the people who are going to help you on your mission.
(12:00) No prophet is acceptable in his hometown.
(16:00) Jesus emphasized the importance of humility, gentleness, non aggression. The importance of the pursuit of justice and righteousness. He encourages acts of compassion and forgiveness towards others. He focuses on inner purity, sincerity, and a genuine heart. He commends those who work towards reconciliation, harmony, and peace.
(17:00) Some of Jesus’s maxims:
Love your enemies.
If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also.
Judge not and you will not be judged.
Forgive and you will be forgiven.
(18:00) A summary of Jesus’s teaching in two words: Be kind.
(18:00) He turned compassion, which all of us feel from time to time for a particular person, into a huge overarching gospel of love. He taught the love of mankind as a whole.
(26:00) Jesus taught to change and improve yourself. He led by example and encouraged imitation. Those that changed themselves, changed the world.
(27:00) Jesus’s new 10 commandments:
1. Each of us must develop a true personality. Each of us is unique. Develop your character.
2. Abide by universality. See the human race as a whole.
3. Give equal consideration to all.
4. Use love in all your human relationships, at all times, and in every situation.
5. Show mercy.
6. Balance. Keep your head even when others are losing theirs.
7. Cultivate an open mind.
8. Pursue truth.
9. Judiciously use your power.
10. Show courage.
(34:00) Join my personal email list to get updates about the new Founders conference
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior and Creators by Paul Johnson.
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(4:00) The Taste of Luxury: Bernard Arnault and the Moet-Hennessy Louis Vuitton Story by Nadege Forestier and Nazanine Ravai. (Founders #296)
(5:00) Opportunity is a strange beast. It frequently appears after a loss.
(6:00) Dior was a nobody in his forties, with nothing in his design career to suggest genius.
(6:00) When you read biographies of people who've done great work, it's remarkable how much luck is involved. They discover what to work on as a result of a chance meeting, or by reading a book they happen to pick up. So you need to make yourself a big target for luck, and the way to do that is to be curious. Try lots of things, meet lots of people, read lots of books, ask lots of questions.
— How To Do Great Work by Paul Graham. (Founders #314)
(7:00) Dior told him: “I am not interested in managing a clothing factory. What you need, and I would like to run, is a craftsman’s workshop, in which we would recruit the very best people in the trade, to reestablish in Paris a salon for the greatest luxury and the highest standards of workmanship. It will cost a great deal of money and entail much risk.”
(8:00) He spat in the face of postwar egalitarian democracy and said, in so many words, “I want to make the rich feel rich again.” His first collection turned out to be the most successful in fashion history.
(18:00) I envisioned my fashion house as a craftsman’s workshop rather than a clothing factory.
(19:00) A fortune teller tells Dior he must do found his fashion house in spite of his fears and doubts: She ordered me sternly to accept the Boussac offer at once. You must create the house of Christian Dior, whatever the conditions, she told me. Nothing anyone will offer you later will compare with the chance which is open to you now.
(22:00) Dior said Balenciaga was "the master of us all" — Balenciaga (Founders #315)
(26:00) Gossip and malicious rumors are worth more than the most expensive publicity campaign in the world.
(29:00) The most passionate adventures of my life have been with my clothes. I am obsessed with them.
(30:00) When asked what was the best asset a man could have, Albert Lasker replied, ‘Humility in the presence of a good idea.’ It is horribly difficult to recognize a good idea. I shudder to think how many I have rejected. Research can’t help you much, because it cannot predict the cumulative value of an idea. — Ogilvy on Advertising by David Ogilvy.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from rereading Les Schwab Pride In Performance: Keep It Going! by Les Schwab.
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(8:00) I didn't know how to ride a bike. We never had one. All the other young kids delivered newspapers on a bike.
He's got no money. He doesn't have a bike. So he ran his routes for two months in order to get enough money to buy his first bike. He’d run nine or 10 miles a day.
(8:00) I was too proud to complain.
(10:00) For a poor boy, money was much more important than pride.
(10:00) Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel by Sam Zell. (Founders #269)
(13:00) I was young. I was cocky. But the same cockiness helped me a lot in going through life.
(15:00) The very first sentence describing his very first day in business is mind blowing: I had never fixed a flat tire in my life.
(15:00) the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger (Founders #329)
(29:00) Sam Walton: The Inside Story of America's Richest Man by Vance H. Trimble (Founders #150)
(35:00) I always knew that if we fixed all the flat tires in town, we'd have all the tire business in town.
(40:00) If we become complacent, then brother, it's all over with.
(52:00) Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's by Ray Kroc (Founders #293)
(56:00) If you’re not serving the customer, or supporting the folks who do, we don’t need you. —Sam Walton
(1:00:00) The company paid low wages and had a lower overhead. The flaw was they didn’t get —with the low pay— near the quality of employees we had.
(1:01:00) Life is hard for the man who thinks he can take a shortcut.
(1:06:00) Decision making should always be made at the lowest possible level.
(1:08:00) Whatever you do, you must do it with gusto, you must do it in volume. It is a case of repeat, repeat, repeat.
(1:08:00) Charlie Munger analyzes why Les Schwab was successful.
(1:11:00) Extreme success is likely to be caused by some combination of the following factors:
1 Extreme maximization or minimization of one or two variables. Think Costco.
2 Adding success factors so that a bigger combination drives success, often in nonlinear fashion, as one is reminded by the concept of breakpoint and the concept of critical mass in physics. Often, results are not linear. You get a little bit more mass and you get a lollapalooza result. And, of course, I've been searching for lollapalooza results all my life, so I'm very interested in models that explain their occurrence.
3 An extreme of good performance over many factors. Example, Toyota or Les Schwab.
4 Catching and riding some sort of big wave. Example, Oracle.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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What I learned from reading the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger.
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Listen to this incredible conversation between Charlie Munger and John Collison on Invest Like The Best.
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(2:00) The practical wisdom of Poor Charlie's Almanack, this ode to curiosity, generosity, and virtue will similarly compound at successive generations of entrepreneurial readers extend his lessons to their own circumstances.
(12:00) Education is the process whereby the ability to lead a good life is acquired. — Socrates: A Man for Our Times by Paul Johnson. (Founders #252)
(22:00) Trust is one of the greatest economic forces on earth.
(29:00) Charlie is content to trust his own judgment when it runs counter to the wisdom of the herd.
(31:00) Animated: Charlie Munger: The Psychology of Human Misjudgement
(31:30) Aim for durability. Durability has always been a first rate virtue in Charlie’s eyes.
(32:00) Charlie only focuses on great businesses and great businesses have moats.
(33:00) Johnny Carson by Henry Bushkin. (Founders #183)
(42:00) You can flourish in a niche: People who specialize in the business world —and get very good because they specialize— frequently find good economics that they wouldn't get any other way.
(45:00) Being so well known has advantages of scale. This is what you might call an informational advantage. It increases social proof.
(46:30) Business Breakdowns episode on Coca Cola
(49:00) Occasionally scaling down and intensifying gives you a big advantage. (You can find great profit margins this way)
(50:00) Sam Walton: Made In America by Sam Walton. (Founders #234)
(51:00) Scale and fanaticism combined is very powerful. (Think Sam Walton)
(57:00) I also believed then, as I do now after more than fifty years as a money manager, that the surest way to get rich is to play only those games or make those investments where I have an edge. — A Man for All Markets: From Las Vegas to Wall Street, How I Beat the Dealer and the Market by Ed Thorp. (Founders #222)
(1:08:00) The best thing a human being can do is help another human being know more.
(1:14:00) Optimism is a moral duty. — Edwin Land
(1:17:00) You want to maximize the playing time of your top players.
(1:17:00) The game of competitive life often requires maximizing the experience of the people who have the most aptitude and the most determination as learning machines.
(1:22:00) The most important rule in management is get the incentives right.
(1:25:00) Never, ever think about something else when you should be thinking about the power of incentives.
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“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested, so my poor wallet suffers.” — Gareth
Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast
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Reflections from my dinner with Charlie Munger.
Order the new updated version of Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
Charlie Munger episodes:
#295 I had dinner with Charlie Munger
#286 Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger All I Want To Know Is Where I'm Going To Die So I'll Never Go There: Buffett & Munger – A Study in Simplicity and Uncommon, Common Sense by Peter Bevelin.
#221 Charlie Munger Damn Right: Behind the Scenes with Berkshire Hathaway Billionaire Charlie Munger by Janet Lowe.
#90 Charlie Munger Poor Charlie’s Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger
#79 Charlie Munger Charlie Munger: The Complete Investor by Tren Griffin
#78 Charlie Munger Tao of Charlie Munger: A Compilation of Quotes from Berkshire Hathaway's Vice Chairman on Life, Business, and the Pursuit of Wealth With Commentary by David Clark
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- Visa fler
