About one decade ago, as I was building my first startup, TINCO, I became a bit obsessed with securing Bridgewater founder, Ray Dalio, as an advisor. I hand wrote him a bunch of letters, sent a gift, tried warm intros, cold email outreach. I did everything short of showing up at Bridgewater’s offices. Alas it didn’t work; however, I did stumble upon the first iteration of his, Principles, which was only available in PDF at the time.
One clear memory from reading Principles was that Dalio spent a great deal of time studying nature - specifically the harsh realities of predator and prey.
It’s cliche, but nature has so much to teach us, and since reading Principles - plus a few adventures in nature of my own - I always try to soak in the lessons that it offers. In fact, I think I’ve written about this here before.
Well, yesterday’s lesson came from the Pelican. Have you ever watched a Pelican fish? Most of the time, Pelicans simply hover in the air. The glide gracefully about 10-20 feet over the waves. They are both observant and patient - after all, it only takes one fish to make a meal.
But, once a Pelican sees an opportunity, it seizes it without hesitation. The Pelican is able to gracefully stop on a dime in mid-air, redirect its energy towards the sea, and free fall, or “dive bomb” head first to catch its prey.
There are few opportunities in life worth “dive bombing” towards. The truth is that we spend most of our lives waiting for such opportunities to arise. In that time, we can hone our abilities, sharpen our senses, and prepare our mind & body to strike. Through self-study, we can build the intuition to identify the fishies worth chasing.
So when such an opportunity crosses your gaze - remember to drop everything and dive in.
This Week’s Podcast: Building Your Personal Operating System with Anthony Emtman, CEO of Ikigai Asset Management
“The truth of something tends to lie in the feel of it, not the think of it.”
In this episode, Anthony and I sat down to discuss various frameworks for building an operating system for your life. Anthony explained the importance of finding a North Star, knowing yourself and your Love Languages, determining your Ikigai, and building focus through disciplined practice. We also speak about Anthony’s role at Ikigai Fund and the emergence of Bitcoin as the foundation of the Trust Revolution.
What I’m Reading
Ideas & People
The Mysterious Crypto Magnate Who Became a Top Biden Donor
The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin Billionaire Arthur Hayes, Vanity Fair
Markets
A Thread on Stanely Druckenmiller Talk at Goldman Sachs
The Druckenmiller Talk Referenced Above
Startups
The Future of Social Audio, Jeremiah Owyang
Metaverse, NFTs, and Digital Collectibles
A Beginner’s Guide to NFTs, Linda Xie
Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park Sells NFT for $10,000.00
Crypto
Decentralized Finance: On Blockchain- and Smart Contract-Based Financial Markets, the St Louis Fed
DeFi 101 Video Series by DeFi Dad for the Defiant
Relative Valuation Analysis In Defi, Maple Leaf Capital
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