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Saved by @CodyyyGardner

A Thread - What to read in 2021?

Wisdom via @EricJorgenson via @naval via @illacertus... from @Navalmanack a book I’ll be rereading in 2021.

Here’s why.

“I don’t want to read everything. I just want to read the 100 great books over and over again.” - @illacertus

 “I think there’s a lot to that idea. It’s really more about identifying the great books for you because different books speak to different people. Then, you can really absorb those.” - @naval
It was a few years back I started thinking about the idea of rereading books vs trying to “keep up” with the constant consumption of new material rolling off the book publisher’s assembly lines.
I believe the consept first landed on my radar from that very @farnamstreet podcast where @naval shared the quote referenced above.

It immediately made sense to me.
It’s crazy to think about how much the world has evolved in just the last decade.

Technology is creating shorter attention spans with the constant bombardment of bite-sized “click bait” headlines and iPhone notifications.
For those who haven’t watched the Netflix doc The Social Dilemma, look no further than the algorithms designed to constantly keep our eyes glued to our phones and in turn the ad dollars being spent there.

Which leads me to a thesis I believe to be more and more true.
I believe the ability to focus...

to absorb...

to go deep...

is becoming a true super power.
Which brings me back to the idea of compiling a short list of books that you want to truly absorb and reading them over and over until you understand them to the level you’ve acquired all they have to offer.

With that in mind...
Today marks my third time reading through @RyanHoliday & @SteveHanselman’s @dailystoic.

Pictured is my copy below, which I grabbed back in 2016 when it came out.

As you can see, it’s got some miles on it as it’s literally traveled with me mostly wherever I’ve gone since.
All cliches aside, this book has made me a better version of myself.

More patient.

More accepting.

Less anxious.

A better listener.

I can honestly say this year’s reading was by far the most impactful.

Yes, maybe some of that was due to the year that was 2020.

However...
Looking back, I simply wasn’t ready for many of the passages my first few times through.

“When the student is ready the teacher will appear.” - Tao Te Ching
Also, with multiple readings, I’ve benefited from the “compound effect” of absorbing, putting into action, and building upon that which I’ve read before.

So...
Here’s to distilling your list of books/ideas/goals down to what is essential this year.

Go deep.

Absorb.

Make those “words become works” in 2021.
If you could choose only 1 book to reread this year, which one would it be?

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Post it online with a few sentences about what it means to you.

Was it an idea floating around in your head for months? A mini essay you've been meaning to write? Code that you finally figured out?

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Your customers are loyal to you right up until the second that someone else offers them a better service.

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Read on >>

1) First, there are NO NORMS! Hah. I have literally seen everything from giving early employees no equity to giving employee #1s near co-founder level of shares.

But what is more common than not?

2) In the Silicon Valley, if you're hiring your 1st employee, & you've raised NO $$ & are paying very little (e.g $0-$10k / yr or thereabouts), your first employee is basically a co-founder.

And the equity tranche for employee 1 should be closer to a co-founder level.

3) For ex, a friend of mine gave his employee #1 10% (vesting over 4 yrs of course) of the business. This employee was only getting his housing paid for. And this was 10 yrs ago, so it was during the bust.

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