One Quote:

"Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring." - Marilyn Monroe

The world will work very hard to try to force you to be normal.

Fight back.

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One Framework:

The Career Energy Matrix

In primary school, we are taught about the two types of energy:

• Potential Energy: The energy held by an object by virtue of its position.
• Kinetic Energy: The energy of an object by virtue of its motion.

In simple terms, I like to think of potential energy as the energy of what could be and kinetic energy as the energy of what is.

This isn't a science newsletter (my consistently average performance in those classes would expose me as an imposter!), so I'll move on from the science and get to my point...

I've been thinking a lot about career paths—specifically the diversity of career paths that can ultimately lead to financial success and intellectual fulfillment.

Through this thinking, the framework of "career energy" is starting to take shape in my mind:

At any point in time, your career has a mix of potential and kinetic energy.

• Potential Career Energy: The long-term accumulation of skills, knowledge, and networks—intangible assets—that compound and stand ready to be deployed.
• Kinetic Career Energy: The real time release of tangible assets that generate present day value (typically in the form of income).

Some early career paths over-index towards potential energy—high accumulation of non-financial assets, low income generation—while some over-index towards kinetic energy—low accumulation of non-financial assets, high income generation.

I have started to think of this as a simple 2x2 matrix:

• Low Potential, Low Kinetic: Low accumulation of long-term intangible assets and low generation of present day value. This is the dead zone.
• Low Potential, High Kinetic: Low accumulation of long-term intangible assets, but high generation of present day value. This is a trap!
• High Potential, Low Kinetic: High accumulation of long-term intangible assets, but low generation of present day value. This is the builder zone.
• High Potential, High Kinetic: High accumulation of long-term intangible assets and high generation of present day value. This is the sweet spot!

Identifying where you exist on this matrix is critical.

A lot of people will get stuck in careers with good financial rewards (high kinetic energy) but devoid of the intellectual rigor and stimulation that creates long-term growth (low potential energy). This may be a place to "harvest" late in your career, but for most people, it's a trap that will rob you of fulfillment.

One caveat here: You don't necessarily need to get your potential energy from your primary "career" anymore. If you're in a high kinetic energy role, but find it lacks potential energy, you may be able to find that missing link via side hustles, projects, or other pursuits. This is another way to avoid the trap.

So my questions for all of you:

• Where do you exist on the matrix today?
• Does your current role allow for enough potential career energy to keep you intellectually stimulated and growing?
• Are you stuck in the trap?

One Tweet:

Investor Paul Graham once wrote about a great rule for what to do when you encounter something that sounds like a crazy idea:

Ask yourself two questions:

1. Is the person reasonable (i.e. not crazy)?
2. Is the person a domain expert (i.e. credible)?

If the answer to both of these questions is yes, you should take the idea seriously, as it may be an asymmetric bet on the future.

I call it the Crazy Idea Framework, and it's why I’m taking Xavier very seriously on his crazy idea.

Xavier is a sharp, thoughtful, reasonable individual. He is also the real deal when it comes to the clean energy space, having previously founded and scaled Zola (solar energy in Africa) and Ecosafi (clean cooking startup backed by Chris Sacca).

I have very little technical insight here, but it seems like the idea (capturing carbon from the atmosphere and trapping it in the ground) isn't new. The key here is that the technology to do it needs to be:

• Manufacturable at scale.
• Decentralized globally.
• Produce economically useful commodities as outputs (i.e. a "no-brainer" economic trade for every stakeholder).

I'm going to be following closely (and potentially trying to support via my venture fund). If anyone has unique insights or perspectives, I'd recommend reaching out to Xavier directly via DM to get the whitepaper.

One Article:

List One Task, Do It, Cross It Out

I have developed something of an intellectual crush on Oliver Burkeman since discovering his work (inexcusably) recently.

His book, Four Thousand Weeks, is one of my recent favorites, and I have the unique pleasure of connecting with him next week, which is sure to make me even more excited about his work and all of the good it brings.

This article is one such example, as he lays out a hilariously simple way to get yourself out of productivity paralysis.

The strategy:

• Grab a piece of paper and pen.
• Write down ONE THING that would be good to get done right now.
• Do it.
• Cross it off.
• Repeat the process.

I read the article while staring down a mile long to-do list over the weekend that had sent me into a classic paralyzed state (a long list is often intimidating and demotivating). I tried the strategy and found it really worked.

Give it a shot the next time you find yourself in a rut.

One Podcast:

The Science Behind Persuasion

Interesting listen that goes deep into our minds to deconstruct why we behave the way we do.

Two particular insights that sparked my curiosity:

• The internet and social media algorithms have exponentially increased our ability to join large groups based on similar interests. This greatly increases polarization because it doesn't allow for a "middle ground" that may have otherwise existed. This makes sense logically, but what concerns me is that I imagine this is only going to get worse over time.
• Introspection Illusion is a cognitive bias that says that we assume that we have insights into why we act, choose, and think the way we do, but don't believe that others have the same introspective capacities. Classic egotism at play.

Worth a listen if you're interested in behavioral science.

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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