Marvin’s Best Weekly Reads October 27th, 2024
“No great achiever — even those who made it seem easy — ever succeeded without hard work.” — Jonathan Sack
- “When we ignore, repress and disown the parts that cause resistance, we allow them unconsciously run the show and rob us of what we truly want. We let them keep us in our status quo, or keep moving backward. We get stuck. We get scared. We stay small. We lose confidence in ourselves. We shame ourselves. We numb ourselves. We remain polarized. We start and quit — a lot!
So I have some bad news. No matter how much a future vision of your life is motivating you, no matter how dissatisfied you are now, you can’t force out resistance. Doing so would mean either unconsciously ignoring it, or consciously rejecting parts of yourself that are actually trying to help you. Instead, you have to open the door, invite those parts in, ask them questions, appreciate how they’re trying to help you, and eventually choose how you want to move forward.
So what is resistance, really? It’s the unconscious and conscious parts of ourselves that hold us back. So, to begin the change process we need to understand the types of resistance and how to work with them.
Identifying and getting to know your resistance, especially the parts that get triggered and stop you in your tracks, is how you’ll begin to go beyond what you thought was possible and appreciate and relate to yourself more fully. With practice and presence, you’ll see that different types of resistance emerge depending on the situation and context — what you’re doing, who you’re with, what’s at stake, etc. In other words, resistance is fluid, dynamic, and slippery. Yes, it’s difficult to nail down, but I have good news — it’s not impossible.”
2. A deeply philosophical discussion. How to have a “cathedral building mindset”. This was really interesting.
3. “But this is just part of a larger pattern of Beijing’s efforts to leverage the Chinese diaspora for foreign influence. In the U.S. and elsewhere, Chinese Communist Party-linked individuals have funneled money, served as politicalbrokers, and harassed Beijing’s critics. Pro-government groups lined the streetsof San Francisco last year to welcome Chinese leader Xi Jinping, and anti-CCP activists were assaulted.
The best offense is proactive defense. We should not let Beijing claim to speak for all ethnic Chinese nor all Asians. Elected leaders should work with legitimate Asian American grassroots organizations to reach out to local communities and gain a better understanding of issues important to them, such as public safety or affirmative action. Sustained engagement beyond election periods will undermine Beijing’s narratives of diaspora marginalization and democratic dysfunction. The federal and state governments should support robust Chinese American civil society networks that reflect the community’s diversity.
The Chinese community in the U.S. is only growing. Tackling these issues now is an investment in future resilience. Just as how strengthening U.S. democracy is fundamental to countering Beijing’s narrative of a failing West, embracing diaspora communities as assets will strengthen America while limiting Beijing’s ability to weaken the U.S. internally.”
4. “In some ways, this should come as no surprise. The incredible human talent in the venture capital industry has always been global. Vinod Khosla grew up in India. Peter Thiel was born in Germany and raised, in part, in southern Africa. Sequoia’s Michael Moritz is Welsh. Many of the top talents we associate with success in venture have found their way from somewhere in the world to Silicon Valley.
In fact, all five of the top investors on this year’s Midas List were born outside of the United States. Sequoia’s Alfred Lin (#1 on the list) emigrated to the US from Taiwan when he was six years old. Micky Malka (#2) grew up in Venezuela and first moved to Silicon Valley as an adult. China’s Neil Shen (mentioned above) ranks 3rd. The VCs at #4 (Mayfield’s Navin Chaddha) and #5 (Redpoint’s Satish Dharmaraj) were both raised in India, but have made their VC careers investing here in California.”
5. A deep dive into the creative process of the original OG creator Ben Thompson.
6. “China extracts and refines many minerals that are needed for semiconductors in our computers and the batteries in our electric cars. Some companies are concerned about relying too much on one country and are looking for other options. But as NPR’s Emily Feng reports, it’s not easy.”
7. “Fifty years later, a new Gang of Four has emerged: China, Iran, North Korea and Russia. This grouping is not a formal alliance committed to defending one another. But it is an alignment driven by shared antipathy toward the existing US-led world order and features mutual exchanges of military, economic and political support.
This Gang of Four seeks to prevent the spread of Western liberalism domestically, which they see (correctly) as a threat to their hold on power and to the authoritarian political systems they head. They also oppose US leadership abroad, including the norms the United States and its partners embrace, above all the prohibition on acquiring territory by the threat or use of force.”
8. Robotics is here. What an amazing time. Gecko Robotics: hardware + core software infrastructure.
9. Arrogance kills. US Military will be learning things the hard way sadly.
“Tingle believes the military branches are at least partially writing off the conflict based on assumptions that the U.S. would not struggle with the same types of problems as Ukraine, such as establishing air dominance over Russia.
Those assumptions may be true, Tingle said, but that doesn’t mean the war has nothing to teach.
“There are lessons about modern warfare in general that we are not getting because of that attitude.”
10. I always enjoy listening to Trae share his wisdom as a VC at Founders Fund & cofounding Anduril & working at Palantir.
11. “Conversations about the business will become the norm. Newbies will realize that they have to learn the numbers — all of them — if they want to contribute to discussions. And nobody will think that they can stall or evade by questioning the data.
The part that people miss is how long that takes. I think it’s measured in quarters, not weeks or months. It takes that long to retrain everyone how to think. And what the numbers mean. And to decide which numbers you really want.
Every leadership team should strive to have conversations about the business using the numbers. The only way I know how to do that is to pay the piper first.”
12. A deep dive into Sequoia Capital’s internal processes and culture. Intense is probably the best description.
13. Incredible. Great news for Fillmore Street in SF. One of my favorite neighborhoods.
“We’re going to restore and revitalize these properties. We aim to bring in a rich diversity of local businesses, with a focus on food and beverage, that will delight the community and discourage the kinds of impersonal chain retailers that would make Fillmore look like anywhere else.
We’re going to achieve this by offering below-market leases to committed entrepreneurs who will reinvigorate Fillmore Street. And we’re going to help our tenants navigate the friction, complexity, and anxiety that have sadly become an inevitable part of running a business in San Francisco. We are thrilled to welcome these new tenants, but contrary to what has been reported, we haven’t evicted anyone or forced anyone out.”
14. This is worth watching a few times. IA Ventures is legendary and Roger has some of the best macro views on venture.
15. Fascinating conversation. Calling out the bureaucracy & stupidity in America right now. That and why capitalism is the best.
16. What a time to be alive. Exciting developments in Longevity Biotech from Altos Labs.
17. Incredible discussion on the art and science of scaling startups and also investing in startups. So much to absorb here. I will listen to this a few times.
18. “People who don’t face real physical dangers in life from time to time develop a warped mentality where they start over-stressing little things that don’t matter.
The mind when not used to real dangers will invent dangers where they don’t exist.
This is the real reason why you see a lot of “anxious” and fearful people in today’s society. People who are afraid and stressed out by little things.
I mean things like overthinking and worrying about what someone else thinks of you, or stressing about being late for a flight, or handling not getting to eat a fruit platter on a plane as if it was a real crisis.
Go out in the world and face some real dangers.
It makes you stop caring about meaningless things.”
19. Solid discussion on AI and the future by the CEO of Anthropic.
20. This was so timely for me.
Steve articulates a lot of what many of us investors have felt at some moment in our last few years of the ZIRP era of investing.
Sitting in a pitch meeting and thinking you “just don’t care.” You may be burned out. How do you become present and thoughtful about your life.
21. “Earlier in the year, we saw failing companies find reasonable landing places, with outcomes that were fair (but not great) for founders, employees and investors alike. More recently, we’re seeing an increasing number of drawn-out acquisition processes as potential acquirers cut, and cut, and cut their offers, until founders have no choice but to accept a pittance for their years of hard work.
Thousands of companies around the world are looking for landing spots right now. And hundreds of VC firms are simultaneously insisting to their LPs that those companies are still deserving of their inflated 2021 valuations.”
22. Wallenberg family dynasty, running their businesses for over 150 years. Amazing.
23. “Walt Whitman wrote, “America…counts…for her justification and success…almost entirely on the future. . . For our New World I consider far less important for what it has done, or what it is, than for results to come.”
San Francisco, too, counts for its justification entirely on the future. It is a synecdoche for America. The future is what is important. This is its sin and its charm, its peril and its undeniable promise.
In San Francisco, the future, too, is hot and cold. When the next round closes, the sun is on your face. When the acquihire falls through, the shade is cold as ice. On Monday, AGI and universal prosperity are at hand. On Tuesday, apocalyptic doom looms, or worse, stagnation — progress’s dreaded asymptote. Feast or famine. Fever is the nature of the future.”
24. Some interesting takes on economics around the world.
25. Eye opening conversation with Erik Prince of Blackwater Fame or infamy.
26. “Like software monetization, software valuations are fat-tailed:
Most companies have unremarkable valuation multiples
A few, however, skew well to the right, creating a long tail of multiples
This tail skews the distribution of multiples and increases the variance between public software companies. I’d imagine the situation is even more extreme among private software companies.”
27. A really solid discussion to understand where the landscape of software and AI technology is going and how the tech can be used by companies.
28. A must watch for anyone interested in building a successful creator entrepreneur life. Strong recommend.
29. Tactical shoot training is probably worth learning.
30. A Masterclass in the science of selling vertical Saas. Process and leverage.
31. “I know it’s been a tough year to be long cyclical commodity names — at least the ones I’m long — but with rate cuts now materializing and China rushing to make conditions easier for investors, I think there’s a good chance some of these unloved names start to get more love in the near future.
We’ve also discussed continued geopolitical events (asymmetry). I don’t think the world is going back to normal any time soon. I don’t think the US debt problems are going back to normal any time soon. I think we’re headed towards a currency crisis / government default and possibly WW3. I think it’s a good time to invest in hard assets both inside and out of financial markets. I think it’s also a good time to build personal resiliency and improve the options your family has in the case of major disruptions to your lifestyle — be it from weather, conflict, or financial chaos.
There was a man in Asheville who was reportedly laughed at for building a house on stilts. All his neighbors were washed away.”
32. Actually a very interesting conversation. If you want to understand crypto investors and financial nihilism, this is a good start.
33. This is a fun conversation, how to hustle (in a great way). So many great nuggets here. Get on a plane and win. Get off email.
34. This is a must watch. Wake up Americans and Europeans. “Palmer’s I told you so Tour 2.” Thank Goodness for Palmer and Anduril Industries.
35. Another great episode: good to watch if you know what’s up in Silicon Valley.
