This is my one-hundred-fifty-eighth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Knowledge – Knowledge is power. If you understand complex dynamics, you can make informed decisions and take appropriate action. But obtaining knowledge isn’t easy. You shouldn’t expect people who have it to give it to you freely. It took them lots of time and energy to acquire it or to arrive at the insights that preceded it. If you want to acquire knowledge, be ready to put in time and effort.
• The frequency of little things – I just started reading a new book about relationships. The most important thing the author says is that the frequency of little things matters a lot—it sets the tone in a relationship.
• History – I’ve been digging into financial markets’ past to better understand the present. History may not repeat itself, but it appears to be rhyming.

Week one hundred fifty-eight was a productive one. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-fifty-seventh weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• 1st Quarter – Q1 2023 is officially in the record books. Full of unexpected developments, it’s a quarter to remember. I’m wondering if 2023 will be the years of twists and turns.
• Zoom out – This week was a reminder that sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and look at things over a longer period. Doing so gives context to where you are today.
• The past won’t predict the future – Many people are assuming we’ll get to a norm that looks like the past few years. That belief ignores the fact that today is materially different from the past in many ways, which decreases the chances of the future looking anything like the past. A new norm is more likely, in my opinion.

Week one hundred fifty-seven was a productive week. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-fifty-sixth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• 1,100+ daily posts – I’ve been posting daily for three years. I never would’ve imagined I’d keep up with this habit for this long, but I’m glad I have. Writing thoughts down is a powerful habit that’s had a big impact on me.
• Messaging – Working on messaging for a project. Messaging isn’t easy, but it’s important: it can have a material impact on perception and comprehension.
• Communities – This week was a reminder of the power of community. Bringing people together who otherwise might never connect is powerful and allows for serendipity.  

Week one hundred fifty-six was an exhausting week. Looking forward to next week!

Earlier this month marked three consecutive years of sharing my thoughts publicly. I started posting on March 9, 2020 (my first post) because of a friend’s challenge. Here are my takeaways from my third year of posting:

• Reflection frequency –The more time between reflection periods, the less likely I am to uncover valuable insights because there’s more information. The more information to consider, the less likely I am to make connections between nonobvious pieces of information. Reflecting daily allows me to think more deeply about a shorter time period (less information) and identify nonobvious insights.
• Second-level thinking – Posting daily has enhanced my second-level thinking.
• Conviction – I have more conviction about my non-consensus views that have resulted from this process.
• Clarity of thought – Writing has helped me think more clearly on important topics. I’ve noticed this, and people close to me have commented on it too.
• Public thinking – Public writing leads to better outcomes than writing privately because it forces more clarity of thought.
• Second nature – The habit of posting daily is second nature to me now, which I enjoy.
• Quality – Every post isn’t going to be Pulitzer piece. That’s OK and normal given the daily frequency of this habit. Life is more eventful sometimes, and my posts reflect that.
• Appetite to learn – My appetite to learn has always been high, but it’s increased. I want to consume more information that I can reflect on and write about.
• Compounding knowledge – Consuming new information daily, reflecting on it daily, and writing about it daily is an effective process for building knowledge in a compounding manner.
• Topics – My writing has shifted from my experience as an e-commerce entrepreneur to my future as an investor entrepreneur.

I’m glad I picked up this habit and have stuck with it. It isn’t always easy, but after three years I can see that the positive far outweighs the negative. I want to keep this habit going and can’t wait to see what year four has in store!

This is my one-hundred-fifty-fifth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Geographic diversity – I’ve been thinking about my takeaways from a chat with a16z Partner Scott Kupor. I believe network distance is the biggest obstacle to achieving geographic diversity for VC investments, but many people may not understand this.
• Patience – I had a great chat with a friend who reminded me of the value of patience. Sometimes the best things take more time than expected to play out.

Week one hundred fifty-five was a busy week. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-fifty-fourth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• SVB – Silicon Valley Bank’s failure this week was a surprise. I’m curious to see how this failure will impact venture capital and banking more broadly. As of today, I know a few VC funds and start-ups with frozen accounts at the bank.
• New community – I joined a new community full of accomplished people this week. I’m excited to get to know them.  
• Young companies – Some of the largest companies in the US haven’t been around that long relative to their market cap (i.e., valuation). For example, Alphabet Inc. (Google) was started in 1998. Twenty-five years ago. It has a market cap of over $1 trillion. That’s a staggering rate of compounding and wealth creation.

Week one hundred fifty-four was a crazy week. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-fifty-third weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Biographies – There’s a lot to be learned from entrepreneurs who are no longer with us or at the tail end of their career. Wisdom learned over a lifetime is invaluable.
• Decision-making – I want to start developing and using more mental models to help make decision-making in complex situations easier.
• Rational thinking – Rational thinking is something I view as an advantage. I’ve observed that some people are rational thinkers in some areas of life but irrational in others. Thinking rationally in all areas of life is the key. It’s easier said than done.

Week one hundred fifty-three was a mediocre week. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-fifty-second weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Edge – Most people are good at something. They have a natural strength or skill. What you’re good at is your personal edge. If you play to your edge, you increase your chances of achieving outsize success. Play to your edge.

Week one hundred fifty-two was productive. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-fifty-first weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Context switching – A founder this week reminded me how hard it is to switch between thinking high level and being in the weeds of an early-stage company. I remember those days but haven’t lived them from a founder perspective in years. I found success using lunch as a natural mental break. It can be tempting to skip the high-level thinking when there are constant fire drills, but I learned the hard way that that’s a mistake. Consistently making time to think high level is something exceptional founders and people who achieve outsize outcomes do well.
• Gratitude – There’s always something that isn’t going right or could be better. Conversely, something’s always going right or could be worse. Continual improvement is important, but it isn’t my sole focus anymore. Practicing gratitude and being thankful have helped give me a more balanced perspective.
• Failed goal – Years ago, I set a goal. This week, I officially didn’t achieve it. Looking back, I realize why I didn’t. I should have spent more time sharing my goal. I should have spent more time learning about how others had accomplished similar goals. I should have focused on the habits required to achieve the goal. I learned a lot from this miss, so it wasn’t a failure. Just a painful learning experience. Today I set a new goal that’s bigger than the one I failed to accomplish.

Week one hundred fifty-one was a great week. Looking forward to next week!

This is my one-hundred-fiftieth weekly reflection. Here are my takeaways from this week:

• Truth tellers – Some people tell it like it is. They don’t sugarcoat things. They candidly share what they see and think about situations. People like this are valuable because they’ll say what others are often thinking but won’t say.
• Emerging markets – I had a great chat with two emerging venture capital fund managers investing in emerging markets—specifically, LATAM and Africa. I was intrigued and now want to learn more about early-stage entrepreneurship in these markets.
• Outsiders – There’s something to be said for people who’ve accomplished greatness after starting as outsiders. They tend to have fought their way into the position they’re in. They’ve traveled further than others. Their ability to learn faster than other people has usually been key to their outsize success.

Week one hundred fifty was a positive week. Looking forward to next week!