Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
I have had the good fortune to experience a lot of cool things in my career, but today was certainly a highlight. I attended an event with a private cello performance by Yo-Yo Ma, and was sitting in the front row less than 10 feet away from him as he played his 1712 Stradivarius. It … Continue reading Witnessing Greatness
Elon Musk is a genius. He has a remarkable ability to defy conventional wisdom and do what others consider impossible. We should be grateful to him for revolutionizing at least two different important industries (Tesla/automobiles and SpaceX/space) and for tackling many others (Starlink/telecommunications, Hyperloop/transportation). However, being a genius does not mean being omniscient/omnipotent. Elon Musk’s … Continue reading The Secret To Elon Musk’s Success (and why many of his new efforts will fail)
When I was young, some of my favorite books were written by Roald Dahl. Far too often, children’s literature is bland and boneless. Dahl’s stories were filled with grotesque figures, tart-tongued narrators, and real danger and consequences. Which is why I feel some sadness that new editions of Dahl’s work have been edited to remove … Continue reading Editing Roald Dahl (However Dumb) Isn’t Wokism, It’s Capitalism
When a new technology arrives, people often focus on the first-order effects of that technology. These are important, and should be taken into account, but to get ahead of the crowd, consider the second, or even third order effects. This general principle will likely be true about AI as well. A lot of people have … Continue reading Prediction: AI will lead to a Cambrian explosion of comics and graphic novels
What do Elon Musk, Roe v. Wade, James Harden, and professional soccer have in common? They all illustrate the near-universal human disgust with “working the refs”. “Working the refs” is a term I know from professional basketball. Working the refs consists of influencing the decision-making of the referees, who call fouls and enforce the rules … Continue reading Working The Refs
It’s hard to bring something new into the world. If it were easy, it would have already happened. Nearly all startups fail. They’re trying to do something new, and the status quo is one hell of a competitor. Doing nothing is easy and most people’s default choice. Don’t jump into entrepreneurship because you’re lured in … Continue reading Startup Success Requires Accepting Failure
I recently traveled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to speak at the RiseUp Summit Saudi. I had spoken at the RiseUp Summit in 2019 in Cairo, so when the organizers asked me if I would be willing to travel to Riyadh for their first event in Saudi Arabia, I checked the calendar, saw that it wouldn’t … Continue reading Travelogue: Riyadh
I’m a weirdo. I don’t mind admitting my eccentricity, because I believe that some of my unusual habits help me in life. One of these habits is my obsession with figuring out the mechanism of action. I don’t remember the details of when I first learned the term, though I believe it was in the … Continue reading Always Search For The Mechanism Of Action
I was listening to a panel discussion at a conference, and realized that I was rating the ability and intelligence of the panelists based on their speaking ability. Now if I do this, it’s likely that others do so as well. Which led me to ask myself, is speaking ability overrated? As someone who considers … Continue reading Is Speaking Ability Over, Under, or Properly Rated?
On a regular basis, people who get to know me describe me as one of the happiest, most positive people they know (an assessment I agree with). Is this a matter of circumstance? Genetics? Blind luck? My cousin Stephen asked me to share my reflections on this topic, and I realized that I had never … Continue reading My Social Emotional Journey