Long-Term Money
Morgan Housel opens with a fact that resets everything: Adam Smith wrote that it was common in 18th-century Scotland to meet a mother who had borne twenty children and had not two alive. Queen Anne of England had 18 children. Not one made it. Today we complain about grocery stores having too many options. The piece is a meditation on how profoundly life has improved in ways so total and complete that we've lost the ability to see them as progress. The compounding of human knowledge across generations is the most underrated investment thesis of all time, and this piece makes that case better than almost anything I've read.
A Navy SEAL Breathing Technique to Stay Calm and Focused
Former Navy SEAL Mark Divine's box breathing method has been around for years but I keep coming back to it. The technique is almost embarrassingly simple: inhale for four counts, hold for four, exhale for four, hold empty for four. What I find interesting is the physiology behind it. At 16 to 20 shallow breaths per minute, most people are running their nervous systems slightly hot all day. Slow that to five or six full breaths and you're running a completely different operating system. Divine practiced this standing in line, sitting in traffic, before workouts. The point isn't that breathing is magic. The point is that you have a direct line to your autonomic nervous system and almost nobody uses it.
The 12-month window
On a recent episode of No Priors, investor Elad Gil made an observation that's worth sitting with: for most companies there is roughly a 12-month period where the business is at peak value, and then it crashes out. Lotus, AOL, Mark Cuban's Broadcast.com all caught that window. A lot of great companies didn't. This matters especially right now because a significant portion of today's AI startup landscape exists because the foundation models haven't expanded into their category yet. As founders openly acknowledge, that won't last forever. The question for everyone building in this space is: do you know which phase you're in?
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If you looked at my investment history with no context, you'd think I have the attention span of a golden retriever at a tennis ball factory. Impossible Foods. Athletic Greens. SandboxAQ. Cirkul (the flavored water bottle that Gen Z can't put down). Flexport. Canyon Bikes. Kraken. A real estate portfolio spanning Santa Monica to Brooklyn. And yes, infant nutrition.
But here's what I've learned after building two companies, exiting both, writing a book, and deploying capital across more than fifty startups: every single investment decision I make runs through the same pattern recognition engine. And that engine was built, improbably and irreversibly, in the New York City nightlife scene of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Let me tell you what I mean.
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Who do you trust to tell you what's good?
We are drowning in recommendations and somehow more lost than ever. Algorithms have gotten very good at predicting what you might click next based on what you already clicked, but that is not the same thing as taste. This piece makes a compelling case that the most valuable signal is still just a real person with a genuine point of view sharing something they love, and that the personal context behind a recommendation is what makes it worth anything at all. It left me thinking about how much I trust the people I actually know over any platform that claims to know me.
Freedom is not the highest form of wealth
The author spent two years with genuine freedom and came back with a counterintuitive conclusion: meaning is the highest form of wealth, not freedom. His argument is that the pursuit of freedom provides its own meaning, but once freedom is actually achieved it loses that meaning entirely. What you're left with is an existential "now what" that nobody warned you about. I found this one genuinely thought-provoking, especially for people at a stage where they've already won the financial game and are figuring out what the next chapter is actually for.
The human work behind humanoid robots is being hidden
This MIT Technology Review piece should be required reading for anyone investing in physical AI. The argument is that the humanoid robotics industry is quietly obscuring how much human labor is still required to make these machines look autonomous, and the parallel to Tesla's early Autopilot branding is hard to ignore. Workers spend weeks in VR headsets and motion capture suits performing repetitive tasks just to generate training data, and remote operators step in when robots get stuck in ways the demo videos never show. The gap between what these companies are demonstrating and what is actually happening operationally is significant.
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The Anthropic Hive Mind
Steve Yegge spent years as a senior engineer at both Google and Amazon, so when he says something unusual is happening at Anthropic, it's worth paying attention. His argument isn't just about the models. It's about the organizational culture, the caliber of people, and the way the company thinks collectively. Interesting read regardless of where you stand on the AI race.
Meet the Startups Trying to Build Military-Specific AI
A wave of veteran-founded startups is now building AI trained exclusively on military and combat data, designed to work without cloud connectivity in denied environments. Companies like Smack Technologies just closed a $32M seed round on this thesis. The bet is that the Pentagon will never fully trust a general-purpose model for critical decisions, and that purpose-built systems are the only real path to adoption.
How to Design a More Meaningful Life
Dave Evans and Bill Burnett, the Stanford professors who wrote Designing Your Life, join Dr. Laurie Santos on The Happiness Lab to make the case that major life decisions shouldn't be planned, they should be prototyped. The idea is to treat your own life like a design problem: run small experiments, iterate, and let the data tell you what works. Practical in a way that most self-help conversations aren't.
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AI agents are starting to eat SaaS - Martin Alderson
We spent fifteen years watching software eat the world. Entire industries got swallowed by software - retail, media, finance - you name it, there has been incredible disruption over the past couple of decades with a proliferation of SaaS tooling. This has led to a huge swath of SaaS companies - valued, collectively, in the trillions.
The Simple Path to Wealth: Your Road Map to Financial Independence and a Rich, Free Life
The Simple Path to Wealth by J.L. Collins is a popular personal finance book that offers a straightforward guide to achieving financial independence through simple, long-term investing strategies, focusing on low-cost index funds and avoiding complex financial products. It provides actionable advice on debt elimination, retirement accounts (like 401(k)s, IRAs, and HSAs), and asset allocation, all presented in an accessible, often humorous style, based on the advice Collins gave his daughter.
Swearing Can Actually Be Good For You, According to New Research
Dropping an F-bomb can boost your performance by helping you feel stronger, more focused, and disinhibited, say scientists. Most who curse like a sailor know that letting out a swear word in a moment of frustration can feel good. Now, new research by psychologists suggests that it really can be good for your well-being.
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How Not To Die - Chris DeMuth Jr
Vittorio is a biotech accelerationist and thinker exploring reality, how to transcend biology, and truth. He shares the science of how not to die, or at least how to live well, and his thoughts on human potential.
Doubling Down on your Winners
If a company is performing well (and communicating well), continue to invest in subsequent rounds. That follow-on capital can be just as important to overall fund returns as the initial investment.
18 months of Reflection - Sanjeev Agrawal
A personal essay detailing the author's deep introspection on life, career, and values after a major transition. It re-evaluates the pursuit of traditional achievement, noting that true joy was more often found in moments of physical mastery than in financial success.
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Certainty After Chaos – The Raw Founder
A personal reflection on navigating uncertainty and the critical importance of internal grounding in leadership, especially after experiencing professional or existential chaos.
Do Microwaves Destroy Nutrients?
This piece examines the persistent myth that microwaving food ruins its nutritional value and explains why it's often one of the healthiest cooking methods due to shorter cooking times and less water.
The Illusion of Progress
This article delves into the concept that not all advancements are truly beneficial, challenging the conventional belief that progress is inherently good and always leads to a better world.
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In Praise of Being Yourself
Entrepreneur Fabrice Grinda shares an essay on authenticity, personal freedom, and the importance of living life on your own terms.
This Aromatherapy Expert Swears It’s Life-Changing
Explores how natural scents may influence mood, stress levels, and even memory. Experts weigh in on the benefits of aromatherapy in our daily lives.
Can You Trust a Man by His Clothes?
A stylish and philosophical piece analyzing how fashion influences perception, trust, and identity in modern society.
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Gut Microbiome, Microbes & Mental Health: The Science of Stress
Emerging research shows that the microbes living in your gut may influence your stress levels, mood, and overall mental well-being. This article explores the gut-brain connection and the new wave of therapies aiming to improve mental health by targeting gut bacteria.
The 40-70 Rule: How to Make Decisions
A breakdown of General Colin Powell’s 40-70 decision-making framework: act when you have 40–70% of the information. It helps leaders avoid analysis paralysis while mitigating the risks of impulsive decisions.
10 Biohacking Trends for 2026 You Should Be Watching for Now
From glucose monitoring to brain stimulation and longevity-focused supplements, this article outlines cutting-edge biohacking innovations poised to shape health optimization in the near future.
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Sol Price: The Godfather of Costco, Walmart, and Modern Retail
Sam Walton said he borrowed more ideas from Sol Price than anyone else. Jim Sinegal of Costco said, “I didn’t learn a lot from Sol. I learned everything.” Jeff Bezos studied him. Home Depot echoed him. Sol Price is the most influential retailer you’ve never heard of. A man who never sought the spotlight, but whose legacy and lessons cover the entire landscape of modern retail.
Alibaba Cloud Founder Expects Big AI Shakeup After OpenAI Hype
In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview with Bloomberg, Alibaba Cloud Founder and Zhejiang Lab Director Wang Jian speaks about AI’s future, and his career journey.
Perplexity CEO: Browser Wars and Taking on Google
What prompted him to build his own browser? Why does he think Perplexity can beat Google and become the #1 browser? Is Perplexity building an operation system?
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A New Theory Could Finally Make Quantum Gravity a Reality—and Prove Einstein Wrong Researchers propose a radical approach to unify quantum mechanics and general relativity. The theory may lead to the elusive goal of quantum gravity and challenge Einstein’s well-established framework.
Why Medical Device Companies Should Be Bullish on AI
This article explores how AI is transforming the medical device industry—from diagnostics to real-time monitoring and predictive modeling.
Swarms of Tiny Nose Robots Could Clear Infected Sinuses
Scientists have created nano-sized robots capable of clearing blocked sinuses with incredible precision, offering hope to millions with chronic sinusitis.
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OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor: A Vision for AI’s Future
A conversation with Bret Taylor on leadership in AI, governance challenges, and future prospects.
Larry Fink: The U.S. Deficit Will ‘Overwhelm This Country’
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink warns of ballooning national debt and its potential economic consequences.
Marc Benioff’s Race to One Billion AI Agents
Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff outlines his strategy for deploying AI agents at massive scale across enterprises.
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Nanowerk: Programmable Shape-shifting Materials Explores groundbreaking developments in materials that can alter their shape in response to environmental stimuli, with potential applications across robotics, biomedicine, and aerospace.
Discover Magazine: Quantum Sensors Navigate by Earth's Magnetic Field Highlights new quantum sensors that could revolutionize navigation systems by using Earth's magnetic field, eliminating the need for GPS.
Google Research Blog: Teaching Machines the Language of Biology Discusses how large language models are being adapted to understand biological data at the single-cell level, enabling breakthroughs in healthcare and biology research.
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Marc Andreessen: Trump, Power, Tech, AI, Immigration & Future of America
Marc Andreessen is an entrepreneur, investor, co-creator of Mosaic, co-founder of Netscape, and co-founder of the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
Paul Singer - In Good Company
This week, Nicolai Tangen sat down with Paul Singer, legendary investor and founder of Elliott Investment Management, one of the world's most influential activist investors.
Singer shares insights from his remarkable career spanning several decades, discussing how activist investing works, why companies need external pressure for change, and his philosophy of never losing money. He opens up about major investment cases, while offering sharp observations on current markets, which he sees as "just about as risky as I've ever seen."
Naval Ravikant with Chris Williamson
Naval Ravikant is an entrepreneur, investor and co-founder of AngelList. What does it mean to win at the game of life? Is it tons of wealth, pure happiness, infinite time, or a loving family?
Today we explore the timeless question of what it means to truly live well. Expect to learn the true price of success, whether sacrificing your happiness is worth it, what advice Naval would give to his younger self, what the true source of unhappiness is for most people, how to overcome low self-esteem, what Naval would add to his ‘How To Get Rich’ thread, how to become comfortable being unapologetically selfish, what Naval sees as the next big trends in science and technology, his take on the escalating culture wars, how to get comfortable with death and overcoming grief, the best and worst ways to spend your wealth and much more.
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Is The Wellness Boom Reshaping Global Commercial Real Estate?
An analysis of how the wellness trend is transforming commercial real estate, with projections for significant growth in the coming years.
Mastering the art of decision-making
This piece discusses five steps to develop powerful next-gen decision-makers and how organizations can proactively enable better decision-making in future leaders.
2025: The Emergence of the New Zeitgeist?
An exploration of culture-shifting moments and their impact on future trends, discussing topics from Bitcoin to wellness.
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Regrets of the Dying – Bronnie Ware
People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone’s capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance.
What's the Best Workout For Longevity?
“NEAT is actually what helps people manage their overall body composition the most,” Dr. Galpin says, saying that examples of this type of physical activity include pacing while on the phone, taking the stairs instead of the elevator, doing household chores, gardening, and playing with your kids or pets.
12 lessons to overcome whatever is holding you back
This week’s insights: 12 Lessons To Overcome Whatever Is Holding You Back, How to Avoid Family Conflicts Over Inheritance, and Why We’re Less Happy in a Better World.
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I worked hard for 17 years to find 1 success
I did well enough financially in my 20s and 30s to save money, invest, look after my families expenses, start a business, get married and travel the world. At 24 I had all the basics that a middle class South Delhi boy usually has - an education, a roof over his head, plenty of food to survive and unconditional love (thank you mom and dad!).
The U.S. Equity Market is Special
For starters, the U.S. economy is the largest in the world by GDP, and it is powered by a huge breadth of industries. It is highly developed, highly productive, and highly innovative. The U.S. also has multiple attractive conditions that provide domestic companies with competitive advantages. It’s not perfect, but we have a well-connected and reliable infrastructure and transportation system across the country. We have abundant natural resources. And we have (mostly) established legal and regulatory frameworks that make it possible to (mostly) reliably conduct business, and by extension, understand and forecast the value of those businesses.
Kenneth Stanley - Greatness Without Goals
My guest today is Ken Stanley. Ken is a Professor in Computer Science and a pioneer in the field of neuroevolution. He is also the co-author of a book called, Why Greatness Cannot Be Planned, which details a provocative idea that setting big, audacious goals can reduce the odds of achieving something great. We discuss that revelation in detail and how to apply it in our day-to-day lives. Please enjoy this great discussion with Ken Stanley.
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Why you, personally, should want a larger human population
Resources are not static. Historically, as we run out of a resource (whale oil, elephant tusks, seabird guano), we transition to a new technology based on a more abundant resource—and there are basically no major examples of catastrophic resource shortages in the industrial age.
Why Americans Suddenly Stopped Hanging Out
Something’s changed in the past few decades. After the 1970s, American dynamism declined. Americans moved less from place to place. They stopped showing up at their churches and temples. In the 1990s, the sociologist Robert Putnam recognized that America’s social metabolism was slowing down.
Ancient Greek antilogic is the craft of suspending judgment
In Syracuse, 2,500 years ago, there was a famous teacher of rhetoric named Corax. This new discipline was in high demand: mastery of persuasive speaking, it was hoped, led to fame and wealth.
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Scientists Destroy Illusion That Coin Toss Flips Are 50–50
“We can be quite sure there is a bias in coin flips after this data set,” Bartoš says.
What happens to the brain during consciousness-ending meditation?
There’s a meditative state described in ancient Buddhist scriptures that is hard to imagine because it is not something – but nothing. Referred to as nirodha-samāpatti, it roughly translates as ‘the cessation of thought and feeling’, and it is the highest meditative state possible in Theravada Buddhism
This vibrating diet pill may trick the stomach into feeling full
Device cuts food consumption in pigs by 40%, but some experts say it’s unclear whether it will work for humans
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What Will Happen In 2024
As we enter 2024, the capital markets have found their footing and are moving higher. The Fed has taken interest rates as far as they want at this time and inflation has come down. It seems that a “soft landing” is likely. That is good news for the innovation economy because healthy capital markets are a necessary support system.
Ice baths boost sex drive
A group of 17 male and 8 female Czech Army soldiers who participated in 2 min freezing cold water immersion, followed by light exercise for rewarming, reported improvements in sexual satisfaction, reduction in waist size, and reduction in anxiety, compared to controls.
Master of Change: How to Excel When Everything Is Changing – Including You
From social disruptions like economic recessions, pandemics, and new technologies to individual disruptions like getting married, career transitions, and becoming a parent, we undergo change and transformation—both good and bad—regularly. Change is not the exception, it’s the rule. Yet we endlessly fight it, often viewing it as a threat to our stability and sense of self.
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