Building the Builders

The first principle behind "first principles"

The first principle behind "first principles"

The psychology of evil

The psychology of evil

A New Year’s dialogue with... my AI coaching app

A New Year’s dialogue with... my AI coaching app

Raising humanity's psychological ceiling Why I think ambitious builders are underserved, and why I've devoted my life to serving them

Raising humanity's psychological ceiling

What to Do with Our Selves: Transcend or Build? A conversation with Sasha Chapin and Gena Gorlin A recording from Dr. Gena Gorlin's live video

What to Do with Our Selves: Transcend or Build? A conversation with Sasha Chapin and Gena Gorlin

The math professor who invented Silicon Valley’s favorite sport My exchange with John Gill, the father of modern bouldering

The math professor who invented Silicon Valley’s favorite sport

Reflections upon turning 40 Today is my 40th birthday, and I have been feeling many feelings.

Reflections upon turning 40

Go for win-win, or you’ll get lose-lose How internalizing the builder's mindset improves your relationships

Go for win-win, or you’ll get lose-lose

What is ambition, actually? Some reflections on my book draft now that I've handed it off

What is ambition, actually?

My journey from ADHD skeptic to Adderall enthusiast And what it taught me about living with agency

My journey from ADHD skeptic to Adderall enthusiast

Leadership Therapy with Gena Gorlin and Jeff Matlow A recording from Dr. Gena Gorlin and Jeff Matlow's live video

Leadership Therapy with Gena Gorlin and Jeff Matlow

Rethinking attachment [Adapted from this 2022 Twitter thread, which I’m reposting here by popular demand]

Rethinking attachment

Sasha Chapin and Gena Gorlin compare philosophies of valuing, judging, and the self A recording from Dr. Gena Gorlin's live video

Sasha Chapin and Gena Gorlin compare philosophies of valuing, judging, and the self

Psychology of Ambition with Dr. Gena Gorlin A recording from Evgeny Shadchnev's live video

Psychology of Ambition with Dr. Gena Gorlin

A peek at how I'm building myself by writing a book on building ourselves by building Hope that's "meta" enough for you

A peek at how I'm building myself by writing a book on building ourselves by building

A Different and Better Way to Live, with Gena Gorlin Recording of Dr. Gena Gorlin and Evgeny Shadchnev’s Builder’s Mindset live video

A Different and Better Way to Live, with Gena Gorlin

How David Allen stumbled into "getting things done" Tidbits from my conversation with the world's best-known and best-loved productivity expert (a.k.a. "Mr. Lazy")

How David Allen stumbled into "getting things done"

On being married to Gena

On being married to Gena

"Must Love Dogs" How Loyal founder and CEO Celine Halioua sustains the energy to fight for human life extension, one canine at a time

"Must Love Dogs"

From “walking in the desert” to Escaping Flatland Why and how Henrik Karlsson raised his ambition

From “walking in the desert” to Escaping Flatland

The sound epistemics behind Boom's breaking of the sound barrier Welcome to today’s installment of “Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them.”

The sound epistemics behind Boom's breaking of the sound barrier

A dance with serendipity How Nicole Ruiz’s path from Twitter to VC to homemaker exemplifies “the life of the mind”

A dance with serendipity

Discussion thread #2: Your best examples of the "leaden mean"? Hello, dear readers!

Discussion thread #2: Your best examples of the "leaden mean"?

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 5th Installment A nugget of wisdom from my walk with Sahil Lavingia

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 5th Installment

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them

A thanks to the human This is a Thursday note edition of our Friday Note. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. The English language has a word for someone who, as a general trait, hates human beings and human nature: misanthropy. Moliere’s play The Misanthrope depicts its titular character, Alceste, as focused on people’s superficiality and hypocrisy. A better-known example might be Dickens’s Ebenezer Scrooge.

A thanks to the human

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 4th Installment The story of Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto—and why it's dedicated to his therapist

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 4th Installment

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 3rd installment “Every day I touched 50 faces” (Estée Lauder)

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them, 3rd installment

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them 2nd installment

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them 1st installment in a new series

Fantastic Builders and Where to Find Them