GONDER

We Are All One

I haven't felt this connected since I saw Avatar in 2010.

 

If You Thought You Were in Good Shape...

...it might be worth reconsidering your limits. This video blew my mind.

 

 

Sports that Take Us to Hell and Back

Some people like watching and playing basketball, football, baseball, soccer (futbol). I liked playing them at recess with friends when I was a kid, but I've never liked watching them. I've never liked talking about "the game" with "the guys" while "hanging out." Maybe something's wrong with me, or maybe it just wasn't a big part of my childhood so I feel very little attachment to these types of sports. There's nothing wrong with them. I think the individual athletes are amazingly inspiring. Jeremy Lin stuns me with his story of triumph and determination, but not with his game-winning three-pointers.

The types of sports I like to watch and play are the sports that push the human body and soul to its absolute limits and then some: racing and fighting. Not car racing; running, climbing, swimming, hurdling, skating, etc. Not battle bots; MMA, boxing, pancrase, wrestling, etc. These are the sports that take humans back thousands of years to their most primal, instinctive state, and these are the sports that leave the least up to chance. These are the sports that require the athlete to engage 100% physically, to train for him or herself and with otherworldly focus. These are the sports that push forth the limits of human potential and show just how unlimited it really is.

Not to say that Michael Jordan didn't show something about human potential, but only to say that there's a different ethic when the only things on your mind is the finish line and the deep burning hellish pain in your body. 

Winston Churchill said it: "When you're going through hell, keep on going." Sounds a little like Jason Lezac in the final 100 meters of the men's relay in the '08 Beijing Olympic Games.

A Nation that Continues to Be Built by Immigrants

From AnnaLee Saxenian's The New Argonauts (bolding is mine):

"Silicon Valley's skilled immigrants have been quick to catch the entrepreneurial bug. Unfortunately, it is difficult to get accurate estimates of ethnic or immigrant entrepreneurship in technology industries. The standard way to measure immigrant entrepreneurship is to examine the 'self-employed' category in the U.S. Census. Although this may provide a good approximation for owner-run businesses in traditional industries, it almost certainly leads to a significant undercount in technology sectors because so many companies are funded with angel or venture capital--and hence are not fully owned by the founding entrepreneur. Identifying businesses with CEOs having Chinese, Indian, or Korean surnames in a Dunn & Bradstreet database of technology firms started since 1980 provides a more accurate estimate of ethnic entrepreneurship in Silicon Valley. These companies collectively accounted for over $25 billion in sales and close to 100,000 jobs.



Like their native-born counterparts, most highly skilled immigrants aspire to become entrepreneurs, and Silicon Valley's open labor markets allow them to gain a range of managerial and entrepreneurial experiences before striking out on their own. By 2001 over half of Silicon valley's foreign-born professionals reported that they had worked in a start-up company, either part time or full time, and 62 percent reported that they planned to start a business on a full-time basis--compared to only 46 percent of U.S.-born professionals. Nonetheless, there is little difference in the way that skilled immigrants and their U.S.-born counterparts start technology companies. The majority of both foreign and U.S.-born entrepreneurs incorporate their firms in the United States; almost all raise money initially from personal savings and angel investors, and in subsequent rounds from venture capital firms; and they raise comparable amounts of capital. Both groups rank 'access to investors' as the most significant barrier they face in raising capital for their start-ups. Immigrant-run firms go public at the same rate as those started by U.S.-born entrepreneurs...



...Skilled immigrants who experience limits to their professional advancement now have many alternatives, including starting their own companies or returning to their home countries.



In short, by the turn of the century skilled immigrants in Silicon Valley were starting technology companies at the same rate as their native-born counterparts. Foreign-born engineers and scientists learned the SV model of entrepreneurship quickly, and successfully combined their technological capabilities with the venture-financed, high-growth business model that distinguishes the U.S. technology sector. Ethnic professional associations and social networks in turn allowed them to mobilize resources collectively, while simultaneously creating shared identities as engineers-turned-entrepreneurs and as part of the broader technical community."





So why do we continue to kick out our most talented, skilled, risk-tolerant young people? The Obama administration has created an Entrepreneurs-in-Residence program to help accelerate the reform, since Congress has thus far failed to act on all-things-startup-visa. Hopefully, we can take a page our of Start-Up Chile's book and embrace the inevitably international nature of the global entrepreneurship and venture capital ecosystem.

Interesting Thought

"The faster you move, the slower time passes, the longer you live." -Peter Diamandis

Just In Case You Were Having Doubts about the Power of Human Potential...

 

Charity Done Well and the Power of Storytelling

'Nuff said.

 

 

My Workout Schedule through Early April

If you read this blog, you know I like exercise, coffee, protein shakes, etc. I genuinely enjoy them for their intrinsic value.

People keep asking me what my workout schedule is, so I'm deciding to post it here so I can just link it instead of having to explain it over and over. Chirag showed me how valuable this can be.

In case you're wondering what sort of "plan" or methodology this is, it's essentially a combination of Leangains, Tim Ferriss' 4-Hour-Body plan to benchpress 300#, and a reinstatement of Crossfit around late March and early April. I eat about 80-90% paleo six days a week and like big meals. I'm not a stellar athlete but I take my health seriously and believe that if you want to keep your inner game sharp, you ought to keep your outer game sharp. The below workouts are all interspersed with other fun activities like aikido and yoga, but I consider those more spiritual than physical in nature, so all the "workouts" below are purely for physical conditioning purposes. With that, here's the plan for the next few weeks:

 

-

Week of 2/13:

workout #1

5x2 deadlifts @ 315# 

2x2 flat bench @ 95# dumbells 

2x2 incline bench @ 85# dumbells 

dips for fun

workout #2

5x2 front-squats @ 225# 

3x10 slow pullups to deadhang 

3x10 slow chinups to deadhang 

kips for fun

-

Week of 2/20:

workout #1

5x3 deadlifts @ 315# 

2x1 flat bench @ 100# dumbells

2x1 incline bench @ 90# dumbells

dips for fun

workout #2

5x3 front-squats @ 225# 

2x6 pullups @ 45# 

2x5 chinups @ 45# 

kips for fun

-

Week of 2/27:

workout #1

4x4 deadlifts @ 315# 

4x4 benchpress @ 225# 

dips for fun

workout #2

4x4 front-squats @ 225# 

4x4 pullups @ 45# 

4x4 chinups @ 45#

kips for fun

-

Week of 3/5:

workout #1

5x5 deadlifts @ 315#

5x5 benchpress @ 225#

dips for fun

workout #2

5x5 front-squats @ 225# 

5x5 pullups@ 45# 

5x5 chinups @ 45# 

kips for fun

-

Week of 3/12:

workout #1

6x6 deadlifts @ 315#

6x6 benchpress @ 225#

dips for fun

workout #2

6x6 front-squats @ 225#

6x6 pullups @ 45#

6x6 chinups @ 45#

kips for fun

-

Week of 3/19 (conditioning):

every day workout while traveling (no access to gym):

jog/sprint + 100 burpees AFAP (burpee pullups = ideal) + tons of stretching 

-

Week of 3/26 (conditioning):

every day workout while traveling (no access to gym):

jog/sprint + 100 burpees AFAP (burpee pullups = ideal) + tons of stretching

-

Week of 4/2 following week (begin crossfit again):

workout #1: 

1x1 powerclean @ 185#

1x1 powerclean @ 195#

1x1 powerclean @ 205#

3xmax weighted dips @ 45#

Elizabeth (21, 15, 9) squatcleans @ 135# / dips @ bodyweight

workout #2

1x1 pushpress @ 135# 

1x1 pushpress @145# 

1x1 pushpress @ 155# 

1x1 deadlift @ 315#

1x1 deadlift @ 325#

1x1 deadlift @ 335#

Diane (21, 15, 9) deadlifts @ 225# / handstand pushups @ bodyweight 

workout #3

1x1 frontsquat @ 225#

1x1 frontsquat @ 235#

1x1 frontsquat @ 245#

3xmax weighted chinups @ 45#

Fran (21, 15, 9) thrusters @ 95# / pullups @ bodyweight

workout #4

long slow jog on weekend with intermittent sprints

-

Week of 4/9: plan workouts for Spring and beginning of summer based on performance of 4/2 week.

-

The purpose of all the heavy low-rep weight-lifting in the first several weeks is to complete a six-month cycle of strength-building that I began in order to be able to function at the level of strength Crossfit requires. Crossfit changed my life in the summer of 2011 and I highly recommend it to anyone looking to amp their game and rediscover their killer instinct.

The strength gains included in the plan above are all predicated on the assumption that I can average 200+ grams of protein per day, 2500+ calories per day, and 7+ hours of sleep per night. I'm usually pretty good at this, especially when it comes to the eating. :)

What gets measured gets done.

Radical Transparency, A Workplace at Once Maoist and Randian, and the Destruction of Ego

A close friend recently sent me this New Yorker article about Ray Dalio, who heads up Bridgewater. Super interesting. Reminds me of the Radical Honesty bit in Esquire and the bit on Fernando Flores and the Power of Words in Fast Company, both of which are absolutely worth reading. I've included a few bits from the New Yorker article below (bolding is mine):

"Dalio’s philosophy has created a workplace that some call creepy. Last year, Dealbreaker, a Wall Street Web site, picked up a copy of the Principles and made fun of a section in which Dalio appeared to compare Bridgewater to a pack of hyenas feeding on a young wildebeest. In March, AR, a magazine that covers hedge funds, quoted a former colleague of Dalio’s saying, “Bridgewater is a cult. It’s isolated, it has a charismatic leader and it has its own dogma.” The authors of the article noted that Dalio’s “emphasis on tearing down an individual’s ego hints at the so-called struggle groups of Maoism,” while his search for “human perfection devoid of emotion resembles the fantasy world in Ayn Rand’s ‘The Fountainhead.’”
...

"Once a tape recorder had been switched on, Jensen, McCormick, and Dalio discussed the possible promotion of an internal candidate to a senior-management role. McCormick, a soft-spoken forty-five-year-old who studied engineering at West Point, argued that the candidate’s prior experience at a big Wall Street firm indicated that he could probably do the job. Dalio disagreed. An investment bank is a “totally different world,” he said. But, rather than continue the discussion, he asked one of his assistants to call in the candidate. One rule of radical transparency is that Bridgewater employees refrain from saying behind a person’s back anything that they wouldn’t say to his face.

The man arrived and stood before Dalio’s desk. Dalio explained what the discussion was about and said, “I don’t imagine that you would be a good fit for the job.” The man took a seat, and Dalio and McCormick continued their discussion about his qualifications. The candidate explained his experience on Wall Street and said he thought he could do the job well. Dalio leaned back in his chair, looking skeptical. The employee didn’t get the promotion."

...

'Transcendental meditation, which he took up following a trip to India by the Beatles, also helped his work habits. Most mornings before going to the office, he still meditates. Demonstrating his technique, he sat back in his office chair, closed his eyes, and clasped his hands in front of him. “It’s just a mental exercise in which you are clearing your mind,” he said. “Creativity comes from open-mindedness and centeredness—seeing things in a nonemotionally charged way.”'
...

"In April, an article in New York ridiculed Dalio’s Principles, saying that they read “as if Ayn Rand and Deepak Chopra had collaborated on a line of fortune cookies.” It also accused him of running Bridgewater like a cult. “I’ve been surprised that there’s been so much controversy about us having such clearly set-out principles, especially since they’re all about being truthful and transparent to do good work and have meaningful relationships,” Dalio wrote to me subsequently. “Most of the people who don’t like us having them haven’t read them—they just assume that us having a lot of principles makes us a cult. That’s O.K. I figure that the people who matter to us will take the time to read them and form their own opinions and those who don’t care enough to read them don’t matter to us.”

"Dalio may protest too much. The word “cult” clearly has connotations that don’t apply to an enterprise staffed by highly paid employees who can quit at any moment. But Bridgewater’s headquarters are in the woods, isolated from any other financial institution; Dalio is a strong-willed leader; and the employees do use their own vocabulary—Dalio’s vocabulary. Bob Elliott, a twenty-nine-year-old Harvard graduate who has worked at Bridgewater for six years, told me earnestly, “Once you understand how the machine works, you have the ability to take that and study and apply it across markets.” It’s also the case that in the time I spent at the firm I saw senior people criticizing subordinates—but not the reverse.

In his Principles, Dalio acknowledged that his firm can seem strange to outsiders and newcomers: “Since Bridgewater’s culture is very different from what is typical in the world at large, people often encounter culture shock when they start here.” In part to minimize this shock, for years Bridgewater recruited young men and women straight out of college. (Harvard, Princeton, and Dartmouth were favorite targets.) But the firm’s in-your-face attitude—and the relentless pressure to perform—takes its toll. “We get a lot of people who self-select out of that pretty quickly,” Michael Partington, a recruiter at Bridgewater, said to me. Within two years of arriving at Bridgewater, about a quarter of new hires have quit or been let go.

...

Like many successful financiers, Dalio justifies capitalism and his place in it as a Darwinian process, in which the over-all logic of the system is sometimes hidden. This is actually what the mention, in his Principles, of hyenas savaging a wildebeest was about. “Is this good or bad?” he wrote. Like “death itself, this behavior is integral to the enormously complex and efficient system that has worked for as long as there has been life.” Of course, this view conveniently ignores the argument that hedge funds, through their herd behavior, have contributed to speculative bubbles, in tech stocks, oil, and other commodities. Even some defenders of the industry concede that the problem is real and potentially calamitous. “There is a basis for the argument that hedge funds add economic value,” Andrew Lo, an economist at M.I.T. who runs his own hedge fund, says. “At the same time, they create systemic risks that have to be weighed against those positives.”

Check out the full list of Ray Dalio's Principles and values by which he runs his company here...that is, if you're into that sort of thing. Seems kinda nuts to me...but interesting nonetheless.

Quotes to Live By

A few of my favorites:

"If you're going through hell, keep going."  - Winston Churchill "It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat." - Theodore Roosevelt, "Citizenship in a Republic," Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910 "All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's possible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer."  - Niccolo Machiavelli "Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality. It is the words that speak boldly of your intentions. And the actions which speak louder than the words. It is making the time when there is none. Coming through time after time after time, year after year after year. Commitment is the stuff character is made of; the power to change the face of things. It is the daily triumph of integrity over skepticism." - Abraham Lincoln "If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is."  - Charles Bukowski