The greats in every field follow this mantra to perfect their craft. The post Practice Analytically, Perform Intuitively appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Years ago, I realized that the Bible is the foundational book of Western civilization. If I was going to be an educated person, I needed to know what it said. The post How I’ve Studied the Bible appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
My goal is simple: Be a man of my word. Do what I say I'm going to do, when I say I'm going to do it. That means showing up on schedule, communicating clearly, and getting things done on time. The post Own It Mentality appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Under a secular mindset, intuition is all about you — your wants, needs, passions, and desires. A heavenly, God-inspired intuition is different. The post A Divine Intuition appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
We’ve lost touch with the ultimate purpose of education: to transform our being and improve our character. The liberal arts are the ends, not the means. The post Where the Liberal Arts Went Wrong appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
When I hate writing, it’s because I love it so much. An experienced writer is somebody who knows when the hatred is temporary. The post I Hate Writing (and So Will You) appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Ambitious people don’t just need peers. They need mentors. They need people who will encourage them to pursue hard and meaningful projects. The post Ambitious People Need Each Other appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
A mark of maturity is surrendering to the person you actually are instead of the one you wish you were. The post Surrendering to Your Nature appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
I’ve been listening the wrong way my entire life — with just my ears. True listening is a totalizing, full-body experience. The post Learning to Actually Listen appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
The sensitivity of our senses ebbs and flows based on who we’re with and where we are. If you’re looking to be more perceptive, start by changing your environment. The post Sensitivity Isn’t Static appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
This year was an emotional odyssey. At times, it was tormenting, at others intoxicating. Here, I share my joys and struggles, my dreams and regrets. 2022 completely changed my life. The post Annual Review 2022 appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
The core concepts are simple. The implementation is borderline excessive. The post The TWA Hotel appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Too many people waste years in hollow ‘entrepreneurship’ classes. Instead, we need to develop the domain expertise that leads to entrepreneurial ideas. The post What I Got Wrong About Business appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
The Labor Theory of Value argues that the value of a product or a service is determined by the amount of labor required to produce it. If so, something that takes 100 hours to produce is worth 10x more than something that takes 10 hours. One issue with the Labor Theory is it often causes The post The Counterfactual Theory of Value appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
There are two ways to write: The Printer Method and the Pixel Method. With the Printer Method, you write and rewrite every sentence until it’s perfect. Nail the first sentence, then the second, and so on. Perfection is the name of the game so you don’t advance to a new sentence until everything before it The post How Should You Write? appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
I have a confession to make: I leave most parties early because I’d rather read a book. That’s not what I tell people though. Usually, I make up an excuse. Something like “Oh, I have early plans in the morning.” I don’t like being deceptive, but there’s no socially acceptable way to say “I love The post Intellectual Loneliness appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
When I started working out, I hated it. I wanted to gain muscle but dreaded working out. Eventually, a friend got fed up with my laziness and told me what I needed to hear: “If you want to build the habit, go to the gym every single day without fail.” So that’s what I did. The post Should You Write Every Day? appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
People don’t read as much as they say they do. This trend is accelerating too. I’m in a friend group of intellectually curious people, and just about everybody says they’re reading fewer books than they used to. But at the risk of sounding like your 5th grade English teacher, reading books is the easiest way The post People Don’t Actually Read appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Gyms were once communal places. Nobody wore headphones. People helped each other out and talked between sets. Today, things have changed. Everybody is plugged into their own virtual reality world where they craft their desired mood and intensity level, which definitely gives them a productivity boost. But headphones come at the cost of human connection. The post Lifting Alone appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
My friend Chris Sparks says: “When it comes to creating your environment, assume you have free will. When it comes to living in it, assume you have no free will.” Here’s an example: I lost my love of working out during the pandemic. Before it started, I worked out at a nice, high-energy gym in The post Thoughts on Free Will appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Rob Henderson is one of my favorite up-and-coming writers. I like him because he’s one of those people who doesn’t fit into a category. He’s a Ph.D. candidate in psychology, but I met him in a book club about technological stagnation. He’s spent years in the academy, first at Yale and now at Cambridge, but The post Rob Henderson: An Internet Academic appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
This week, I have two guests. Both are affiliated with Synthesis, a new kind of online school where kids learn through games and simulations. One is Chrisman Frank, the CEO of Synthesis. The other is Ana Lorena Fabrega, who is their Chief Evangelist. Here’s the backstory: A few years ago, Elon Musk asked the co-founder The post Chrisman Frank and Ana Lorena Fabrega: How Childhood Education Will Change appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Ash Fontana is an entrepreneur, investor, and author. As an entrepreneur, he was only of the early employees at an online investing platform called AngelList. From there, he became the Managing Director at Zetta, the first investment fund focused on artificial intelligence. Now, he’s the author of the AI-First Company. This conversation is about that The post Ash Fontana: Building Artificial Intelligence appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
The Paradox of Reading: The books you read will profoundly change you even though you’ll forget the vast majority of what you read. The Paradox of Writing: Great writing looks effortless. But because the ideas are so clear, casual readers don’t appreciate how much time it took to refine them. The Paradox of Creativity: Your The post The Paradoxes of Modern Life appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
My guest today is Li Jin, the founder and managing partner at an early-stage venture capital firm called Atelier. Before recording this introduction, I didn’t know what an atelier was, so I looked it up and it’s right on brand for Li: it’s defined as a workshop or a studio, especially one used by an artist or designer. And The post Li Jin: Creating the Creator Economy appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
Every city changes you. San Francisco tells you to be powerful, LA tells you to be famous, Boston tells you to be smarter, and New York tells you to be richer. In the words of Paul Graham, “every city whispers something.” So when you choose to live in a city, you’re also choosing what kind The post What Networks Whisper appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
My guest today is Zena Hitz, a tutor at St John’s and the author of an excellent book called Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life. Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning for its own sake, through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional The post Zena Hitz: Liberal Arts Thinking appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
I have two guests today: Tiago Forte and Will Mannon. Tiago is my business partner and the creator of an online course called Building a Second Brain. The two of us record a podcast like this every year to reflect on what we’ve learned about the online education industry. And this time, we invited our The post Tiago Forte & Will Mannon: Building Cohort-Based Courses appeared first on David Perell.| David Perell
David Perell interviews Gagan Biyani, CEO of Maven. Listen now.| David Perell
David shows why compression is the root of expression and how to improve your writing with compression. Read here.| David Perell
Have you ever met somebody who was trying really hard to convince you that they’re somebody they’re not, and then you get to know them and you like them but not for the person they’re trying to be? That’s how I feel about Buenos Aires. A week there piqued my curiosity, and at the risk| David Perell
David shares how to maximize serendipity in your life through writing. Read here.| David Perell
Whenever you're trying to solve a problem, ask yourself: "What answer am I missing because it seems too stupid?"| David Perell
In honor of my 28th birthday, here are 28 pieces of life advice.| David Perell
Think better. Grow your audience. Accelerate your career.| David Perell
Austin is a mediocre city, but a great place to live.| David Perell
David explores how Christianity and religion shape Peter Thiel's worldview and success. Read here.| David Perell
There is an epidemic of people who bash Christianity but haven’t read the Bible. No matter where you stand on religion, if you don’t know what the Bible actually says, it’s time to change that.| David Perell
Imitate, then Innovate is my motto for improving at any skill. It’s counterintuitive, but the more we imitate others, the faster we can discover our unique style.| David Perell
I’ll start this Annual Review by reflecting on 2021. I’ll share highlights and reflect on the goals I set at the beginning of the year. Later, I’ll outline how I plan to improve my life and set a new vision for 2022.| David Perell
David's 2020 year-end review of his business. Read here.| David Perell
David explains how the American economy has prioritized cheap functionality over meaningful beauty and what that means for Americans. Read here.| David Perell
David explores how Christianity forms the basis of Western thought, even among the non-religious. Read here.| David Perell
David explains how philosophers think and how you can use their techniques to improve your own thinking. Read here.| David Perell
David's essay explores why the liberal arts are valuable how to save them from obscurity. Read here.| David Perell
From music, we learn what humanity has always known but schools have forgotten: learning begins with inspiration.| David Perell
It’s okay to not know everything. The world rewards people who develop expertise. When that expertise is unique, it’s developed through direct experience and deliberate reflection.| David Perell
I visited Montreal for the first time. Here are my general impressions of the city, based on walks around town and casual conversations with friends: Culture: My favorite thing about Montreal is its commitment to culture. French is the dominant language, which is partially why it feels more like Europe than North America. Restaurant names must| David Perell
I’ve always struggled with commitment. In a world as grand as ours, shouldn’t we try to experience it all? Change it up. Visit every country. Try a bunch of careers. The menu of life is vast, and it’d be a shame to only order a single entrée. When I say I was allergic to restraint,| David Perell