🚫🙈 TL;DR
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes.” Smart Investors study history, read books, understand strategy, and follow principles.
*Click linked names to ask for an introduction. Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I earn commission if you purchase.
💥📚 Must Read:
The Upstate Unleashed keynote featured Nasir Ali (CEO, Upstate Venture Connect) and Brad Feld (Partner, Foundry Group). The book recommendations were outstanding during their fireside chat. Zach Marshall (Head of Business Development, Accrete.ai) and I scribed so we could share them with you.
- The Startup Community Way by Brad Feld
- More Good Jobs by Martin Babinec (Chairman, Upstate Venture Connect)
- Antifragile by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
- The Fifth Discipline by Peter Senge
- The Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank
- The Lean Startup by Eric Reis
Interested in joining a Book Club focused on Startup Communities? Join the WNY Startup Community Slack and DM me! We’re reading The Startup Community Way and More Good Jobs is next.
⏪🕰 Must Try:
My yoga instructor says, “Stay on your own mat.“
Comparing your life, financial situation, or career, to others is masochistic. Compare your current state, to your past state. Analyze how your principles and habits effected your results.
✈🔎 Must Watch: (6 min)
The Strategic Reconnaissance “Speed Check” by Major Brian Shul, USAF (Ret.) is a classic tale among aviators. If you’re short on time you can read it here.
The SR-71 is the pinnacle of manned, high altitude, high speed, aeronautical flight. It’s 35 year career helped to fend off nuclear war. Unmanned Systems might exceed its capabilities – but they will never create the same lore.
If the “Speed Check” made you chuckle, dig deeper. Unfortunately, the wildest stories are lost to history. They were only whispered to other squadmates in the ready room.
👨🎤🎧 Must Listen: (>1 hour)
When I need focus, I put on my headphones and instrumental mixes. YouTube creators often segment their videos to highlight track and artists names. It’s a great way to expand your musical horizons.
- ૐ Psytrance Mix March 2018 (Psytrance)
- chill beats to quarantine to (LoFi Hip Hop)
- Travel Dos (Space Rock)
- Night Music (Downtempo Ambient)
- Darksynth / Cyberpunk / Dark Electro Mix ‘SINNERS II’ (Dark Synth)
- ‘Back To The 80’s’ (Vaporwave / Synthwave)
- RAGNARÖK (Viking & Nordic Folk)
👑🐕 Must See: (1 min)
/r/historymemes sorted by Top – All Time.
Pro-Tip: Use Reddit Enhancement Suite, ‘x’ expands the thread, ‘j’ moves you down, ‘k’ moves you up.
💲📈 Must Subscribe: (~60 min)
Patrick O’Shaughnessy sources outstanding investors and thinkers for Invest Like The Best. The conversations are informal but information dense. I’ve never made it through an episode without forwarding it to someone in my network. There are great show notes on his blog. 15,000,000 downloads and counting.
🧠💬 Closing Thoughts:
You’ve rehashed and rehearsed your personal narrative many times. That doesn’t mean it’s true. Stories and behaviors useful at one point in our life, are not always the ones that allow us growth in the future.
In other words, “Past performance is no guarantee of future results.”
Take a moment and think about your autobiography. Is there a part of it that limits you? Can you reframe your retelling in a way that encourages your growth?
Block some time on your calendar, sit with your history (or a therapist), apply an analysis framework. Based on what you find, what strategy can you invest in to carry you FORWARD?
With kindness and respect,
Clark
p.s. Which format do you prefer, last week’s “vertical theme” or this week’s “horizontal theme”? Please reply and tell me why.
✅Action Items:
🔲 Get comfortable being uncomfortable
🔲 Forward to a friend
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