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Second Chances

No. 674 – March 29, 2026

Welcome to Brain Food, a weekly newsletter full of timeless ideas and insights you can use in life and work. (Read the archives). Not subscribed? Learn more and sign up.

Tiny Thoughts

We spend time chasing money, then spend money chasing time.


Forgive everything but malicious intent.

Nearly everyone deserves a second chance.


People don’t evaluate your reasoning. They evaluate you.

We reject a recommendation from someone we don’t like but embrace it from someone we admire.

If you want to persuade, sell yourself before you sell your ideas.

Insights

Zen teacher Gautama Siddhartha on making sense:

“In the sky, there is no distinction between east and west; people create distinctions in their own minds and then believe them to be true.”


Elon Musk, in The Book of Elon, on self-limiting:

“Most people self-limit their ability to learn. Just read books and talk to people. I didn’t study rocket engineering, I picked it up along the way.”


Author Vex King on authentic people:

“There’s a distinctive signature to authentic people: they prefer meaningful conversations with a few over shallow exchanges with many. Their love is demonstrated rather than declared. Their words and actions align, even when no one’s watching. They bring a quality of presence that makes you feel truly seen, and carry a sense of peace and joy that doesn’t depend on external validation.”

The Knowledge Project

You might never have heard of Harrison McCain, but I bet you’ve eaten his fries.

This is the story of how a farm boy became the French Fry King, without ever leaving his small town.

This is the story of Harrison McCain.

+ Listen and Learn: Spotify | YouTube | Apple Podcasts | Web/Transcript | X

A few of the Tiny Lessons I took away:

  • No job is too small. No task is below you.
  • “If you do not go after the business, someone else always will.”
  • The main difference between the entrepreneur and the manager is attitude.
  • Making money is the easy part; giving back to your community is a higher bar.
  • “There is no shame in hiring the wrong person. There is, however, shame in keeping him.”

Want more?

  • All the Tiny Lessons from this episode
  • For the obsessed: ~40 pages of my research notes, the speeding ticket story makes me laugh so hard.

Thanks for reading,

— Shane Parrish

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