No. 647 – September 21, 2025
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Tiny Thoughts
Avoiding stupidity is easier than seeking brilliance.
Most arguments are ego competitions disguised as truth-seeking.
Learning to say “you’re probably right” will save you a lot of time and energy.
The people who get the most done don’t agonize over decisions. It’s not because they have better judgment. They’ve just structured their lives so being wrong isn’t expensive.
When mistakes are cheap, you can move fast and fix what doesn’t work. When mistakes are expensive, you overthink everything and still choose wrong.
This is why startups can run circles around big companies. It’s not because they’re smarter, but because being wrong isn’t expensive.
Insights
Authors Phil Stutz and Barry Michels on the capacity to take pain:
“Pain is the universe’s way of demanding that you continue to learn. The more pain you can tolerate, the more you can learn.”
Dr. Orison Swett Marden on habits:
“The beginning of a habit is like an invisible thread, but every time we repeat the act, we strengthen the strand, add to it another filament, until it becomes a great cable and binds us irrevocably in thought and act.”
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Filmmaker Christopher Nolan on pouring yourself into your work:
“Every film I do, I have to believe that I’m making the best film that’s ever been made. Films are really hard to make. They are all-consuming. So it had never occurred to me there were people doing it who weren’t trying to make the best film that ever was. Why would you otherwise? Even if it’s not going to be the best film that’s ever been made, you have to believe that it could be. You just pour yourself into it and when it affects someone that way, that is a huge thrill for me—huge thrill. I feel like I have managed to wrap them the up in it way I try to wrap myself up.”
The Knowledge Project
Lulu Cheng Meservey is one of the sharpest minds in communications today.
Lulu is the go-to strategist for CEOs, founders, and policymakers navigating high-stakes moments.
In this episode, she explains how to grab attention in a noisy world filled with AI-slop, appeal to human psychology, and stop the haters.
Whether you’re running a business or simply posting online, Lulu offers lessons you can apply today or far into the future.
+ Listen now on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Web/Transcript/Key Ideas | YouTube
Outliers
Fred Smith founded FedEx on an idea everyone told him would fail and built it into an $88 billion empire that changed how the world moves.
In this episode, we dive into how he built FedEx and the lessons he learned along the way.
+ Listen now on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Web/Transcript/Key Ideas
Thanks for reading,
— Shane Parrish