Farnam Street
Mastering the best of what other people have already figured out
Michael Abrashoff was in his mid-thirties when he took command of the USS Benfold, a guided missile destroyer and one of the worst-performing ships in the navy. Despite her potency, the …
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” — Abraham Lincoln *** Your ability to think clearly determines the decisions you make and the …
“I am a person who listens for a living. I listen for wisdom, and beauty, and for voices not shouting to be heard.” *** Krista Tippett, the host of the compelling podcast On Being, is an incredible …
We recently asked our Members to recommend a single summer read, and why, and thought we might share some of their recommendations with you. Here are their choices and their reasoning: *** Different: …
In his book, Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday tells the story of Genghis Khan and how his openness to learning was the foundation of his success. The legend of Genghis Khan has echoed through history: A …
Ecology is the study of relationships and processes linking living things to the physical and chemical environment. Exciting, right? In the 1971 book The Closing Circle, Barry Commoner gives us a …
One of our goals when reading is to find and elucidate the key sentences in a book. Independent of whether we agree with these key sentences, we first need to digest them — to capture the …
Talent and resources aren’t always enough to succeed. Doing incredible things requires true passion. Sometimes a driven, inspired team can succeed against one with more talent and funding. *** In the …
Every two weeks, from 2007 to 2011, Yann Martel sent a book to then Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper. Each book was accompanied by a letter telling the PM why he might enjoy that particular …
Philosophy can be a little dry in concept. The word itself conjures up images of thinking about thought, why we exist, and other metaphysical ideas that seem a little divorced from the everyday world. …
Matthew Frederick teams up with Michael Preis to offer some important learnings from the world of business — which isn’t really a discipline in and of itself but rather, as they write in the …
“When you come to one of the many moments in life where you must give an account of yourself, provide a ledger of what you have been, and done, and meant to the world, do not, I pray, discount …
“The physical universe is subject to rational analysis and the methods of science. The spiritual universe is not. All of us have had experiences that are not subject to rational analysis. …
Alan Lightman, the physicist who brought us The Accidental Universe, has also written several works of fiction, including Einstein’s Dreams, presented as dreams Einstein might have had while working …
The Federal Aviation Administration had a meeting with Elon Musk they won’t forget. Musk met with them to discuss some approvals for the work one of his companies, SpaceX, was doing. The meeting …
A short post today that packs a punch. The liberating power of humility is one we’ve covered before. In fact, it’s a concept that is core to understanding your Circle of Competence. Now …