So go ahead, break stuff. Break yourself on the once-hard edges of yourself. And recycle the debris into the foundation of your future.
Gym Jones - Knowledge - Remake Remodel
Inspiring. Read the whole thing, then go out and break yourself. Everyday. I am…
I recently finished a book in which one scientist references the Handy Hammer Syndrome:
‘When you’ve got a hammer in your hand, everything looks like a nail.’
He’s referencing some research by a student who claimed (against established thought) that early man evolved into runners, but the scientist knew the student was an avid runner himself (so he was using the hammer in his hand).
Let’s look at a few cases* of the Handy Hammer in web-tech:
In each case, these companies are using the hammers in their hands to bang at problems that may actually need a screwdriver, or a wrench… or no tool at all.
Though it’s not necessarily the right approach, it’s pretty natural. Think about anything you’ve done in your life, any problem you’ve solved. You likely have a few standard answers or remedies for any given situation… but that doesn’t mean it’s the right solution.
People rely on their hammers (their strengths), settle into habits and consequently develop a weak tool-belt for creatively solving problems.
Think about yourself, are you using the same hammer for every problem? Next time think twice and make sure you’re using the right tool for the job…
*Note: These companies have more than one hammer, but I picked these cases as they are the most current examples.
Smaller up-front investments create a greater range of exit strategies where everyone wins. For example, if a business raises a small amount of initial capital, then exceeds its early milestones and decides to swing for the fences, it can then raise a larger sum at a higher price, while preserving ownership. If the business is not ready for rapid growth, it preserves the option for an exit at around $50 million, while still delivering a high return for investors. This dual-track model is less available to companies that raise large amounts of money early.
The Hottest VC No One Has Ever Heard Of - robgo.org
Good read for early stage entrepreneurs, you’ve got to walk before you can run and micro VC’s are an exciting trend to help. I’m happy to be talking with a few about HomeField.
Gillespie appreciates the way sports culture has influenced American students. It discourages whining, and rewards self-discipline. It teaches self-control and its own form of justice, which has a more powerful effect than anything taught in the classroom.
Op-Ed Columnist - The Sporting Mind - NYTimes.com via @jpbrunelle
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’ve learned so many valuable lessons in my athletic career that help me in my career and personal life. I think everyone can benefit from the rigors of sport.
We are human. Our attention is fragmentary. We get excited. We get tired. We get stupid. Of course, you can’t make adventure safe, for then it’s not adventure… But we want to go up. We want to conquer. I don’t mind dying. I just don’t want to do it today. And I’d hate like hell to have my gravestone read: “Here lies a moron.
It’s a known risk… But the odds against it are pretty good, especially when compared to the rewards of being an astronaut, so they’re willing to take the chance. In fact, they FIGHT for it… as would a lot of us. But getting the public to buy this is a lot tougher, especially a public that expects every risk in their lives to be mitigatable to zero. It will be interesting to see if NASA tries to take on this challenge, explaining to the public that doing bold things isn’t about engineering risk to zero. Shit happens, and if we just want to restrict ourselves to things where shit can’t happen… we’re not going to do anything very interesting.
Dan Canin, a Lockheed test pilot on the Columbia space shuttle accident
I’m reading Deep Survival and it is filled with great quotes like this that go beyond survival situations. I like this one as it relates to risk.
Where would we be without the risk-takers - the explorers, the pioneers the entrepreneurs - of our society?
i know that i can compete with the best in the world now, and i will know that forever.
…But he still thought it self-evident that one had to do what was right; he had never learned how people could want to do otherwise; he had learned only that they did. It still seemed simple and incomprehensible to him: simple that things should be right, and incomprehensible that they weren’t.
Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
Just started reading Atlas Shrugged and loved this passage, because I too, believe it.
myself
4wheeling down the cape
“I can take off my shoes if I want to. I’m sheriff of this coffee shop on foursquare.”
Murder Mystery - Change My Mind
Discovered this band on the hype machine. i’m digging this.
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MICK FANNING hawaii
Shutterbug - Big Boi - Sir Lucious Leftfoot
great record, it’s the artist of the weekend on...
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