“Those who have a ‘Why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘How’.” ― Viktor Frankl quoting Friedrich Nietzsche, Man’s Search for Meaning Let me guess: Viktor Frankl calls this feeling the “existential vacuum” in his famous book Man’s Search for Meaning. Frankl was a psychologist who survived the Holocaust, and in this book heContinue reading “You’re Not Burnt Out. You’re Existentially Starving.”
Tag Archives: Personal
The Joy and Pain of Writing a Book
You know that feeling when you see someone else succeed in a way you want to succeed? I call it the four stages of jealousy: One of my favorite mental models is to “Explore Your Emotions“. Most people instinctively avoid their emotions, especially negative ones. This mental model teaches you to stop and dig intoContinue reading “The Joy and Pain of Writing a Book”
To My Mom
I never do this for anyone before they die. But I’ll make one exception here. I have a tradition of writing a letter to my loved ones when they die. Dear Mama still makes me cry. To Zeus is my ode to the best dog. But I’ve always felt bad that one of the greatestContinue reading “To My Mom”
To Zeus
“I bid you beware,of giving your heart to a dog to tear.”— Rudyard Kipling, The Power of the Dog I remember how scared you were that first day we met. You were the dog that was “tough to adopt”. We knew your story, how badly you had been treated in a breeding mill, and thatContinue reading “To Zeus”
On Being a Father + Founder
One night after a particularly bad loss in one of my startups, I came home and my wife said, in what she meant to be reassuring but felt crushing at the time, “at least you’re a great dad.”
Dear Mama
“I wish I could take the pain awayIf you can make it through the night, there’s a brighter dayEverything will be alright if you hold onIt’s a struggle every day, gotta roll onAnd there’s no way I can pay you backBut my plan is to show you that I understandYou are appreciated.”— 2Pac, Dear MamaContinue reading “Dear Mama”
1,000 Haters
Every creator should know Kevin Kelly’s idea about 1,000 True Fans: “To be a successful creator you don’t need millions. You don’t need millions of dollars or millions of customers, millions of clients or millions of fans. To make a living as a craftsperson, photographer, musician, designer, author, animator, app maker, entrepreneur, or inventor youContinue reading “1,000 Haters”
Stay in the Pocket
Imagine you’re a quarterback. The center snaps the ball to you. Look up. Take three steps back. Two defenders are coming through the line, one on each side. Pause. What do you do next? Everything in your body tells you to run, escape. You want to get out of the pocket. But the right moveContinue reading “Stay in the Pocket”
The Decades Are Short But The Centuries Are Long
Labdoor is turning 10 years old this month! We’ve been through so much — moving cross-country to SF to join Rock Health, raising a seed round led by Mark Cuban, creating a passionate community of smart consumers, getting accepted into Y Combinator’s Winter 2015 class, fighting multiple lawsuits from supplement companies, raising a Series A ledContinue reading “The Decades Are Short But The Centuries Are Long”