Shared a lot of wins publicly in 2021, so it feels appropriate to share the losses just as publicly.

Here are my 10 biggest Ls from 2021 (and what I learned from each one):
Dopamine Addiction

Humans were not made for social media—the dopamine hits are dangerous.

I fell victim.

On several occasions, I found myself constantly refreshing my notifications on a viral thread.

It was gross.

I’m learning to physically force separation to avoid it.
Hustle Culture Fail

I spent the better part of the last decade as a hustle culture aficionado.

Then I burned myself out and was totally incapable of thinking creatively.

I made a change. Now I:
• Work like a lion
• Sleep 8 hours
• Take more walks

My life & work have 10Xed.
Solana Fail

I invested in Solana early and was riding high when it hit $30+ in April—10X+ on my investment.

I sold it and thought I was the next Warren Buffett.

Then it hit $100, $200, & $250—as I stubbornly sat on the sidelines refusing to re-enter.

I am not Warren Buffett.
The Hedonic Treadmill

I tweeted this in May—and then failed to practice what I preached.

Every win felt a bit less exciting. It’s part of our biology, but it was no way to live.

Measure internally, not externally.
Job Rejection

In April and May, I got rejected for a few jobs after months of interviews.

It was a gut punch. I felt lost in the darkness.

In hindsight, I realized I had gotten overly-confident and needed a serving of humble pie.

Sometimes life gives you just what you need…
NFT Fail

In September, I fat-fingered and accidentally bought a mystery NFT pre-reveal for 2.5 ETH when the going price was 0.25 ETH.

Ouch. $9,000 mistake.

On the reveal, it turned out I got a rare one and I quickly sold it for 5 ETH.

Lesson: Rather be lucky than good!
Ignoring Smart Friends

I spent Q1 ignoring the fact that my smartest friends were all leaving jobs to build in Web3.

I convinced myself it was probably nothing and missed out on huge wins as a result.

If your smart friends are all doing something, it’s worth paying attention.
Low Time Leverage

I wasted a lot of time on low value activities that could have been outsourced to someone better suited to handle them.

I prioritized value capture vs. leverage on my time.

I now realize that time is our most precious resource—it has to be treated as such.
Overcommitted, Underdelivered

I am really bad at saying no.

In 2021, it led to my taking on too much—I overcommitted and underdelivered on several projects with friends.

I hate doing that, but it was a painful lesson learned.

Saying no is a superpower of effective people.
Zero Meditation

I planned on several occasions to develop a mindfulness practice in 2021—then I failed to follow through in every single instance.

I realized I needed to find a way to put some skin in the game—to make it painful to flake.

This is a work in progress…
We all love sharing our Ws, but I think it’s time we all started getting more comfortable sharing our Ls.

I hope this thread inspires you to embrace yours and do the same.

Follow me @SahilBloom for more in 2022!
And for anyone saying that a 10X on Solana isn’t an L, it certainly felt like one. The pain of “what might have been” is so real—missed gains are an awful feeling.

Especially when you reallocate into a total dud instead of riding the rocketship.
Update: Biggest L of 2021 was losing in my fantasy football semis after being up 23 going into last night with only the Miami defense left to play.

@NdamukongSuh pls advise.
Getting a lot of hilarious responses and heat on this thread. I’ll wear that.

The two best so far:

@Cokedupoptions: “My biggest L: I only made $99 million, short of my $100m goal. I also had to fly commercial once this year”

@ParikPatelCFA: “#1 losing your wife to me.”

🤣🤣🤣

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More from @SahilBloom

30 Dec
In 2021, I shared 85 threads on Twitter.

On business, finance, growth, writing, startups, frameworks, & more.

Here are my top threads of 2021 (and TLDRs of each):
The Most Powerful Paradoxes of Life

A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement that, when investigated, may prove to be true.

Life is full of paradoxes.

Once you become aware of them, you will find yourself empowered to use them to your advantage.
How to Win (Without Talent or Luck)

We all want to win.

Our definitions of “winning” vary—happiness and fulfillment to some, money and fame to others—but we all want to win.

You've been told that you can’t win without incredible talent (or sensational luck).

This is wrong...
Read 23 tweets
27 Dec
John D. Rockefeller would take regular breaks from his notoriously demanding schedule to mill about in his garden—it was his personal escape.

He knew that productivity required both activity AND recovery.

Lesson: When you sprint, sprint hard. When you rest, rest hard.
The biography of his life—Titan—is exceptional.

Worth it on audiobook or in physical form. Long, but a must for anyone interested in history or business.

Explores the good, the bad, and the ugly of the titan of American industry.
I’m becoming a deep believer in the power of rest to get unstuck and prime the mind for high performance.

Hustle culture lied to us.

The top performers in the world all understand the value of the escape.

I’ll be sharing more about my strategies here in the near future.
Read 8 tweets
26 Dec
The Feynman Technique—how to learn anything:
The Feynman Technique is a foundational learning method that prioritizes simplicity and depth of understanding.

It was developed by Richard Feynman—an American theoretical physicist who won the Nobel Prize in 1965 for his groundbreaking work in quantum electrodynamics.
So yes, you could say that Richard Feynman was intelligent...

But there are a lot of intelligent people in the world.

Feynman's true genius was found in his ability to convey extremely complex ideas in simple, elegant, digestible ways.
Read 15 tweets
24 Dec
Our small but mighty podcast continues to work its way up the charts…

Can we crack the Top-5 for Christmas?! Let’s send it! Image
Join 3,000+ builders in the Discord community! New ideas and good vibes all around! discord.gg/pfVsVSBa
Read 5 tweets
24 Dec
5 threads guaranteed to make your Christmas dinner conversation a bit more exciting:
Read 7 tweets
23 Dec
New Episode: The Unlimited Potential of Web3 with @alexisohanian

We dive in on lessons from Reddit, stories from Y Combinator, and why he's betting on community and web3.

Oh, and I finally got to show Alexis this photo of him lurking in a picture of me and @tim_cook!
Episode links are below!

Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the…

Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/1tnB9E…
Or watch the fun on YouTube! The @alexisohanian reaction to tasting @tequilakomos for the first time is priceless.

@joemarchese 👀
Read 5 tweets

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