If you’re out of the loop - the US government has a $31 trillion problem.

And only a few days to fix it before tanking the economy.

Here’s “Debt Ceiling for Dummies” (and how I think it all goes down)🍿 Alright, so here’s the deal:

The US has until June 1st to raise our $31.4 trillion debt ceiling.

If we don't?

The US defaults and the world goes wild.

But how did we get here? And what happens next?

Let's get to it...

Generic life advice is usually terrible.

So you need to be super specific.

Here are 5 lessons I wish someone told me 5 years ago before joining Goldman or a startup (with examples): 1) Re-frame what "risk" means.

Spoiler:

Most ambitious, high-achievers under 30 are way too cautious with career.

Here's an example...

Over the last 72 hours, I talked to 200 startups representing over $2 billion.

And I have news for you:

Business banking will never be the same.

Here's what I mean👇 1) No one cares about “pretty banking” anymore

Fintechs won customers for a decade by making banking beautifully frictionless.

• Simple user experience
• Easy to use features
• Bonus perks

No one cares anymore about free wires or a cool dashboard.

So what matters?

Read this for 3 principles to avoid misery in 2023: 1) Playing a Different Game

I'm friends with solopreneurs like @dickiebush and @TrungTPhan.

They're awesome but I have no ambition to build a 1-man-media business.

So why do I still feel "so far behind" as they continue to build larger audiences?

The answer?

I found a $170 billion industry where one company owns 80% of the market.

But in 2010, four grad students launch a startup and build a $2 billion brand.

Here's the story and 3 principles for industry disruption

🧵 It's the Fall of 2008 and four students are in their first semester at Wharton.

On a backpacking trip, one guy loses his glasses.

He then spends the semester squinting since it costs too much to replace them.

So over a few beers, the crew has an idea:

Disrupt eyeglasses

In 1933, Chung escapes home in North Korea.

He eventually builds a $30 billion business called Hyundai.

But it all started with a stolen cow.

Here's the story🧵 Chung ju-yung is born in a North Korean village in 1915.

His parents are poor farmers.

While his dad grows rice while his mom runs the household and raises silkworms for extra money.

Startups are super stressful.

So I studied how the world's best builders conquer their psychology.

And Zuckerberg, Elon and Tim Ferriss each have a tool to navigate the chaos.

Here's what you need to know👇 Startup life is a rollercoaster.

@pmarca put it perfectly

"A startup puts you on an emotional rollercoaster unlike anything. You flip rapidly from a day where you are convinced you are going to own the world, to a day in which doom seems only weeks away."

So how do you thrive?

On October 9th, 2006, Google bought a small startup called YouTube for $1.65 billion.

Today, YouTube is a $200 billion behemoth.

But how?

Here are 6 principles YouTube used to kill distractions and supercharge growth👇 1) The Two-Pager

Every employee writes down what they accomplished in the last 6 months and what they want to focus for the next 6 months.

• 3 things you want to be sure your boss knows

• 3 things that would make you move faster

• Chart / picture that you are obsessed with

In 2012, Facebook hit a billion users.

And Zuckerberg releases a red book on company culture.

Most of it is useless.

But here's a golden nugget on goal setting for your startup👇 This little red book got plopped on people's desks.

It's not a manual. It crystallizes their culture.

But most of it is cringey propaganda.

In 2021, I interviewed the man who invented Amazon Prime.

He started a business worth $40 billion and served on Amazon's board for 15 years.

Here are 9 startup lessons from Bing Gordon you can't find anywhere else👇 When you start a job, ask your boss 2 questions:

1) Who is the best boss you've ever had and what does that mean for me?

2) What does top 10% performance look like?

How I got Mark Cuban to email me back (and the cold email framework so you can too): Whenever you write a cold email, use this:

• Short = keep it to 5 lines or less
• Specific with what you want
• Spacing = no one reads big blocks of text

Here's what I sent to Cuban my senior spring at Yale...

I found a startup with 50 employees, 20 billion page views a month and $1 billion in sales in 2018.

They never raised money but I guarantee you bought a coffee table or found your next job on the site.

Here's the story and 5 lessons on how they did it👇 Craig Newmark describes himself as "nerd patient zero".

And in 1995 he is 42 years old and moves to San Francisco to work at Charles Schwab.

But like anyone in a new city, he's lonely.

So what does he do?

Forget the productivity hacks.

When you have a big project, focus on momentum.

My 3 pillars:

1) Start right away
2) Focus on 1 early win
3) Set the future action plan

Here's a specific example: Project: I want to write 5,000 words on the pointlessness of productivity.

Say it could take me 10 hours.

As soon as I commit, I lock my phone in a drawer.

1) I spend 30 minutes brain dumping my thoughts on the topic.

Step 1 is now complete...

On August 2, 2006, Elon Musk published a manifesto.

In 4 simple steps, he reveals how Tesla would take over the world.

Here's the manifesto (and why you should call your shot too): Tons of people worship @elonmusk today.

You think he's the best thing since sliced bread.

Or kinda crazy.

Or both.

But in 2006, he proclaims how a tiny little car company called Tesla would take over the world.

And no one believed him:

I devoured 50 years of Warren Buffett shareholder letters.

The result?

12 timeless principles from the greatest investor in the world.

Here are the golden nuggets🧵 The Orangutan Effect

"If you sit down with an orangutan and carefully explain to it one of your cherished ideas, you may leave behind a puzzled primate, but will exit thinking more clearly yourself."

Teaching others actually teaches yourself.

2022

Apple is the greatest cult in the world.

And every cult needs a place to meet.

Welcome to the Apple Store.

Here is how Steve Jobs built the most profitable stores of all time👇 In 2000, Steve Jobs has a problem.

How could he sell more Apple products without becoming dependent on major retailers?

His solution?

Build his own store.

Bill Gates got lucky.

With an IBM deal he signs in 1980.

Here's the hidden truth about the rise of Microsoft

🧵 So we all know the Gates story.

A brilliant kid who loves computers.

Drops out of Harvard in 1975 to start Microsoft with his childhood friend, Paul Allen.

Jeff Bezos is a quitter.

But for all the right reasons.

I got 3 principles to catapult your career:

🧵 So @jeffbezos goes to Princeon and tries to get a "normal" job

But he rejects offers from Intel, Bell Labs, and Anderson Consulting.

Why?

I left my investment banking job at Goldman Sachs.

And I'm joining a Series A startup.

Here's who and why:

🧵 You probably are expecting to read something like...

"Wooo big banks suck and I want to join a startup to get fancier oat milk and wear a t-shirt to work every day!"

This could not be farther from the truth.

Goldman Sachs made me into a machine that could...

YETI turned water coolers into a $5 billion brand.

How did they do it?

By changing a commodity into a status symbol.

Here are 4 lessons worth your time👇 The Seider brothers love fishing.

They eat it, drink it, and sleep it.

And in 2006 they are fishing off the Gulf Coast of Mexico and run into a problem.

I found what separates awesome vs. average performers.

Everyone from @elonmusk to @TigerWoods depends on it.

Here's the Hurt vs. Injured framework and how to put it into action🧵 Ok so let’s define it:

• Injured = you’re beat up so badly you can’t continue

You’re “injured” if you’re so sick you can't stop throwing up.

You’re “injured” if you tear your calf muscle and can’t walk.