I talk about the skills, beliefs, and businesses I’m building | Helped 10,000+ start writing at https://t.co/t2IzOoW1mW | Former @blackrock trader turned writer
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Apr 1 • 16 tweets • 4 min read
The most powerful reflection you can do:
The Monthly Review.
Most people go their *entire* life without reflecting. Years go by and they never change.
Don't let this happen—grab a pen, crack open a notebook, and answer these 5 questions to reflect on March:🧵
Your monthly reflection:
1. What were my biggest wins? 2. What were my biggest realizations? 3. What areas am I most satisfied? Least satisfied? 4. What am I going to do more of this month? Less of? 5. What am I thinking about for the upcoming month?
Let's explore these:
Mar 24 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
Everyone should have a digital business that makes at least $10k/month.
Sadly, most overthink, never act, and waste years.
Here's the playbook that got me from $0 to $40k/month while working full-time at BlackRock:🧵 1. Start a Side Hustle While Working Full-Time
Don't quit your job right away. Instead, trade time for money until you can trade knowledge for money.
Here's my thought process for choosing high-leverage jobs (so you don’t waste time in your 9 to 5):
Mar 20 • 25 tweets • 5 min read
This was me in 2013.
I ran for Class President in my senior year of high school.
What followed was 2 landslide victories, an impeachment trial, and 3 angry suburban moms with pitchforks.
Here's what happened and the 3 powerful marketing frameworks that I never forgot:🧵
High school politics is brutal.
I discovered this when I decided to run against the three most popular girls in school for Class President—just 24 hours before the deadline.
It wasn't about ambition or ego.
It was an experiment that I remember to this day:
Mar 17 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
One of my favorite podcasts from the last 2 years:
Tim Ferriss <> James Clear
Here are my 5 big takeaways (on journaling, breaking bad habits, & writing a best-selling book):🧵 1. 5 helpful reflection questions:
• What am I optimizing for?
• What’s bringing me energy?
• What’s draining my energy?
• Will my current habits carry me to my desired future?
• How can I create an environment that naturally brings about my desired change?
Mar 4 • 17 tweets • 6 min read
Terrible advice I almost fell for:
“Quit your job and follow your passion.”
Instead, I found a different (but unconventional) path to quit my $200k/year Wall Street job.
Here's the entire roadmap (from $0 to $25k/month):🧵
In this thread, we are going to cover:
• 3 ways to earn money
• The mindset you need to quit your job
• And how you can get started today
These clips come from my interview with Ali Abdaal, which has 175k+ views (link to the full interview is at the end).
Let’s dive in:
Mar 1 • 18 tweets • 4 min read
It's March 1st:
A perfect time to start writing online.
Use these 31 templates for your next 31 days of writing (to make writing every day effortless):🧵
Before we start, a quick breakdown.
Every 1 of these 21 ideas falls into 1 of these buckets.
Feb 27 • 17 tweets • 6 min read
Cornelius Vanderbilt was the king of U.S. railroads.
He once said:
"You have undertaken to cheat me. I won't sue you, for the law is too slow.
I'll ruin you."
Here's the story of the most ruthless businessman in history, and the frameworks behind his $2.4B fortune:🧵
Cornelius Vanderbilt wasn’t born into wealth.
He was a farm boy who quit school at 11.
At 16, he borrowed $100 from his mother to buy a small boat—and by 17, he was running a profitable ferry business.
But this was only the beginning.
Feb 24 • 18 tweets • 5 min read
After 9 months writing online:
• I had under 100 followers
• I wrote blogs no one read
• I felt like a failure & was ready to give up
But in the last 5 years, I've added 410k followers & grew a newsletter to 140k readers.
These 6 perspective hacks changed everything:🧵 1. In the beginning, no one is watching—and that's a good thing.
At first, I thought to myself:
"No one is reading this. What's the point?"
And this bummed me out & held me back for a while.
But then, I reframed it into an advantage:
Feb 20 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
This is one of Charlie Munger's favorite books.
He first read it 20 years ago, inspiring his legendary decision-making mental models.
Here are 3 lessons from "Deep Simplicity" that helped him invest in billion-dollar companies and build his $2.6B+ fortune: 🧵
In 2004, Munger mentioned "Deep Simplicity" at Berkshire's annual meeting.
He couldn't buy it for people in the U.S. because it was only out in England.
But its ideas had already influenced his thinking.
Here's everything you need to know:
Feb 13 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
In 1999, an 18-year-old kid built Napster to save the world from expensive CDs.
It got shut down but accidentally created a 1.5 TRILLION dollar industry that everyone hates.
Today, Netflix, Amazon, and Big Tech use this trick to bleed you dry.
Here's the full story:🧵
In 1998, a teenager proposed an idea in a chatroom: What if people could share music directly from their computers?
Most thought it was impossible. But Shawn Fanning started coding at his uncle's office to prove them wrong.
Feb 7 • 25 tweets • 10 min read
This man created one of the most luxurious brands—but no one talks about him.
With a $3.1 BILLION turnover in 2024, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss, and Burberry envy their success.
His parents were wealthy, and he could have done anything with his life.
But at 15, he fell in love with tennis—a sport he wasn’t naturally gifted at.
His father wasn’t impressed.
And then came the ultimatum.
Jan 30 • 24 tweets • 8 min read
This is one of the wealthiest men to have ever lived.
He turned $2 into a $310 billion fortune, controlled America's steel industry, then gave away ~90%.
Here's how Andrew Carnegie built the most powerful monopoly in history: 🧵
In 1848, a 13-year-old boy arrived in America with $2 in his pocket.
His first job was working 12 hours daily in a cotton factory for $1.20 per week.
Jan 23 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
This is BlackRock.
With over $11 trillion in assets, they have invested in Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and even governments.
Here's the story behind one of the wealthiest companies in the world—that no one's talking about:🧵
Let's go back to 1988.
Fresh off a devastating $90M loss at First Boston, Larry Fink started BlackRock as part of Blackstone Group.
His goal? Build a firm that would never make the same mistake he did:
Jan 16 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
This is Jeff Bezos’s favorite book.
He’s been rereading it for 25 years straight, and it inspired his most famous decision-making model.
Here are the 7 lessons from "The Remains of the Day" that helped him build his $200B+ Amazon empire: 🧵
In 1987, Bezos discovered "The Remains of the Day" by Kazuo Ishiguro.
The story of a butler's lifetime of regret struck him like lightning.
It would later become the foundation of Bezos's entire philosophy:
Jan 9 • 18 tweets • 7 min read
This family runs one of the world's most successful empires—but no one talks about them.
With $17.7 billion turnover in 2023, Hershey, Cadbury, and Lindt envy their success.
Here's the full story behind Ferrero Rocher—the most powerful chocolate brand in the world: 🧵
It started in a small Italian bakery in 1946.
Pietro Ferrero, a master pastry chef in Alba, Italy, had an obsession: finding the perfect balance between cocoa and hazelnuts.
This obsession would birth a dynasty worth billions:
Jan 7 • 27 tweets • 4 min read
The best book I've ever read on money:
How To Live by Derek Sivers.
Buried inside are 4 short pages packed with insights on building wealth.
These 23 quotes will change the way you think about money:🧵 1. "Making money isn't evil, greedy, shallow, or vain.
Your biggest obstacle to getting rich is the harmful meaning you've attached to it."
Dec 21, 2024 • 30 tweets • 5 min read
24 questions to reflect on 2024 (and make 2025 your best year yet):🧵
This list will help you:
• Recap the year
• Take stock of where you are
• And refresh your perspective heading into 2025
It's the exact process I used to do my Yearly Review.
Let's dive in:
Dec 17, 2024 • 17 tweets • 5 min read
Look at this legendary writer.
The US banned some of his books from publication for 30 years.
But in 1930, Henry Miller made a list of 11 Commandments that are a must-read for any aspiring writer.
Here's the breakdown:🧵
First, some context.
Miller's autobiographical novel, The Tropic of Cancer, was banned in the US soon after it was published in 1934.
Here's what Miller had to say about his book (and how he chose the title):
Dec 12, 2024 • 16 tweets • 5 min read
Princeton grad.
BlackRock trader.
Making $180k at 22.
But the biggest "jaw-drop" moment in my 20s?
Getting this $5,000 PayPal payment from a stranger on the internet.
Here's my full story (and how you can do the same):🧵
After college, I was checking every box:
• Princeton grad
• NYC finance life
• BlackRock trader
• 22 years old on track to make $180k
But then I witnessed something that changed everything:
Dec 10, 2024 • 19 tweets • 6 min read
The one habit that made me $10,000,000:
Writing 90 minutes every single day.
But most people will wait for January 1st to start.
So here are my 5 proven steps to help you start writing today (and kickstart 2025 early):🧵
By the end of this thread you will have:
1. Found time to write 2. Generated 12 months of ideas 2. Set a daily publishing cadence 4. Overcome your procrastination 5. Built a bulletproof accountability system
So you can start writing today (and not wait for 2025).
Let's go:
Dec 5, 2024 • 16 tweets • 6 min read
The most underrated, misunderstood, yet powerful book in marketing:
Scientific Advertising.
Ogilvy said read it 7 times. Halbert called it his bible. Its ideas have generated billions for over 100 years.
Here's why it works and how to master it:🧵
Claude Hopkins started as a $12/week copywriter in Michigan.
By 1918, he was making $185,000/year ($6M today) which makes him the greatest direct response marketer ever.