Link Roundup #1

Bits and pieces from the past couple of months. Enjoy!

📚 What I'm reading

Reflecting on My Failure to Build a Billion-Dollar Company — I'm taking a class on startups and have been doing a lot of related reading. This essay is the story of Gumroad's founder and how he came to terms with failure and used it to reinvent his company and mindset. It is an honest look into the highs and lows of starting a startup and has a perspective different from conventional hustle rhetoric around entrepreneurship.

Fooled By Randomness — Nassim Taleb's work seems to have influenced many thought leaders that I follow. Fooled By Randomness is the first in a five-book series about probability, luck, and human decision-making. So far, I've read some interesting concepts about how much luck/chance contributes to success and its implications for managing risk.

Liar's Poker — This book has been on my to-read list for a while. After listening to Michael Lewis's companion podcast, Other People's Money, I finally got around to it. The book's premise is quite funny, and I found many of the ideas relatable to my life. Interestingly, the book's reception is the opposite of what Michael Lewis intended when writing it. Liar's Poker was supposed to be a cautionary tale about what happens when smart, ambitious young people lack direction and purpose. However, it ended up inspiring generations of bright college students to pursue finance.

What would 22 years without the big four have actually looked like? — The past few months, I've gotten really into tennis. This is a thoughtful, somewhat satirical Reddit post about what the tour would look like without the "Big Four."

Carpe Annum — Another startup-related post. This one's about a college student's gap year journey. A gap year is something I've thought a lot about, and gaining real-world experiences outside the bubble of college and academics, really appeals to me. I don't have any plans as of now, but it's something on my radar.

🎧 What I'm listening to

Early episodes of Cortex — The OG Cortex episodes have great advice about starting side projects and creative ventures. It's also interesting to see how much CGP Grey and Myke Hurley have changed.

Fiji Blue — A duo making chill music.

& They Were Roommates — A group of YouTubers who live together, Friends style, in NYC. This is their podcast. While there are only two episodes up right now, I really like the energy of the group, and they have lots of interesting experiences to share as people who create on the internet.

📺 What I'm watching

Ryan Nakajima — This is definitely one of my favorite YouTube channels now. Ryan is a college student, on a gap year, living in the NYC area. I think he shows a realistic, honest, yet still entertaining and inspiring depiction of life as a young person.

I quit my dream job — I enjoy listening to people talk through their big life decisions. Maybe it's because I will have to make similar decisions about my career, lifestyle, and relationships. Regardless, I find the different thought patterns and decision-making models that people use fascinating and potentially valuable for the future.

my ph.d. admission result came out — Similar to the video above, this is a video of someone experiencing a pivotal moment in life. Cece does a great job articulating the emotions we all feel after rejection. I'd love it if more online creators were this open about their stories.

💬 Quote I like