jer979Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...
jer979Value. Happiness.
I feel happy. It's fun, it's light, like a feather floating at the beginning of Forrest Gump. But, like the feather, it's not grounded. It can flitter and float away. Value is also ephemeral. We know it when we see it. We feel it, somewhere deep inside. Something connects to us, saying "yes, this is worth it." The "it" that it's worth is energy. Energy in the form of time, attention, money. The things of which our possession is limited. There's a reason why all the great traditions point to "...
jer979Coffee with AI
Every day for the past month, I’ve had a coffee date with AI. I literally sit down, with a cup of coffee, with an appointment on my calendar that says “coffee with AI”. During that time, AI (I’ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Venice) and I literally have a chat, the way I would with a friend. It’s not “write this letter for me” or “do this or that.” No, it’s a chance for us to have a conversation about whatever topic I want. Many days, recently, at least, it’s been about quant...
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www.twitter.com/jer979
jer979Purpose Struggle
Yesterday, I decided that my blogging career should come to an end. I was doing myself a disservice. I told myself that the goal of the posts was to dig deeper, peel back the layers, get down to the core. But by publishing online (or on-chain as the case may be), I was subconsciously writing for others, even if I told myself that I didn't care if others read. So, in an effort to be more authentic, I figured I'd stop publishing and start doing a private journal. Within 2 hours of that decision...
jer979Value. Happiness.
I feel happy. It's fun, it's light, like a feather floating at the beginning of Forrest Gump. But, like the feather, it's not grounded. It can flitter and float away. Value is also ephemeral. We know it when we see it. We feel it, somewhere deep inside. Something connects to us, saying "yes, this is worth it." The "it" that it's worth is energy. Energy in the form of time, attention, money. The things of which our possession is limited. There's a reason why all the great traditions point to "...
jer979Coffee with AI
Every day for the past month, I’ve had a coffee date with AI. I literally sit down, with a cup of coffee, with an appointment on my calendar that says “coffee with AI”. During that time, AI (I’ve used ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, and Venice) and I literally have a chat, the way I would with a friend. It’s not “write this letter for me” or “do this or that.” No, it’s a chance for us to have a conversation about whatever topic I want. Many days, recently, at least, it’s been about quant...
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jer979Shoe Dog
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jer979Shoe Dog
I wouldn’t call it a great piece of American literature. However, I would call it a great piece of American entrepreneurial literature.
Shoe Dog is the story of Nike founder, Phil Knight, and his road to success.
It’s easy, at this stage of the game, when he is worth north of $10 billion dollars to think one thing about him.
What’s not as easy to do is to recognize and appreciate all of the hardships, sacrifices, hustle, and tough decisions he made along the way.
There were some grueling moments.
But, in this respect, Shoe Dog is like so many other start-up success stories and, like each of them, they provide a humble reminder that in order to get to the mountaintop, there’s a lot of sweat, blood, and tears along the way.
I also enjoyed hearing his thoughts about how he intentionally and unintentionally led Nike (which started as Blue Ribbon) from a shoe company into the proverbial lifestyle brand that it is today.
I think it was in the recognition about what he was selling. For me, one of the most powerful paragraphs was this one:
“This, I decided, this is what sports are, what they can do. Like books, sports give people a sense of having lived other lives, of taking part in other people’s victories. And defeats. When sports are at their best, the spirit of the fan merges with the spirit of the athlete, and in that convergence, in that transference, is the oneness that the mystics talk about.”
He hit on the emotion that drives the athlete-his actual customer.
I think that’s the epic challenge of marketing.
You need a great product (or service) and Knight made sure of that.
But that’s not enough.
We know that the best technology and the best product don’t always win.
Understanding what the emotion is that is really, genuinely motivating someone to make a purchase or an investment and then talking to it in an authentic way.
That’s the goal.
Easier said than done, of course.
I wouldn’t call it a great piece of American literature. However, I would call it a great piece of American entrepreneurial literature.
Shoe Dog is the story of Nike founder, Phil Knight, and his road to success.
It’s easy, at this stage of the game, when he is worth north of $10 billion dollars to think one thing about him.
What’s not as easy to do is to recognize and appreciate all of the hardships, sacrifices, hustle, and tough decisions he made along the way.
There were some grueling moments.
But, in this respect, Shoe Dog is like so many other start-up success stories and, like each of them, they provide a humble reminder that in order to get to the mountaintop, there’s a lot of sweat, blood, and tears along the way.
I also enjoyed hearing his thoughts about how he intentionally and unintentionally led Nike (which started as Blue Ribbon) from a shoe company into the proverbial lifestyle brand that it is today.
I think it was in the recognition about what he was selling. For me, one of the most powerful paragraphs was this one:
“This, I decided, this is what sports are, what they can do. Like books, sports give people a sense of having lived other lives, of taking part in other people’s victories. And defeats. When sports are at their best, the spirit of the fan merges with the spirit of the athlete, and in that convergence, in that transference, is the oneness that the mystics talk about.”
He hit on the emotion that drives the athlete-his actual customer.
I think that’s the epic challenge of marketing.
You need a great product (or service) and Knight made sure of that.
But that’s not enough.
We know that the best technology and the best product don’t always win.
Understanding what the emotion is that is really, genuinely motivating someone to make a purchase or an investment and then talking to it in an authentic way.
That’s the goal.
Easier said than done, of course.
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