I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
George Clooney gave his friends $1 million in cash...each
Hey there,
Hope you had a good Thanksgiving. Ours was spent at home just Hilary and I with the kids, but it was a nice time playing Catan, building LEGO, and cleaning the house.
This week in the newsletter I've included a few of my favorite stories from around the internet.
FROM CREATOR SESSIONS
Ami Vitale
Ami is an award-winning photojournalist and an incredible story teller. Her creator session is one my favorites so far, and so timely. She has spent decades seeking out the best and the worst in humanity, and she still finds beauty in her fellow humans. She also learned a lot about carving out her own career along the way.
There's so much good stuff in this one, beautiful pictures and so many lessons for any creator.
WHAT I'M READING
George Clooney when we need him most
I loved this profile of George Clooney, what an interesting life and career he has had. Did you know he was widely considered a bad actor when he first started out? Then there was the story of when he gave 14 of his closest friends each $1M in cash, you know, like you do.
Read the full article here »
WHAT I'M READING
On Remembrance Day, Celebrating Two Canadian Prisoners Who Took Down an Entire Shipyard
This is such a great story of bravery under the harshest of conditions. These two soldiers took over a year to painstakingly plan their sabotage, risking their lives every day to do it. I love being reminded of the strength humans can show under such pressure, and I found it really inspiring for my own life, which is nowhere near this extreme!
WHAT I'M READING
A Twitter thread about a Christmas tree
Why does Nova Scotia send a tree to Boston every year? Of course its about more than a tree, its about a tradition born from kindness in the midst of tragedy. Its about the strength and goodness that humans can show to strangers from different countries. Its a good reminder in our polarized climate.
Thanks for joining me this week!
Nathan Barry
I'm a designer who turned into a writer who turned into a startup CEO. My mission is to help creators earn a living. Subscribe for essays on building an audience and earning a living as a creator.
Hey Reader, What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail? You’ve probably seen some version of this question before. It’s a good one, though sometimes the answer isn’t immediately obvious. That’s why I like Graham Weaver’s 8 questions for what to do with your life. Graham founded the private equity firm Alpine Investors, and he teaches at Stanford. In Chapter 2 of my upcoming book, The Ladders of Wealth, I credit him with a principle he shared with his MBA students called "worse first",...
Hey Reader, If I could solve only one thing in my business, that would have the biggest impact, what would that be? This is the question every great entrepreneur obsesses over. Rather than trying to do everything at once, you look for the bottleneck and focus on solving that. There’s a book called The Goal by an Israeli physicist named Eliyahu Goldratt. It’s a 1984 business novel that business systems nerds love. However if you’re not a business systems nerd you probably… won’t love it. It’s...
Hey Reader, Have you ever spent money on something and immediately felt guilty afterward? Will Guidara spends his money foolishly on purpose. And he thinks you should too. He once bought an entire barrel of whiskey and put it in his basement. He also put a skee-ball machine in the office. Is he going to get a monetary return on either of these things? No. But that’s kind of the point. He calls it the 95/5 rule: Manage your money and time like a maniac 95% of the time (no expense is too...