Persistence
why restart the newsletter, Knives and Battleships, age 14-18...
hi 👋 Prado here
every week (or so), I publish one essay & 10 interesting things that help readers become healthy, wealthy, and wise
Essay of the week - Persistence
a question i've been asking myself - why restart the newsletter?
after 4 weeks of restarting, i think i finally have an answer.
let me tell you a story.
jan 2022, i was reading a book called Number Don't Lie by Vaclav Smil. i came across an interesting chapter called How Sweating Improved Hunting. got me curious.
i read the whole chapter, and the conclusion is
10,000+ years ago, humans used to hunt in 2 ways. eat what's leftover or hunt their own prey.
one thing made humans different than other animals? sweating.
sweating helped us control our body temperature and outrun animals. lions couldn't catch us.
the above story left a mark on my life. i keep going back to the story. we humans are really good withstanding pain for longer periods of time, that's all. we are persistent.
"you lose, if you die" - i think a gaming character said this or bryan johnson
back to the question - why restart the newsletter?
few weeks ago, i was bouldering with Shina (she just wrote her first substack btw - go subscribe)
after bouldering, we went for some great korean food and she asked me
"what would you do after making all the money in life?" and i thought about it for a minute and the only thought that came to my mind was writing.
writing these newsletters.
but why?
it's global since day 1
writing helps in clarity.
because it's one of the least ops-heavy way of giving back to people.
i don't have to script, i don't have to setup cameras, i don't have to go somewhere. All i have to do is open my laptop and think inside a box.
it's lindy. anything i write today can be read years or even decades later. that may not be the case for videos.
writing helps in finding your scenius (a group of folks who think or are curious about the same thing)
this newsletter is something I can be persistent with persistently.
do what’s hard and do it for a long time.
5 quotes i found on my note taking app:
Persistence without insight will lead to same outcomes - Boba Fett (S1.Ep5 - The book of Boba Fett - The return of Mandalorian)
persistence matters more than talent - Andrew Ross Sorkin
page 146 in the book “Tribe of mentors by Tim Ferriss” Sometimes repetition is a sign that you’re returning to something important." - Visakanv on his blog called “again”
"As long as we are persistence in our pursuit of our deepest destiny, we will continue to grow. We cannot choose the day or time when we will fully bloom. It happens in its own time." - Denis Waitley
from derek sivers
i’m very lucky i was able to meet derek sivers in person (read here)
10 interesting things from this week
1. Knives and Battleships (read here)
2. another one from derek sivers from the book how to live
very interesting read on balaji and corporate power. watch the podcast as well
4. Jason Fried is one of my favourite writers - here’s another one from him “On Legacy”
5. interesting human of the week:- Sachin Tendulkar did an AMA on reddit and i enjoyed reading it (read it here)
6. question of the week:- What are you excited or curious about these days?
let me know - i’d like to know what you are curious about these days.
7. picture of the week:- one of my all-time favourite sports is cricket. here’s a photo of young players nailing the mat down on the pitch. reminds me of how i spent every weekend of mine from the age 14-18
8. just watched: F1 The Movie (truly enjoyed it)
9. Meme of the week:- hahaha good one
10. Quotes of the week:
"Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.” - Muhammed Ali
(Tweet this quote)“we need to feel a little bit lost somewhere, physically or intellectually, at least once a day” - The Bed of Procrustes by Nassim Taleb
(Tweet this quote)“The best advice is not to tell people what to do, but to ask them the right questions. Find out what’s going on in their head, and help them frame that in a way that’s useful.” – David Allen
he has another interesting advice - Don't tell me what to do. Tell me what I am missing.
(Tweet this quote)
Check out some of my previous newsletters:
Diderot Effect (Read)
Life’s Lines of Closeness (Read)
How far did Elon Musk go to fulfil his curiosity? An untold story (Exclusive)
Cathedral Thinkers (Read)
You can check out the entire archive
get my letters in your email every week
my goal is to reach 10k interesting people across the world 🙌
copy link: prdo.xyz/persistence
personal announcement 🚨
i unfortunately couldn’t make it japan this week (due to my passport being stuck in the korean embassy) - can’t blame them. the travel agent submitted my passport two weeks after i gave it to him.
anyway, i get to spend another week with family before my 2-3 months long travel. flying to friends is one of the greatest joys in life.
in this together,
sharing & commenting on this newsletter will help it reach more curious people ❤️
I first discovered Prado through his newsletter before meeting him in person, and realized that his writing truly reflects how good a person he is. Sad you couldn’t make it to Japan, but see you soon at Breakpoint!
And don’t stop writing these, it’s such a great, non-invasive way to know what’s up with you without getting lost in the 1,385 TG messages :p