Origin stories

Podcast

How Bill Gates built Microsoft through obsession, salesmanship, and ruthless competition

Founders August 16, 2020

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Origin stories 9

Prospecting & outreach 6

Business models 6

• Gates sustained Microsoft through salesmanship, not programming genius.
• Losing a $50,000 deal meant a $100,000 loss — competitor gained what you lost.
• Buying all rights to 86-DOS for $50,000 was the bargain that made him a billionaire.

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Long-term planning

YouTube

Scaling up during a crisis: strategy, leadership, and mindset

Bill Gallagher August 14, 2020

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Long-term planning 8

Management 7

Resilience & grit 6

• Playing not to lose means missing the chance to lead recovery.
• Two tools above all else: get your team right, nail your vision.
• Your habits set the ceiling — the leader is the real bottleneck.

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Productivity & habits

Podcast

Habit tune-up: outsourcing, interruptions, studying, and productivity systems

Deep Questions with Cal Newport August 13, 2020

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Productivity & habits 9

Outsourcing & delegation 6

Deep work & focus 5

• A plain text file beats any app for surviving constant interruptions
• Publications in top venues is the only PhD scoreboard that matters
• Time blocking — not lists — is the real alternative to inbox-driven days

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Copywriting

YouTube

Five criteria for writing powerful marketing headlines

Joanna Wiebe August 13, 2020

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Copywriting 9

• Clear beats clever — write headlines at grade 6 reading level.
• Mirror the exact words visitors used to find you.
• Lead with emotion-driven benefits before the reader can leave.

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SEO

YouTube

Using Google Ads to build backlinks: a $1,245 PPC experiment

Ahrefs August 12, 2020

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SEO 9

Paid ads 7

• Paying for ad visibility on link-intent queries generates real, quality backlinks
• Being the original data source drives 2x+ better link conversion than aggregating others' stats
• Backlinks from ads arrive weeks to months after the campaign ends

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Resilience & grit

YouTube

Scaling Up Insights: Stress, Think Time, Pivoting, and Trends with Three Coaches

Bill Gallagher August 12, 2020

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Resilience & grit 9

Deep work & focus 8

Pivoting 7

• Believing stress is harmful — not stress itself — raises mortality risk 43%.
• Strategy Fridays and day-parting protect irreplaceable deep-work time.
• Separate what you deliver from how: the delivery mechanism is the pivot point.

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Resilience & grit

YouTube

How the law of 100 stops you quitting too early

Noah Kagan August 12, 2020

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Resilience & grit 9

Productivity & habits 7

• Commit to 100 reps before judging results — ever.
• Quitting early is a data problem, not a motivation problem.
• Nine concrete tactics to stay consistent until 100.

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Case studies

YouTube

Lessons on ambition and craft from a night at Jamie Foxx's mansion

Noah Kagan August 10, 2020

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Case studies 9

Motivation 7

• One public Hail Mary on stage landed an artist a record deal
• Success hides the couch-sleeping sacrifice that precedes it
• Proximity to the right people is a deliberate strategic choice

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Delegation

Podcast

Delegation, imposter syndrome, and critical theory: Cal Newport Q&A

Deep Questions with Cal Newport August 10, 2020

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Delegation 8

Productivity & habits 7

Processes & SOPs 5

• Email-based delegation burns everyone out — ticketing systems fix it
• Gatekeepers cure imposter syndrome faster than anonymity ever will
• Why a theory that forbids critique always ends in purity spirals

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