Every Saturday, I send out 10 ideas I can't stop thinking about. To help you build companies, make content, and follow your obsession.
On uniqueness, micromanaging, and the most harmful two words. Ten Bullets 007.
​ |
To the obsessed, Welcome back to Ten Bullets. I'm writing from home-base, NYC. I've never been so sure I belonged somewhere. That took a while though. I needed the right goals, the right friends. Without that, New York was kind of a nightmare. Now, it's a playground for ambition. The energy here injects with you the right kind of insanity. It convinces you, fully, that you can take over the world. So, nowhere I'd rather be. PS: I just went on the Calum Johnson Show. ​Calum's a fantastic interviewer. He asked unique questions, and really let me rant on the things I love- how I found my obsession, how I make content, and so on. Go watch, leave a comment, let me know what you think. 1. On obsession vs. hustle culture: Obsession is the opposite of 'hustle culture.' You don't grind. You don't force anything. Obsession is natural. When you follow it, it flows like water. Creating isn't work. It's a natural extension of you. 2. On building a team to innovate: "He didn't want anyone on the staff who had amusement park experience. Because he told them, Disneyland wouldn't be an amusement park. He wanted young people who would be willing to learn and make mistakes." - Neal Gabler on Walt Disney (Founders Podcast #2) 3. On 'efficiency': “If you’re efficient, you’re doing it the wrong way. The right way is the hard way. The show was successful because I micromanaged it—every word, every line, every take, every edit, every casting. That’s my way of life." - Jerry Seinfeld, HBR Interview​ So much gold in this short interview. Highly rec. Another good line: "I don’t like to be so critical that I get depressed, but I get close." 4. On Steve Jobs' reality-distortion: "Steve could call up people he didn’t know, and make them do things.” - Steve Wozniak on Jobs (Founders Podcast #214) If not obvious, I'm addicted to Founders Podcast right now. 5. On Bob Dylan's 'secret.' “I bought the new Bob Dylan book. I think the trick is, he believed that he was amazing. That’s my trick too." - Van Neistat, The Struggle of Living in NYC​ Incredible creator (and video). 6. On when your work is ready: If you don't get goosebumps, it's not good enough. 7. On how Pixar made hit after hit after hit: "Directors had to go to the outside world, and bring in something new in, that isn’t obvious, so it isn’t derivative of other films." - Ed Catmull, Fortune Interview​ First, Ed obsessed over making the first computer-animated film- Toy Story. Then, he obsessed over preventing Pixar from failing. 8. On note-taking:
Apple notes > everything. This meme gives me PTSD. (s/o Dylan Jardon for sharing.) 9. On uniqueness: "I once asked Ryan Holiday about how he developed his writing style. He credited his favorite writers. 'The key is that no one has the same combination of influences,' he said. 'It feels like me because I’m the only person to combine my interests in my way.'" - Billy Oppenheimer​ 10. On the danger of 'good.' "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than good job." "Parker’s a young kid, pretty good on the sax. Gets up to play at a cutting session, and he f***s it up. And Jones nearly decapitates him for it. And he’s laughed off stage. Cries himself to sleep that night, but the next morning, what does he do? He practices … And a year later, he goes back to the Reno and he steps up on that stage, and plays the best motherf***ing solo the world has ever heard. So, imagine if Jones had just said, “Well, that’s okay, Charlie … Good job.” And then Charlie thinks to himself, “Well, sh**, I did do a pretty good job.” End of story…" - Terence Fletcher, Whiplash (s/o @coltybrah for re-sharing this epic movie. one of my favorites, and a must-watch for the obsessed) One more thing... ​Be a savage. (s/o Danny Miranda) I’d love to know what you thought of this edition. Reply to this email, or tweet me at @zachpogrob. If you enjoy this newsletter, spread the obsession and forward it to a friend. If you were sent this, click here to subscribe. To read past editions, click here. ​Click here to recommend Ten Bullets on Twitter. (I will love you forever) Stay obsessed, Zach |
 750 |
Ten Bullets - For The Obsessed 🏴
Zach Pogrob
Every Saturday, I send out 10 ideas I can't stop thinking about. To help you build companies, make content, and follow your obsession.
To the obsessed, Here are your weekly Ten Bullets. A list of ideas I can't stop thinking about- to help you build companies, make art, and find your obsession. 1. On fear: "If you’re not scared, you’re not pushing: In the summer of 2020, in the midst of some pillow talk with my wife, I confronted the existential dread I had towards the leap of faith I was about to take by starting Varda [his company]. I thought, why would I do this to myself, starting a company is a miserable experience....
To the obsessed, Here are your weekly Ten Bullets. A list of ideas I can't stop thinking about- to help you build companies, make art, and find your obsession. I ran my first marathon on Saturday, in Memphis. It was one of the best experiences of my life. I entered a new level of The Dark Place, and saw a new version of myself, that will be here forever. I'll write more on the experience, the journey, and what's next with running. But all I know is, I haven't been obsessed with something like...
To the obsessed, Here are your weekly Ten Bullets. A list of ideas I can't stop thinking about- to help you build companies, make art, and find your obsession. 1. On creating for yourself: "I think it's terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people's expectations. They generally produce their worst work when they do that. Never work for other people at what you do. Always remember the reason you initially started was that there was something inside yourself- that you felt- that if...