Smart Friends

Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:46) - Deep dive into the Thiel Fellowship (00:07:04) - Success stories and impact of Thiel Fellows (00:11:04) - Challenges and controversies (00:16:01) - Evolution and future of fellowship programs (00:18:39) - Early days of building the Thiel Fellowship (00:23:36) - Traits of a Thiel Fellow (00:33:24) - Nurturing genius (00:39:57) - Screen time & children (00:40:30) - Big screens vs. small screens (00:43:12) - Quality time and engaging activities (00:45:42) - Emotional depth and resilience in young founders (00:54:02) - The traits of innovators (01:04:08) - The journey of 1517 Fund (01:10:05) - Join the 1517 community Links: Rolling Fun — https://www.rolling.fun To support the costs of producing this podcast:  >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/  >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage  >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: The founding story and long-term vision behind the Thiel Fellowship Common traits among exceptional young founders, including curiosity, hyper fluency, and “dog on a leash” energy Lessons from supporting early pioneers like Vitalik Buterin, Dylan Field, and Laura Deming. How 1517 Fund backs young builders and “Wily weirdos” working on sci-fi-level ideas Danielle’s philosophy on education, parenting, and fostering genius in children Quotes from Danielle: “We weren’t looking for startup founders—we were looking for people on a mission.” “Dog-on-a-leash energy—that’s what we look for. We’re here to cut the leash.” “Hyperfluency is the ability to geek out with geeks, and still explain your work to your grandma at Thanksgiving.” “These people are kind of mutants—they don’t fit in typical systems.” “All kids under five are geniuses. The system just squashes it out of them.” “The most shocking thing? People publicly attacked the Fellows. Not just the program—the people. Teenagers.” “Crazy, crazy awesome—we can’t tell if they’re insane or brilliant, and it’ll take years to find out.” “Big screens good, small screens bad.” “In the future, I want to be funding 11-year-olds. The world won’t be ready, but I will be.” “We just want to talk to wily weirdos who want to be around other wily weirdos.”

Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:49) - Heroes (00:10:50) - How do you know when it’s time to step away from something you started? (00:18:37) - Len Fassler (00:32:52) - Mentors and inflection points in life (00:39:07) - Brad’s book - Give First (00:47:58) - The role of books in Brad’s career Links: Scribe — https://scribemedia.com Give First: The Power of Mentorship - https://amzn.to/3KT3IvF To support the costs of producing this podcast:  >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/  >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage  >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: The role of heroes and mentors in shaping Brad’s values How "Give First" transformed startup culture How to let go of control while still fighting to the end for what matters Key mentors like Len Fassler and the life lessons they gave him Why reading, writing, and coding all serve as reflective practices  Quotes from Brad: "The best way to fly is to throw yourself at the ground and miss." (Zaphod Beeblebrox quote that Brad uses to describe startups) "I love to help things get started. That’s my favorite part of the journey." "Fight to the bitter end. You try until it doesn’t work anymore." "Some things don’t end. Some things outlive you—which is delightful." "The future does not belong to me. The future belongs to people 40 years younger than me." "Give First is not a religion. It’s a philosophy." "Your VC’s are not in control. The board members are not in control. The CEO is in control." "Books are core to so many things I do. Reading and writing are how I process the world." "I write books to understand better an idea and work out the idea." "Mentorship is about ways of being, not about following a set of rules." "Hibernation from social media gave me the creative space to finish the book I actually wanted to write." "People said, 'Brad’s the king of the Colorado startup community.' I hated that. I don’t want to be king—I want to be just one of the many leaders."

Topics: (00:00:00) - Intro (00:03:07) - Cal's military background (00:13:59) - Transitioning into a family business (00:19:35) - Implementing EOS (00:25:08) - The journey to compassionate leadership (00:36:16) - Prioritizing self-care and meditation (00:37:19) - Journaling techniques and prompts (00:39:02) - Mental health stigma and therapy (00:40:16) - Daily intentions and successes (00:42:28) - Leadership (00:47:28) - Coaching and team building (00:58:45) - Writing a book (01:03:10) - Resources Links: Scribe — https://scribemedia.com Entrepreneurial Compassion: An Entrepreneur’s Journey Through Combat, Suicide, and the Discovery of Compassionate Leadership - https://amzn.to/4nqH6AK To support the costs of producing this podcast:  >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/  >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage  >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend >> Or at least give the podcast a positive review to help us reach new listeners! We discuss: How military battle drills shaped Cal’s approach to business leadership How EOS changed about his company and personal life Why compassion is both a moral imperative and a business advantage Tactical ways Cal builds emotional awareness into his leadership habits How journaling, meditation, and presence help fuel resilience and clarity Quotes from Cal: "The more compassion I showed my team, the more profit we made. It’s not soft—it’s smart." "They’ll never care how much you know until they know how much you care." "Every really good unit has this thing called a tactical SOP—just like your business has processes." "EOS gave me the ability to step back, let the team lead, and focus on building the future." "I went from working 90 hours a week in the business to now doing one meeting a week." "The business stops running you, and you start running it." "When we can be driven and compassionate, the sky’s the limit." "As entrepreneurs, we’re good at putting out fires—and if there isn’t one, we’ll start one just to feel busy." "My brother’s death has to mean something—this book is how I make sure something good comes from it." "I want to create a million compassionate leaders and prevent a hundred thousand suicides." "This isn't about monetizing trauma—every cent from the book goes to suicide prevention." Important Quotes from the podcast on Business and Entrepreneurship   There is no skill called “business.” Avoid business magazines and business classes. - Naval Ravikant   You have to work up to the point where you can own equity in a business. You could own equity as a small shareholder where you bought stock. You could also own it as an owner where you started the company. Ownership is really important.     Everybody who really makes money at some point owns a piece of a product, a business, or some IP. That can be through stock options if you work at a tech company. That’s a fine way to start. 

It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published. I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you. This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Building Judgement You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ Chapters: 00:00 The Search for Something Perfect & Permanent 03:00 Timeless vs. Timely Knowledge 06:00 Truth, Reach & Universal Theories 09:00 From Specifics to General Principles 12:00 Learning by Doing – Experience First 15:00 Judgment, Taste & the Role of Reflection 18:00 Investing, Taste & Post-Wealth Choices 21:00 Hard Work, Focus & Breakthroughs 24:00 From Logic to Intuition to Taste 27:00 AI, Information Retrieval & Human Creativity 30:00 Leverage of Software Engineers with AI 33:00 The iPhone as the Greatest Product of the Age 36:00 Entrepreneurs, Creativity & Using AI as a Tool To support the costs of producing this podcast:  >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/  >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage  >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend

It's been five years since the Almanack of Naval Ravikant was published. I spent the day with Naval expanding on key ideas from the book. We recorded hours of that conversation to share with you. This episode is a portion of that long conversation that talks about Saving Yourself You can purchase the new expanded edition with nearly 4 hours of new material on Audible here: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Almanack-of-Naval-Ravikant-Audiobook/B0FBCP1JWJ Chapters: 00:00 Virtues as Long-Term Selfishness & Cheap Dopamine 03:00 Fixing Local Problems Before Global Activism 06:00 Spreadability vs. Correctness of Ideas 09:00 Truth as Survival in the Multiverse 12:00 Authenticity, Ego & Removing the Mask 15:00 Modern Traps, Hedonism & Religion’s Role 18:00 Finding the People, Work & Place That Need You Most 21:00 Exploration, Investment & Compound Interest 24:00 Learning Through Iterations, Not Hours 27:00 Choosing Your Environment & Adapting It 30:00 Envy vs. Inspiration – Choosing the Better Path 33:00 Heroes, Resonance & The Legacy of Steve Jobs 36:00 Universal Human Potential & Breaking Labels To support the costs of producing this podcast:  >> Buy a copy of the Navalmanack: www.navalmanack.com/  >> Buy a copy of The Anthology of Balaji: https://balajianthology.com/ >> Sign up for my online course and community about building your Personal Leverage: https://www.ejorgenson.com/leverage  >> Invest in early-stage companies alongside Eric and his partners at Rolling Fun: https://angel.co/v/back/rolling-fun >> Join the free weekly email list at ejorgenson.com/newsletter >> Text the podcast to a friend