Most of my essays are about business, education, and what it means to be a citizen of the Internet.
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2023-12-29 02:02:15
Years ago, I realized that the Bible is the foundational book of Western civilization. If I was going to be an educated person, I needed to know what it said.
The post How I’ve Studied the Bible appeared first on David Perell.
2023-06-24 04:08:54
My goal is simple: Be a man of my word. Do what I say I'm going to do, when I say I'm going to do it. That means showing up on schedule, communicating clearly, and getting things done on time.
The post Own It Mentality appeared first on David Perell.
2023-04-19 21:54:31
Under a secular mindset, intuition is all about you — your wants, needs, passions, and desires. A heavenly, God-inspired intuition is different.
The post A Divine Intuition appeared first on David Perell.
2023-04-19 04:32:44
We’ve lost touch with the ultimate purpose of education: to transform our being and improve our character. The liberal arts are the ends, not the means.
The post Where the Liberal Arts Went Wrong appeared first on David Perell.
2023-04-19 04:09:21
When I hate writing, it’s because I love it so much. An experienced writer is somebody who knows when the hatred is temporary.
The post I Hate Writing (and So Will You) appeared first on David Perell.
2023-04-06 22:08:06
Ambitious people don’t just need peers. They need mentors. They need people who will encourage them to pursue hard and meaningful projects.
The post Ambitious People Need Each Other appeared first on David Perell.
2023-04-04 03:48:36
A mark of maturity is surrendering to the person you actually are instead of the one you wish you were.
The post Surrendering to Your Nature appeared first on David Perell.
2023-03-31 22:08:27
I’ve been listening the wrong way my entire life — with just my ears. True listening is a totalizing, full-body experience.
The post Learning to Actually Listen appeared first on David Perell.
2023-03-31 01:23:10
The sensitivity of our senses ebbs and flows based on who we’re with and where we are. If you’re looking to be more perceptive, start by changing your environment.
The post Sensitivity Isn’t Static appeared first on David Perell.
2023-01-21 06:23:22
This year was an emotional odyssey. At times, it was tormenting, at others intoxicating. Here, I share my joys and struggles, my dreams and regrets. 2022 completely changed my life.
The post Annual Review 2022 appeared first on David Perell.
2022-10-08 02:56:09
In honor of my 28th birthday, here are 28 pieces of life advice.
The post 28 Pieces of Life Advice appeared first on David Perell.
2022-09-03 00:12:48
The core concepts are simple. The implementation is borderline excessive.
The post The TWA Hotel appeared first on David Perell.
2022-08-27 06:36:00
For years, I thought that being successful and being myself were diametrically opposed, but becoming an online writer has shown me that I can succeed by bringing out more of myself — and so can you.
The post The Ultimate Guide to Writing Online appeared first on David Perell.
2022-06-21 10:20:14
Austin is a mediocre city, but a great place to live.
The post What’s Up with Austin? appeared first on David Perell.
2022-04-19 02:11:35
There is an epidemic of people who bash Christianity but haven’t read the Bible.
No matter where you stand on religion, if you don’t know what the Bible actually says, it’s time to change that.
The post The Book You Need to Read appeared first on David Perell.
2022-04-16 04:56:34
Too many people waste years in hollow ‘entrepreneurship’ classes.
Instead, we need to develop the domain expertise that leads to entrepreneurial ideas.
The post What I Got Wrong About Business appeared first on David Perell.
2022-02-16 01:32:19
Imitate, then Innovate is my motto for improving at any skill.
It’s counterintuitive, but the more we imitate others, the faster we can discover our unique style.
The post Imitate, then Innovate appeared first on David Perell.
2022-01-04 03:07:37
I’ll start this Annual Review by reflecting on 2021. I’ll share highlights and reflect on the goals I set at the beginning of the year. Later, I’ll outline how I plan to improve my life and set a new vision for 2022.
The post Annual Review 2021 appeared first on David Perell.
2021-12-18 02:22:31
I’ve always struggled with commitment. In a world as grand as ours, shouldn’t we try to experience it all? Change it up. Visit every country. Try a bunch of careers. The menu of life is vast, and it’d be a shame to only order a single entrée. When I say I was allergic to restraint,
The post Hugging the X-Axis appeared first on David Perell.
2021-12-10 04:55:27
The Labor Theory of Value argues that the value of a product or a service is determined by the amount of labor required to produce it. If so, something that takes 100 hours to produce is worth 10x more than something that takes 10 hours. One issue with the Labor Theory is it often causes
The post The Counterfactual Theory of Value appeared first on David Perell.
2021-12-07 01:48:37
I visited Montreal for the first time. Here are my general impressions of the city, based on walks around town and casual conversations with friends: Culture: My favorite thing about Montreal is its commitment to culture. French is the dominant language, which is partially why it feels more like Europe than North America. Restaurant names must
The post Thoughts on Montreal appeared first on David Perell.
2021-10-12 03:04:52
There are two ways to write: The Printer Method and the Pixel Method. With the Printer Method, you write and rewrite every sentence until it’s perfect. Nail the first sentence, then the second, and so on. Perfection is the name of the game so you don’t advance to a new sentence until everything before it
The post How Should You Write? appeared first on David Perell.
2021-09-25 01:01:41
Mike boastfully reads 100 books per year. He listens to audiobooks at 3x speed whenever he drives and swears he can remember it all. His browser has a plugin that lets him speed up YouTube videos, and for a while, he listened to podcasts on a special app because of its unique “Smart Speed” feature.
The post Against 3X Speed appeared first on David Perell.
2021-09-11 07:17:39
Whenever you're trying to solve a problem, ask yourself: "What answer am I missing because it seems too stupid?"
The post The Stupid Test appeared first on David Perell.
2021-09-03 05:21:58
I have a confession to make: I leave most parties early because I’d rather read a book. That’s not what I tell people though. Usually, I make up an excuse. Something like “Oh, I have early plans in the morning.” I don’t like being deceptive, but there’s no socially acceptable way to say “I love
The post Intellectual Loneliness appeared first on David Perell.
2021-08-31 05:39:52
When I started working out, I hated it. I wanted to gain muscle but dreaded working out. Eventually, a friend got fed up with my laziness and told me what I needed to hear: “If you want to build the habit, go to the gym every single day without fail.” So that’s what I did.
The post Should You Write Every Day? appeared first on David Perell.
2021-08-26 06:10:23
People don’t read as much as they say they do. This trend is accelerating too. I’m in a friend group of intellectually curious people, and just about everybody says they’re reading fewer books than they used to. But at the risk of sounding like your 5th grade English teacher, reading books is the easiest way
The post People Don’t Actually Read appeared first on David Perell.
2021-08-24 04:44:51
From music, we learn what humanity has always known but schools have forgotten: learning begins with inspiration.
The post How Learning Happens appeared first on David Perell.
2021-08-07 01:54:18
Gyms were once communal places. Nobody wore headphones. People helped each other out and talked between sets. Today, things have changed. Everybody is plugged into their own virtual reality world where they craft their desired mood and intensity level, which definitely gives them a productivity boost. But headphones come at the cost of human connection.
The post Lifting Alone appeared first on David Perell.
2021-07-20 01:04:21
We start with their history by returning to the origins of Western thought. We argue that splitting education into two halves — Professional and Civilized — is the only way to think about education clearly. We then outline the evolution of the Liberal Arts, from the ancients to today. Finally, we propose a plan to create a modern Liberal Arts school with lower costs, expanded access, and students who graduate with both a holistic view of the world.
The post Saving the Liberal Arts appeared first on David Perell.
2021-07-13 05:01:11
My friend Chris Sparks says: “When it comes to creating your environment, assume you have free will. When it comes to living in it, assume you have no free will.” Here’s an example: I lost my love of working out during the pandemic. Before it started, I worked out at a nice, high-energy gym in
The post Thoughts on Free Will appeared first on David Perell.
2021-06-02 05:56:29
Philosophers are the most rigorous thinkers I know. Like intellectual boxers; they come to understand ideas by making them fight with each other. Their style of analysis is effective because it’s so bloody. One friend calls his style “violent thinking.” He talks about thinking like a soldier talks about interrogation. He subjects ideas to ruthless
The post How Philosophers Think appeared first on David Perell.
2021-05-25 01:01:08
Rob Henderson is one of my favorite up-and-coming writers. I like him because he’s one of those people who doesn’t fit into a category. He’s a Ph.D. candidate in psychology, but I met him in a book club about technological stagnation. He’s spent years in the academy, first at Yale and now at Cambridge, but
The post Rob Henderson: An Internet Academic appeared first on David Perell.
2021-05-18 00:29:25
This week, I have two guests. Both are affiliated with Synthesis, a new kind of online school where kids learn through games and simulations. One is Chrisman Frank, the CEO of Synthesis. The other is Ana Lorena Fabrega, who is their Chief Evangelist. Here’s the backstory: A few years ago, Elon Musk asked the co-founder
The post Chrisman Frank and Ana Lorena Fabrega: How Childhood Education Will Change appeared first on David Perell.
2021-05-11 04:57:38
Ash Fontana is an entrepreneur, investor, and author. As an entrepreneur, he was only of the early employees at an online investing platform called AngelList. From there, he became the Managing Director at Zetta, the first investment fund focused on artificial intelligence. Now, he’s the author of the AI-First Company. This conversation is about that
The post Ash Fontana: Building Artificial Intelligence appeared first on David Perell.
2021-05-01 00:19:57
Becoming an educated citizen starts with understanding the lineage of your beliefs. For example, look at this iconic line from one of America’s founding documents:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.”
The post Why You’re Christian appeared first on David Perell.
2021-04-06 06:08:51
The Paradox of Reading: The books you read will profoundly change you even though you’ll forget the vast majority of what you read. The Paradox of Writing: Great writing looks effortless. But because the ideas are so clear, casual readers don’t appreciate how much time it took to refine them. The Paradox of Creativity: Your
The post The Paradoxes of Modern Life appeared first on David Perell.
2021-03-02 07:55:11
America has become a Microwave Economy. We’ve overwhelmingly used our wealth to make the world cheaper instead of more beautiful, more functional instead of more meaningful.
The post The Microwave Economy appeared first on David Perell.
2021-02-17 01:53:43
My guest today is Li Jin, the founder and managing partner at an early-stage venture capital firm called Atelier. Before recording this introduction, I didn’t know what an atelier was, so I looked it up and it’s right on brand for Li: it’s defined as a workshop or a studio, especially one used by an artist or designer. And
The post Li Jin: Creating the Creator Economy appeared first on David Perell.
2021-02-11 07:40:56
Every city changes you. San Francisco tells you to be powerful, LA tells you to be famous, Boston tells you to be smarter, and New York tells you to be richer. In the words of Paul Graham, “every city whispers something.” So when you choose to live in a city, you’re also choosing what kind
The post What Networks Whisper appeared first on David Perell.
2021-02-02 00:44:33
My guest today is Zena Hitz, a tutor at St John’s and the author of an excellent book called Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life. Her book explores the meaning and the value of learning for its own sake, through images and stories of bookworms, philosophers, scientists, and other learners, both fictional
The post Zena Hitz: Liberal Arts Thinking appeared first on David Perell.
2021-01-26 03:00:00
I have two guests today: Tiago Forte and Will Mannon. Tiago is my business partner and the creator of an online course called Building a Second Brain. The two of us record a podcast like this every year to reflect on what we’ve learned about the online education industry. And this time, we invited our
The post Tiago Forte & Will Mannon: Building Cohort-Based Courses appeared first on David Perell.
2021-01-25 20:00:00
My guest today is Gagan Biyani, the current CEO of an education startup (where I’m both an investor and an advisor) that helps teachers run Cohort-Based Courses on the Internet and has students from around the world. Gagan also founded a multi-billion dollar online education platform called Udemy. Afterward, he founded Sprig, a food delivery
The post Gagan Biyani: Building Silicon Valley Startups appeared first on David Perell.
2021-01-19 05:39:27
Writing and editing should be separate activities. When I’m in this creation mode, I shoot for a flow state. I keep my fingertips on the keyboard and measure progress by how many words I put on the page. My physical environment helps me be generative too. If I’m sitting down at my computer, I’ll turn
The post The Jerry Seinfeld Guide to Writing appeared first on David Perell.
2021-01-12 04:00:31
Information abundance, like all markets of abundance, is bad for the average person but great for a small number of people. Abundance is a paradox. Environments of abundance are bad for the median consumer but extremely good for a small number of conscious ones. Average consumers are doomed to the tyranny of instinct. Meanwhile, consumers
The post The Paradox of Abundance appeared first on David Perell.