Hey everyone,
If you're new here, welcome to Never Enough, where I brain dump interesting stuff that has been on my mind over the last week.
Today's edition is brought to you by Athena.
The last thing I want to do is spend time calling the optometrist to get my latest prescription.
Last year, I hired Tina, my Athena assistant, and tasks like this disappeared from view.
They just got done, magically, behind the scenes.
When Tina stepped in, she took over my inbox and calendar, as well as my life. She was like a military general, ensuring nothing fell through the cracks and everything stayed on track.
But her true value shone in unexpected ways. She handled all the things that would otherwise sidetrack me.
Coordinating car repairs. Keeping track of meeting notes. Coordinating legal documents.
The annoying little tasks that would otherwise eat away at my time.
I stopped having to think about any of it, so I could focus on what really mattered.
What’s magical about an Athena assistant, is they come pre-trained.
They know exactly what to do and come with opinions on how to improve your workflow. And somehow, they cost a fraction of a North American assistant.
What are you waiting for? Talk to Athena
Now onto this week’s issue…
- You should ignore most problems.
This morning, I left my phone in the car and took my dog for a walk in a wooded forest near my house.
Within a few minutes, I felt calmer and more present.
Interestingly, at that moment, all of my life’s problems still existed. Hundreds of unread emails and texts piling up. Podcasts I’ve been meaning to listen to. Never-ending to-do lists.
I just wasn’t aware of any of it. It wasn’t in my face, blaring out of my trusty 6.7-inch portal into stress.
About six months ago, I used an app called Freedom to block all news and social media on my phone.
Now, when I try to click on news or open Instagram, Reddit, or X, my screen goes gray. I just can’t use any of it. Period.
I went from having an opinion on every stock market gyration and geopolitical event to not really being aware of any of it.
Sure, I was loosely up to speed. I’d hear mutterings about what was happening from friends. I’d read the occasional copy of The Wall Street Journal. I knew enough to not embarrass myself at dinner parties, but, mostly, I’d focus on other problems. Things that I could actually control.
I knew Trump got indicted, and why, but didn’t know the details. I figured I would find out what happened in the trial after it concluded, instead of doing what I used to do: obsessively follow every second of it minute-by-minute in The New York Times.
It felt like I knew enough to not have my head in the sand, but not so much that I was dwelling on it.
In retrospect, I think this is the right amount of attention for most of life’s problems. And it’s interesting how often stress simply comes from awareness.
Think about that in the context of the stock market vs. home ownership.
Most people say they “can’t stomach” owning stocks because they go up and down. It’s scary. They’re a roller-coaster.
What they don’t realize is that—if they own a home—the same thing is happening to the value of their house. It’s just invisible to them.
They’re not aware of it. There’s no ticker for a house price, even though home prices whip-saw around month to month, year to year.
This lack of awareness doesn’t change the reality, but it does change the experience. You don’t stress over the daily fluctuations because you don’t see them. Your house might lose $50,000 in value one month and gain it back the next, but unless you’re trying to sell, it’s irrelevant to your daily life.
Lately, I’ve been trying to remind myself to have as little awareness as possible of problems I don’t control and can’t impact, and as much calm space as I can from problems I do control. Yes, every once in a while I need to jump on an immediate grenade, but let’s be real—if I deleted 95% of my emails today, nothing bad would happen.
- Jason Fried is my freaking hero. He’s built a massive company where he does exactly what he wants and runs it in a totally unconventional way. I’ve been a fan of his for decades and his company 37signals was a huge inspiration for how we built many of our own companies. I interviewed him on the podcast and the episode just went live.
Watch on YouTube or tune in on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
- I’ve spent the last decade reading the world’s greatest investors' annual letters. For those who don’t know, most public company and hedge fund CEOs write an annual (and sometimes quarterly) letter to their shareholders.
Most are boring as hell, verging on political fluff, but some are incredibly well written and informative. Warren Buffet being the most famous example. His letters are considered holy scriptures to value investors like myself, and it’s fascinating to start at the beginning of an investors career and see the progression (and compounding) over many decades. There’s a power to zooming out and seeing an investor’s long term trajectory. How their thinking changes over time. What stays the same. Which favorite investment in one letter turns out to be a blunder in another. The language they use to compliment (or covertly diss) management teams and competitors.
A few of my favorites that are worth checking out:
- David Einhorn from Greenlight Capital
- Bill Ackman from Pershing Square
- Joe Steinberg and Ian Cumming from Leucadia
- Mark Leonard from Constellation Software
- Prem Watsa from Fairfax
- Jeff Bezos from Amazon
- Joey Levin from IAC
- Because I’m such an annual letter nerd, I was particularly excited to hit publish on Tiny’s second annual letter to shareholders last week.
In it, Chris and I discuss:
- Our first year as a public company
- 2023 performance across the group
- The six acquisitions we made this year
- An update on our $150M USD private fund
- Our thoughts on incentives and stock options
And much more. Hopefully we did the greats justice.
You can read the letter here.
- Do you want to grill me and Sam Parr like grilled cheese? Then I have the event for you.
My book, Never Enough, is launching in less than five weeks, and I've got special bonuses for those who pre-order.
My friend Sam Parr (co-host of My First Million) is joining me for an exclusive Ask Me Anything on Friday, June 7 at 1:00 PM PST for anyone that pre-orders the book.
To get access:
1) Pre-order now → neverenough.com
2) Forward your pre-order receipt to book@neverenough.com
3) I'll send you the sign-up details for the AMA.
Already submitted your receipt? Check your inbox for a separate email with the invitation!
Hope to see you there.
That’s all for this week…but one more thing. If you’re enjoying this, can you do me a favor and forward it to a friend? Thanks.
-Andrew
Check out my podcast: YouTube / Spotify / Apple Podcast
Want to sell your business or know someone who does? www.tiny.com
Follow me on Twitter/X: @awilkinson
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