The Algebra of Happiness

Most of us understand how compound interest works with money, but don’t recognize its power in other parts of our lives. The app 1 Second Everyday reminds you to take a second of video each day, a small daily nuisance/investment.

By the time you’re thirty, you should have a feel for what your burn is. Young people are 100 percent focused on their earnings. Adults also focus on their burn.

The ability to deliver some sort of sweat or intelligence that people will pay you for, that you can then support your family with.

Two-thirds of economic growth over the next fifty years will be in supercities. Opportunity is a function of density. Get to a place that’s crowded with success. Big cities are Wimbledon—even if you aren’t Rafael Nadal, your game will improve by being on the court with him. And you’ll either get in better shape or learn you shouldn’t be at Wimbledo

The slope of the trajectory for your career is (unfairly) set in the first five years post-graduation. If you want the trajectory to be steep, you’ll need to burn a lot of fuel. The world is not yours for the taking, but for the trying. Try hard, really hard.

knew that wealth, among other things, brought contacts and access to a different level of healthcare. We had neither.

earth. Taking life advice from a depressed and insane professor may not make sense. Maybe.

Young people are 100 percent focused on their earnings. Adults also focus on their burn.

I have no academic credibility or credentials to indicate I should counsel people on how to live their lives. I’ve had several businesses fail, was divorced by thirty-four, and recently had the most successful venture capitalist in history contact the partners at General Catalyst—my backers at L2—to discourage them (no joke) from investing in L2 be