on building things

“So many people walk around with a meaningless life. They seem half-asleep, even when they’re busy doing things they think are important. This is because they’re chasing the wrong things. The way you get meaning into your life is to devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating somet

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Your success here will depend entirely on how successfully you can tell stories, and how successfully other people can repeat those stories, both to themselves and others.Your North Star here has to be: are other people retelling this story successfully?Port cities around the world are more similar to each other than they are to their inland counte... See more

It’s not enough to tell one good story; you have to create an entire world that people can step into, familiarize themselves with, and spend time getting to know. Initially you’ll have to walk them around and show them what’s in your world, but your goal is to familiarize them with your world sufficiently, and motivate them to participate, to the p... See more

My job is not to think about what exists but rather what I want that does not yet exist.

Anna Wintour’s biography turned into maxims:

1. Hire talented people as found, not as needed.

2. Taste is as rare as a unicorn.

3.Your employees should describe you as “easy to understand.”

4.Pretend to be completely in control and people will assume that you are.

5.Have a sharp eye for the weaknesses of others.

6.Combine ruthless efficiency with hyp... See more