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No. 310 | December 5, 2025
Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start your weekend with clarity and focus.
Music of the Week
Sherry Finzer is a musician who leans into healing and calm as the core of her sound.
She specializes in low flutes (alto, bass, contrabass) and native flutes, using them to create music designed to ease stress and quiet the mind.
Start with Resilience, Fireflies, and Breathe.
Quotes of the Week
Be stingy with your time. It’s been working on this daily. Saying yes is easy; saying no is hard. These quotes remind me to guard my time like the asset it is.
“People are frugal in guarding their personal property, but as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful.” – Seneca
“Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of.” – Benjamin Franklin
“Time is really the only capital that any human being has.” – Thomas Edison
“Most people get ahead during the time others waste.” – Henry Ford
“Time is the scarcest resource, and unless it is managed, nothing else can be managed.” – Peter Drucker
“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” – Warren Buffett
“Guard your time like your life depends on it. Because it does.” – Naval Ravikant
Article of the Week
“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals.” – Vince Lombardi
Healthy conflict is essential at Nvidia. Jensen Huang wants only the strongest ideas to survive—a theme explored in The Nvidia Way.
This kind of conflict demands clear thinking—slowing down, sharpening judgment, and choosing quality over speed.
You only master the fundamentals when your thinking is clear. It takes time, but once the fundamentals are yours, they compound.
For more on Nvidia, Jensen Huang, and Clear Thinking, read my article below:
📝 Honing the Sword: Jensen Huang on Conflict, Clear Thinking, and Fundamentals
Book of the Week
Land’s Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented Itis the story of Polaroid and its founder, Edwin Land.
Land became fascinated with polarized light early in life, and that curiosity eventually grew into a career and a company.
Polaroid is best known for its instant camera, released in the late 1940s—revolutionary at the time because it produced a developed photo in under a minute.
For more on Edwin Land, Polaroid, and the revolutionary products he created, read:
📚 Land’s Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented It
Podcast of the Week
Chip and Joanna Gaines built a billion-dollar home renovation, design, and media empire, almost by accident.
Their introduction to the world was Fixer Upper, a cultural phenomenon. I watched it religiously.
They eventually walked away from the show to build Magnolia—a lifestyle brand that now includes a TV network, retail shops, restaurants, books, and a magazine.
The Gaineses built this incredible brand in Waco while raising five kids—an impressive feat.
For more on the Gaineses, Magnolia, and how they built it, listen to the episode below:
🎧 Magnolia: Chip and Joanna Gaines. From House Flipping to Household Name
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