No. 338 | June 26, 2026
Welcome to Friday Five, a short collection of ideas to take into your weekend.
This week’s theme: beating negative self-talk, dominating niche markets, and building for the future.
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Music of the Week
Allen Toussaint was a musician, songwriter, and producer whose influence stretched across seven decades. He was also a close friend of one of my favorite musicians, Dr. John.
Toussaint was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Blues Hall of Fame. He also received the National Medal of Arts.
Start with “Hercules,” “St. James Infirmary,” and “Southern Nights.”
Quotes of the Week
Most self-defeating behavior comes from wanting one thing and repeatedly choosing another. These quotes capture that tension:
“The first and best victory is to conquer self.” – Plato
“He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.” – Confucius
“It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hillary
“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.” – Marcus Aurelius
Article of the Week
“All happy companies are different: each one earns a monopoly by solving a unique problem. All failed companies are the same: they failed to escape competition.” — Peter Thiel
Competing in undifferentiated commodity businesses is rarely where value gets created. According to Peter Thiel, do the opposite. Competition is great for customers and usually terrible for profits. Avoid working in or building businesses where customers can’t tell you apart from everyone else.
In Zero to One, Thiel argues that the goal is to avoid competition entirely. Start in a small market. Dominate a niche. Generate durable cash flows. Scale only after you’ve built something competitors can’t easily copy. The key is owning a small market before chasing a larger one.
For more on competition, monopoly, and why owning a small niche matters, read:
📝 Competition Destroys Profits: Peter Thiel’s Most Controversial Idea from Zero to One
Podcast of the Week
“The best managers figure out how to get great outcomes by setting the appropriate context, rather than by trying to control their people.” — Reed Hastings
Reed Hastings is the co-founder and longtime CEO who helped turn Netflix from a DVD-by-mail service into a global streaming giant.
Netflix found a simple idea and pursued it with unusual conviction.
He recently joined Invest Like the Best to explain why the DVD business was always a stepping stone to streaming. He also discussed talent density and what it takes to build and sustain it.
He explains how long-term thinking and talent shaped Netflix’s culture and strategy, and why the company approaches content more like a venture capital portfolio than a traditional studio.
It’s a fascinating conversation with one of the great builders of the modern era.
For more on Netflix, talent density, and building for the future, listen:
🎙️ Reed Hastings — Building Netflix
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