“If you have to swallow a frog, don’t look at it too long.” — Jim Clayton, quoting his grandfather Jim Clayton nearly lost everything. His assets were seized. He refused to waste time complaining about it or feeling sorry for himself. The morning after nearly losing it all, he met his wife and team at a […]
3 Business Lessons from Jim Clayton’s First, a Dream Read More »
“If you don’t go, you don’t get.” — Ronnen Harary A quantitative investor. A serial acquirer. A business strategist. A Hollywood power broker. A toy entrepreneur. At first glance, they have almost nothing in common. Look closer, and a pattern appears. Each spent years pursuing opportunities others overlooked. Each hit dead ends. None treated them as
July Reading List: 5 Best Books I Read in July 2026 Read More »
“Champions behave like champions before they’re champions; they have a winning standard of performance before they are winners.” — Bill Walsh Bill Walsh took over a miserable San Francisco 49ers team in the late 1970s. He immediately focused on small details like how the staff answered the phone, dressed, and carried themselves instead of obsessing over
June Reading List: 2 Best Books I Read in June 2026 Read More »
Kevin Kelly wrote down the advice he wished he’d known when he was younger. Danny Meyer built a restaurant empire by putting employees first. Bill Gurley discovered that great careers come from pursuing genuine interests. Sam Zell found opportunity wherever supply and demand were out of balance. Stephen Schwarzman built Blackstone by repeatedly asking, “Why
May Reading List: 5 Best Books I Read in May 2026 Read More »
Brad Jacobs keeps buying companies in boring industries like garbage and equipment rentals, then turning them into billion-dollar machines. Elon Musk put his last cash into SpaceX after a third failed launch while Tesla burned cash fast enough to kill both companies. Sergey Brin and Larry Page tried to sell Google to Excite, got rejected,
April Reading List: 4 Best Books I Read in April 2026 Read More »
Jeff Bezos is at a desk repeating the same idea: it’s still Day 1. In Japan, an old man bikes to work well into his 90s because he has a reason to get up. Roger Federer is a teenager smashing rackets before learning to master himself. Arthur Blank and Bernie Marcus are fired from a
March Reading List: 4 Best Books I Read in March 2026 Read More »
Ken Langone is hustling to pay for college, taking whatever work he can find. Steve Wozniak is hunched over a circuit board, building a computer by hand. Jim Clayton is knocking on doors, selling homes, and learning what people actually need. Fred Smith is in Las Vegas, gambling the last of his company’s cash to
February Reading List: 4 Best Books I Read in February 2026 Read More »
Michael Dell is in a University of Texas dorm room, taking apart computers and selling them for a profit. Steve Jobs is in a conference room, telling someone their work isn’t good enough. Edwin Land holds a camera that develops a photo in minutes and realizes the world isn’t ready for it. Play nice, but
January Reading List: 5 Best Books I Read in January 2026 Read More »
What a rewarding and fulfilling reading year this has been. I hit my goal of reading at least 50 pages a day, and along the way, I also permitted myself to stop reading books that didn’t hold my attention. The result is a 2025 reading list I’m proud of—one that spans history, business, philosophy, sports,
2025 Reading List: My 52 Best Books of 2025 Read More »
December gave me space to look back at what I’ve read over the past year and where that reading is leading me next. My December reading list includes Land’s Polaroid: A Company and the Man Who Invented It, Know What Matters: Lessons from a Lifetime of Transformations, Hetty: The Fascinating Story of America’s Richest Woman,
December Reading List: 4 Best Books I Read in December 2025 Read More »