No. 285 June 13, 2025
Welcome to this week’s Friday Five: insights, inspiration, and a few personal favorites to kick off your weekend.
Music of the Week
Terius Gray—better known as Juvenile—got his start in New Orleans and began rapping at just 11 years old. A few favorites from his catalog: 400 Degreez, Bling Bling, Set It Off, I Need a Hot Girl, Project Bitch, and of course, Back That Azz Up. For a fresh take on the classics, check out his Tiny Desk Concert—it’s a must-watch.
Quotes of the Week
It’s like anything else: you have to take your mind where you want your ass to follow. You’ve got to imagine the person you want to be before you can be them. But then you need to acquire the skills to actually become that person. – Bruce Springsteen
It’s okay to be discouraged. But then you’ve got to pull yourself back up. You can’t stay down. That can’t be your mindset for too long, or otherwise, it won’t work out. That down and discouraged mindset will win. – Lisa Kudrow
The thing I learned from that is your past is more important than your ability to pitch, interview, or anything like that. You can’t run away from your past. So have a good past. Try to have a good past. – Jensen Huang
Your life—who you are, what you think, feel, and do, what you love—is the sum of what you focus on. – Winifred Gallagher
Articles of the Week
5 Books I Read in May — And the One That Changed My Thinking
A roundup of the best books I read in May 2025, including the one that made me rethink how I approach business and life.
Free Cash Flow Lesson from Thomas Edison: Why Cash Is King
A timeless financial lesson from one of history’s greatest inventors—and how modern founders can avoid his biggest mistake.
Book of the Week
American Assassin by Vince Flynn
Mitch Rapp was a gifted college athlete with a bright future—until tragedy struck. After a terrorist attack claimed the life of his girlfriend, along with 270 others, Rapp doesn’t want comfort. He wants retribution.
As the CIA scrambles to counter a rising wave of Islamic terrorism, veteran spymaster Thomas Stansfield taps his protégée Irene Kennedy and Cold War operator Stan Hurley to build an off-the-books team of clandestine operatives. Rapp is their first recruit.
What follows is six months of grueling training and a series of deadly missions across Europe. From Istanbul to Hamburg to Beirut, Rapp eliminates key players behind the attack—but the enemy is watching. The hunter is about to become the hunted.
American Assassin is a fast-paced, high-stakes origin story of one of modern fiction’s most formidable covert operatives.
Podcasts of the Week
A few standout renewable energy podcasts caught my attention this week:
- Making Tax Credits Work for Clean Energy
- Decoding the House Bill: Impacts on Energy Tax Credits
- FEOC Restrictions: The House Passed Foreign Entity of Concern Restrictions
- Summary of Tax Credit Provisions from the House Ways and Means Committee
- Giraffe Financial CEO on Tax Credit Monetization
- We’re All Making It Up As We Go
- Out On A Limb
If you’re in the energy space, especially tracking tax credit markets or FEOC developments, these are worth a listen.
Enjoyed this? Hit reply and let me know what resonated — or forward to a friend who might like it too.
Until next week,
Michael
