No. 291 | July 25, 2025
Welcome to this week’s Friday Five — a quick dose of insights, inspiration, and personal favorites to kick off your weekend with clarity and intention.
🎶 Music of the Week
Erroll Garner was a legendary jazz pianist and composer whose career spanned from the mid-1940s through the 1970s. Born in Pittsburgh, Garner began playing piano at age three and never stopped. He was entirely self-taught and famously couldn’t read sheet music—he played everything by ear.
Garner’s sound is unmistakable. Pure jazz. A few of my favorite tracks:
🎶 “Misty”
🎶 “I’m in the Mood for Love”
🎶 “Laura”
You can explore more of his work here on Spotify.
📌 Quotes of the Week
A few words that stuck with me — all circling the theme of focus, mindset, and mastering the moment:
“You are the man. You were built for this. You love the big moments.” — Tom Brady, written in all caps at the front of his playbook during his final year in New England (via Seth Wickersham)
“Don’t study greatness. Study failure, and work out how not to be that. Trying to be as good as Augustus is hard. Not being as incompetent as Caligula is easier.” — Charlie Songhurst
“Finally, out of desperation, I went as small as I could possibly go and asked: ‘What’s the ONE Thing you can do this week such that by doing it everything else would be easier or unnecessary?’” — Gary Keller
“Are you distracted by breaking news? Then take some leisure time to learn something good, and stop bouncing around.” — Marcus Aurelius
“You have to be very careful about what (and to whom) you’re giving the best part of your day.” — Philipp Meyer
📝 Articles of the Week
Free Cash Flow Lessons from Thomas Edison: Why Cash Is King
In his 2004 shareholder letter, Jeff Bezos wrote a deceptively simple line:
“Our ultimate financial measure, and the one we most want to drive over the long term, is free cash flow per share.”
It’s not flashy. It doesn’t sound visionary. But that one phrase could have saved Thomas Edison decades of financial strain.
Despite inventing the light bulb, the phonograph, and laying the foundation for entire industries, Edison was constantly strapped for cash. Not because of bad ideas, but because of poor cash flow. At one point, he admitted:
“I have been under a desperate strain for money for 22 years.”
This post explores what Edison’s struggles teach us about the power of free cash flow—and why Bezos, Buffett, and every resilient business owner prioritize it. Free cash flow equals freedom. Edison learned that the hard way.
📚 Book of the Week
Hell Yeah or No: What’s Worth Doing by Derek Sivers
I re-listened to this book recently, and it might’ve been even better the second time around. Derek Sivers is one of the best when it comes to sharing simple, powerful mental models. This book is packed with wisdom, delivered in that signature Sivers way: short, clear, and unforgettable.
One of my favorite ideas in the book is his core decision-making filter I use all the time:
If you’re feeling anything less than “Hell yeah!” about a decision—then it’s a no.
Simple as that. But how often do we forget it? I know I do. We say yes to too many things, spread ourselves thin, and end up overwhelmed. Sivers makes the case that saying “no” more often gives us the freedom to say “yes” to what matters.
🎧 Listen to the audiobook on Spotify.
🎧 Podcast of the Week
This week, I listened to The Daily Stoic Podcast — hosted by Ryan Holiday, it’s a show that pulls timeless lessons from the writings of the Stoics, like Marcus Aurelius and Seneca the Younger, and applies them to modern life.
The episode I’d recommend is:
“The Untold Emotional Struggles of History’s Most Powerful Men | Ron Chernow Pt. 1”
Listen on Spotify →
Ron Chernow, a Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer, has written some of the best biographies I’ve ever read, including those on George Washington and John D. Rockefeller. In this episode, Chernow discusses the emotional and psychological battles faced by some of history’s most powerful men: Alexander Hamilton, Ulysses S. Grant, Mark Twain, and more.
What stuck with me most: these men weren’t great because they avoided emotional struggle — they were great because they learned to manage it. Their inner lives shaped their legacies.
Enjoyed the read? Hit reply and let me know what stood out — or feel free to forward this to a friend who might appreciate it too.
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