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No. 312 | December 19, 2025
Welcome to this week’s Friday Five—a short dose of insights, inspiration, and favorites to start the weekend with clarity and focus.
Music of the Week
Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band was founded in 2010 by trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Igmar Thomas.
The band has earned multiple Grammys and wins by blending jazz, hip hop, and soul.
Start with Igmar Thomas’ Revive Big Band: Tiny Desk Concert or listen below:
Quotes of the Week
Stake your claim. To me, that means choosing a path, taking responsibility, and owning your work. These quotes get at the essence of that idea.
“It is not the critic who counts… The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena.” – Theodore Roosevelt
“No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or get all the credit.” – Andrew Carnegie
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.” – Steve Jobs
“Don’t be intimidated by what you don’t know.” – Sara Blakely
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams… he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Thoreau
Article of the Week
“Don’t tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and let them surprise you with the results.” – Phil Knight
Trust your people, leave room for creativity, and don’t micromanage. That’s Knight’s leadership in a nutshell.
His leadership built Nike. But he needed motivation. Adidas became the monster to conquer.
Besting a monster requires hard work—and a team. One that’s obsessed. Knight called them “shoe dogs.”
The shoe dogs lived and breathed shoes. They used the product. That credibility built trust with customers.
Selling at scale over many decades mattered. But Nike’s purpose wasn’t money. It was contribution, improvement, and helping people live more fully.
When you prioritize helping people over profit, you attract top talent. At Nike, people saw the work as a calling—not a job.
For more on Phil Knight, Nike, and how it was built, read my article below:
📝 How Nike Was Built: Truth-Telling, Shoe Dogs, and Phil Knight’s Calling
Book of the Week
Hetty by Charles Slack is a story of America’s richest woman and a trailblazer of entrepreneurship in the Gilded Age.
Hetty’s story begins with her inheritance. She was able to turn that windfall into more than a billion-dollar fortune.
How? Frugality. She lived on her own terms—buying and selling real estate and railroads, and lending cash to cities like New York.
For more on Hetty Green, frugality, and her story, read the book below:
Podcast of the Week
Boyd Varty runs several premium South African retreats under the company Track Your Life.
Varty grew up with lions, leopards, snakes, and elephants, making him uniquely suited to run these retreats.
In addition to the retreats, he’s an author and podcaster—and an exceptional storyteller.
For more on Boyd Varty, his retreats, and close calls with wildlife, listen below:
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