No. 340 | July 10, 2026
Welcome to Friday Five, a short collection of ideas to take into your weekend.
This week’s theme: persistence, integrity, championship standards, building things people can feel, and finding opportunity in difficult problems.
The common thread: the best builders and leaders adopt the behaviors long before the rewards arrive.
If this resonates, forward it to a friend. Most readers discover Friday Five because someone they trust shared it with them.
Music of the Week
Keep on keepin’ on. — Matt Beard
mtbrd, a vowel-less version of Matt Beard, is an electronic and hip-hop producer from Manchester, England.
His music blends hip-hop beats with vintage samples from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
If you’re looking to dive into his catalog, listen to “Smoovy,” “Damn Fine Coffee,” and “Wanna Be Your Lover.”
🎵 mtbrd
Quotes of the Week
Integrity is revealed in how you act when nobody is watching. That’s the thread running through this week’s quotes:
“Character is what you are in the dark.” — Dwight L. Moody
“The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” — John Wooden
“Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching.” — C.S. Lewis
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” — Warren Buffett
“Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.” — Oprah Winfrey
Article of the Week
“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 franchise and turned it into a dynasty. He focused on the process, established a high standard of performance, taught through repetition, treated everyone with respect, and maintained his composure under pressure.
Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson used many of the same principles to build Basecamp. They focused on the core value first, said no to protect their time, worked with what they had, stayed lean and small to remain profitable, and built an audience by sharing their knowledge.
Different domains. Same outcome. Leaders who built enduring organizations by relentlessly upholding standards.
For more on Walsh, Fried, and Heinemeier Hansson, read:
📝 June Reading List: The 2 Best Books I Read in June 2026
Podcast of the Week
“Build the thing people can feel, not the thing you can explain.” — Bob Taylor
Bob Taylor and Kurt Listug joined How I Built This to tell the story behind one of the world’s most respected guitar brands.
The company began as a tiny San Diego guitar repair shop generating roughly $30,000 per year. Today, it generates nine figures in annual revenue.
It survived every challenge that could have ended the company: a busted distributor deal, a market crash with the emergence of disco, and slow growth where the founders could barely pay themselves.
Taylor Guitars is a story about chance encounters, craftsmanship, obsession, and what great partnerships look like.
For more on Taylor, Listug, and the guitar brand they built, listen:
🎙️ Taylor Guitars: Kurt Listug and Bob Taylor. From $3,700 Shop to Global Icon
Book of the Week
“Problems are an asset. Big gunky problems are where the best opportunities lie because most people run away from them.” — Brad Jacobs
In this sequel to How to Make a Few Billion Dollars, Brad Jacobs explains how to partner with investors, build acquisition machines, and create organizations where culture, compensation, and talent reinforce one another.
The book also explores meditation, reframing of irrational beliefs, and using mindfulness to pursue ambitious goals.
He ends the book by exploring humanity’s possible futures, from collapse to utopia, and argues that today’s choices shape tomorrow’s outcomes.
Enduring lessons that stuck with me include:
- Think big from day one. Extraordinary outcomes often begin as unreasonable ideas.
- Hunt for opportunities with massive upside and manageable downside.
- Choosing the right playing field is mission-critical. Great operators rarely overcome terrible markets.
- Success comes from persistence, speed, and a willingness to take calculated risks.
- The most consequential decision in business and life is who you surround yourself with.
For more on thinking big, finding opportunity in problems, and building great organizations, read:
📚 How to Make a Few More Billion Dollars
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