Applying Antifragile and Nassim Taleb’s Ideas to Education, Learning and Career
Okay this blog post is not like the usual stuff you get from me — it will probably require patience and note-taking. It corresponds with a mini-series on the With Joe Wehbe Podcast to do with Nassim Nicholas Taleb, whose books are pretty hard to read especially for young people! Check out the podcast here — the Taleb series starts from episode 181. I want to spend time on the podcast unpacking great thinkers about education, learning and careers and I wanted to start with Taleb. Taleb is a very entertaining, intellectually sassy figure known in particular for his epic books and ideas
The 16 Benefits of Private vs. Open Communities
For 2017 I invested more than $10K to participate in private online communities (more than $15K if you include the associated travel and related expenses). For 2018 my investment has already exceeded $30K, and I’m looking to bump it to $40-50K within the next several months. — Steve Pavlina Today I dissect a long-form, incredibly high quality blog post by Steve Pavlina from 2018 called 'The Rise of Private Communities' — for Pavlina, the investment he'd made into private communities was better than Bitcoin. Earlier this year Scott McKeon and I established a private community called The Constant Student, and I've
Stacking the Upside — have you made the most of your opportunity?
Stacking the upside is a principle that has been central to my life for the last four to five years. The 'upside' is what you stand to gain in a situation — stacking it means piling up what you will gain. I'll give you examples below from my own personal business, learning, education and career journeys. The next examples are just to ensure that the basics are clear. If you were going to choose between two properties to buy as an investment, one which is expected to grow in value at 5% per year, and another at 10%, the one with 10%
How I put a spam marketer in his his place!
There's nothing more annoying than receiving spam, marketing dm's and cold calls, right? There you are minding your own business and working hard, trying to get towards your goals, when someone who's managed to find your number or email pierces through and distracts you during your day. It's annoying when people waste your time and take away your energy, just to push their agenda. I received one such message the other day and decided that enough was enough. Hey Joe, Isaac here
32 Reasons why you can’t afford NOT to start a podcast
Should you start a podcast? As hard as it is to give generic, best-for-all advice, the answer is probably yes. There's not many things I can say that about, but a podcast is probably one of them. I launched the With Joe Wehbe Podcast about 11 months ago. I made 121 daily episodes, then stopped for eight months, but now I'm excited to start publishing episodes again. It's been a very unorthodox podcast journey, but one I'm proud of. Without major reach and distribution yet, so many positives have come from it. In that vein, the below are just 32 of the many
What I wish I could go back and say to myself when I was starting University
The below was first published on my Medium site in 2019. With the very momentous launch of '18 & Lost? So Were We' this week, it was prudent to revisit and reflect over this. Scott McKeon dug it up and read it out to me over the phone. In this piece I could see the seeds being sewn over ideas that would later come to define my philosophy and the themes in my chapter in the book. What started as a random thought in Scott's head became an Amazon best-selling book. Who would have thought! But it started small
Frameworks to organise your whole life
I've been writing on www.withjoewehbe.com for more than a year, trying to open Doors for others. What I've learnt about people is that when we haven't clarified our own ideas or values on a topic, we are impressionable — we take them absent-mindedly from those around us. Ideas and values dictate what Doors we open, and so, we must choose our own ideas and values, so that we control our journeys. Here are some frameworks that will change how you think for the rest of your life: The Minimum Viable Lifestyle — personal finance, how you invest your time, how hard you chase income
The book — the ultimate symbol of how our times have changed
Books carry a special place in our world — they move the culture forward. There was a time when you needed permission and approval to write a book. It was not so long ago in fact. A publisher needed to agree to bring your idea into the world and stock it on shelves. There were gatekeepers. There were people who got to decide. People other than you. As Seth Godin says, that barrier has now disappeared. In 2021, you can write a book and put it online any time you like. Did you know that? You can put it on Amazon right now,
The Doorman
Don't thank me. The magic comes from the people who are in the Room. Not the person who Opens the Door. One Thing. The business books tell you to focus on one thing, and to become world class at it. To the business books I say, my physiotherapist wanted me to do rehab for half and hour each day on my ankle. The problem is, that's too much time to give to my ankle. I have a life to live. In the same way, the focus of my life cannot be to develop myself into a product with high market value. I was not designed for the
You’ll try following the map until you realise it’s a compass you need.
Most of us look for a map to follow. I suspect we have all been guilty of wanting to see the path laid out before us, with no hidden bends or unfinished roads. But as it is with real-world expeditions, you need to go off road. No great learning or solution can be laid out step-by-step-by-step. The Thousand Doors is the truth that your real future lies hidden, out of sight, and requires you to Open Doors. There is no fool-proof process, no journey free from obstacles. If you're being creative and daring, there are very few relevant best practices. Nothing worthwhile is straightforward. Stop