Five on Friday: On Failure and Learning, Michelangelo’s Greatest Regret, and Manufacturing Intellect
Issue V
Every Friday I send an email with five pieces of content. These are things I’ve found insightful, inspiring… or just interesting.
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Here are five things from my week I thought were worth passing on.
Today at a Glance
Quote: What makes Elon Musk great?
Tweet: Michelangelo’s greatest regret
Article: The Miracle on Ice
Podcast: How to write better online
Bonus: Manufacturing Intellect
One Quote
“When you fail in ways other people won’t, you learn things other people don’t and never will.”
– Justine Musk
This quote from Elon Musk’s ex-wife was part of her response to the question of what makes him great.
It’s a keen insight. It got me thinking about risk taking and failure and how they determine the ceiling of what we’re capable of learning. Information will only take you so far. Some lessons have to be experienced before they can be understood.
One Tweet
This fascinating thread tells the story of how a young Michelangelo allowed pride to lead him into making one of the great mistakes of his life, and how it changed him forever.
One Article
This Day In History - The Miracle On Ice
Confession: I haven’t watched one minute of this year’s Olympic games. It’s nothing against the Olympics; I didn’t watch the Super Bowl either. In fact, since the strangeness of 2020 I haven’t really watched any sports, except to start following Formula 1.
This week we did however watch the movie Miracle. Exactly 42 years ago the US hockey team pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history by defeating the Russians. The 2004 movie that tells the story of this team is one of the best sports films ever made, a true classic and worth watching (again).
It’s available on Disney+ or you can rent it on Amazon.
One Podcast
How To Write Better Online With David Perell - Founder’s Journal
One of my goals this year is to write more consistently online. I’ve learned a lot from David Perell and this short interview with Alex Leiberman, founder of the email newsletter Morning Brew, is loaded with great tips.
In less than 15 minutes you’ll learn how to:
Write from abundance
Write from conversation
Write in public
Definitely worth the listen if you’re wanting to become a better writer!
One Bonus
You really ought to check out Manufacturing Intellect.
It’s a treasure trove of old interviews with notable intellectuals. The owner of this YouTube channel looks for rare and unavailable video and audio and then restores and uploads them. It’s like a time machine.
Consider this gem of a video: Robert Frost reciting his own poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. Amazing!
Personal Note
After 6 months of trying to rehab my heel/Achilles on my own, this week I decided to visit my doc and find out what’s going on. We’ll see what the x-ray shows and what physical training and rehab is recommended. I’ve been walking these past few weeks because running is too painful. In 25+ years of running I’ve never had a serious injury so this is new territory for me. Sometimes you don’t fully appreciate your health until it’s been compromised. Still, I’m grateful for the health I do enjoy and hopeful for a quick return to full mobility.
Thanks for reading and if you like Five on Friday, please share it with others who might enjoy it too.
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