Books:

Antifragile – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Nassim Nicolas Taleb wrote a harrowing book that has changed the way I see the world. It was harrowing in that it is so dense that my note taking interrupted me so greatly that I required nearly 3 weeks to finish the book. At times he comes off as a rude contrarian, but I couldn’t get away from the fact that his seemed disturbingly right on the money.

At the beginning, he writes, “the goal is to build a guide to non-predictive decision making under uncertainty.” He takes this point to such an incalculable level of depth that it left me spinning often. Perhaps he could have avoided the ancient Greek and Latin for the sake of the audience…

Generally while listening to books (say Titan, Linchpin or The Power of Habit) I can do things like cook, run on the beach, jump rope or lift weights. Many other books tell stories that are more easily retained in my dense brain. Antifragile is inhospitable to this style of consumption.

I attempted to listen to Antifragile while walking 5 kilometer to go to a specially beautiful library in Burleigh Heads, Australia. The walk, which normally requires about an hour, took three. I was endlessly pausing and opening Evernote to make notes on what I was learning. The sun was out and I got my first sunburn of the year due to the note taking delay. The ideas were worth remembering so I had to keep stopping.

At first, I was skeptical because Taleb’s discussion pretty much throws a wrench in the machine of the material I had learned at the University of Nevada. His points touched on much of what I had learned while in University.
I especially like his call for a “National Entrepreneurs Day: You will fail, and we thank you for being willing to fail.” He is infinitely confident about his message and he doesn’t shy from name calling when he brings up what he calls the fragilista. Fragilistas are the “no-skin in the game,” “commentators” who continue their faux expertise despite having to real understanding of what will happen. A favorite example of his is fragilista Thomas Friedman.

I remember reading The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman. It was prescribed reading for my economics courses. I enjoyed reading it while hanging in a tree 15 feet above the ground in Rancho San Rafael Park. At the time, I thought the book was insightful and prolific. Friedman talks about the importance of specialization and the value that globalized trade will play in our lives. There was always a missing link that I couldn’t identify but it was never stressed. The ideas Friedman describes are largely useless and only provide value if you are… I don’t know; a policy maker in Washington D.C. or something…

After reading Antifragile, I’m far more skeptical of his ideas. Does a globalized economy really benefit the day to day life of people all that much? My new answer is perhaps, but it also makes the threat of something really bad happening (i.e. a turkey problem as described in the book.) This globalized economy seems incredibly fragile to unpredictable events. What happens if oil prices kick up because of a war, or the information systems crash due to some cyber hacker whom no one expects yet. These sorts of things do happen: think 9/11, Arab Spring or Fukishima. These are all events that are hard to predict and shift the whole way we experience the world (Taleb calls them Black Swans.)

Anyways, I finished the book as I was in the middle of cooking some bacon, tomatoes, mushrooms and eggs for breakfast. After I stewed on the ideas of Fat Tony, I started to notice that I wasn’t listening to anything. I turned on Planet Money NPR podcast.

Planet Money was discussing the business nature of the Catholic Church. Apparenty, Benedict is stepping down and there is trouble in the church. The announcers listened to the consultants (i.e. fragilista charlatans) as they described how the church should centralize their purchasing power and power structure in order to take advantage of global economics. This plays into Taleb’s model perfectly.

These consultants work at firms that are less than 50 years old I’m sure; yet they don’t hesitate to provide advice to the Catholic church which has been around for something like 2,000 years. What arrogant folks.

Now, I feel very comfortable in a prediction, despite the fact that Taleb warns against predictions. I predict that these consultants and their businesses will not be around as long as the business (the Catholic Church) that they are attempting to teach a lesson.-

This is a great book. I definitely recommend it… but it’s hyper dense and requires much time and energy to understand.-

If you do not have time to read the book (which I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t) you could take a quick hour and fifteen to sit down and listen to him discuss his ideas here < http://youtu.be/MMBclvY_EMA >

Anything You Want - Derek Sivers

Derek Sivers is probably my favorite all-star entrepreneur. This book is excellent and I can’t recommend it enough. If you want more genius from him, check out his site: http://sivers.org/

Podcasts:

The Power of Belief  - Lewis Howes

Producing this podcast has been great. I think the lessons in here are great. Check it out.

That’s All Folks:

Sorry for the limited reading this month. Antifragile was a time vacum that was well worth it. I also finished some books that I don’t feel are worth writing about here.

I’m launching a new podcasting company called Freedom Podcasting (http://www.freedompodcasting.com) . Later this month I’ll be putting out a blog about the best podcasts of the last few months. Feel free to drop by there or like it on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Freedom-Podcasting/230884087052559) , because I have no idea if this stuff is going to work!

I was caught up with immigration and SEO work much of the month. I’ll attempt to do more reading this month. Titles that looking tasty are Mastering the Rockefeller Habits, some more Seth Godin stuff and Walter Issacson’s portrayal of Einstein.

Thanks for your attention!

Ian-Out

Books:

The 50th Law - Robert Greene

This is my favorite of Robert Greene’s work. If I had to suggest one book of his, I’d suggest this one. He weaves his signature web of prominent figure-biographical information while juxtaposing the times of violence and struggle from the tough life of Curtis Jackson (50-Cent) growing up in South Queens, dealing drugs and perpetrating violence.

This is the best of Greene’s books for those seeking entrepreneur lifestyle.

48 Laws of Power - Robert Greene

I primarily listened to this book while running along the beach during the turmultuous cyclone that hit the Gold Coast this week. The voice of the narrator is diabolical so while listening I felt like a devil was whispering in my ear, contriving to organize something malicious.

Greene uses historical figures from the past 3,000 years as examples to support his 48 Laws of Power. He mentions Genghis Khan, John D. Rockefeller, Cleopatra and a hundred more. It is filled with interesting stories that I’m sure will prove valuable to day-to-day life.

Many of the laws suggest that our economy is fundamentally limited in which the slices of the pie are finite and need to be fought over. Greene mentions in his interview with Chase Jarvis that the 48 Laws of Power is more of a manual to help you realize if someone is making power moves against you, rather than a guide to make power moves on others.

I believe it’s valuable to learn these lessons to help guard oneself from the motivations of others. Perhaps, it isn’t a great guide for thriving in the modern “connection economy.” For a guide on this, I suggest Linchpin…

Linchpin - Seth Goudin

I’m subscribed to Seth’s Blog < http://sethgodin.typepad.com/ >. I read it almost every day and it provides daily motivation to create art and act boldly.

This is my favorite of his books it’s a pure motivation and should be read by anyone looking to succeed in this crazy, unprecedented world of ours.

Seth, if you end up reading this. Thank You.

I’ll read more Goudin (Purple Cows, Permission Marketing, We are All Weird) next month.

Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr. - Ron Chernow

Great story of Rockefeller’s life. It’s a captivating read. When the oil business was developing it was a nightmare of unprecedented economic turmoil. Imagine filthy pioneer oil hustlers moving barrels of crude oil across upstate New York on the backs of donkeys, spilling the stuff everywhere and fighting day and night to stay ahead on where the next oil spot would be found.

Chernow describes Rockefeller as the process builder that slammed the whole system into a scaleable, professional business. I imagine endless stories around the power plays Rockefeller made with railroads, governments and other refiners during his rise. It’s awesome to think about.

I’d love to read more about big magnates of the past. Maybe Carnegie, Vanderbuilt and any others of their class. If you have any suggestions, please send them my way!

The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life and Business - Charles Duhigg

This is a good one. I like the stories of Claud Hopkins and how he made brushing teeth go from a traveling-salesperson-hustle to a national habit. Changing the habits of the US during this time helped alleviate the dental hygiene problem that the government was calling a “national security risk” during WWII.

It’s cool to learn how Paul O’Neil changed the ALCOA mining company via implementing a habit of safety. My only previous experience with ALCOA was in the movie Motorcycle Diaries where the company is portrayed as an evil international corporation. O’Neil’s story is inspiring and I hope to bring successful habits to my own organization one day.

The Power of Habit is a great read for anyone seeking to have a greater understanding of leadership and human behavior.

Podcast:

Bryan Callen and Tim Ferriss

Callen does a great podcast though it’s often not worth suggesting here. He had Tim Ferriss on this month and it was one of his best podcasts to date. Listen to it, it’s free – funny & facinating.

Seth Goudin on On Being

More excellence from Seth. Motivation to ship and do something important.

That’s All Folks

I’m currently reading Antifragile by Nassim Taleb. So far, it’s his best that I’ve read (I’ve only read Black Swan.)

If you enjoyed this newsletter and you know anyone who would also benefit, please share by having them head to ianrobinson.net/subscribe.

Thanks very much for your attention.

Ian-Out

Nothing to report this morning but big glassy barrels all down the Gold Coast. There was no wind so it was a sea of beautiful turquoise glass.

The blazing sun was out with the massive skyscrapers of blue glass and grey steel which line the beach front.
Those building are proof that we’re in the future, but surfing through turbulent caves of pristine vicious water while getting rolled into oblivion probably feels the same as it did 50 years ago.

A Conversation About Elections Kicks it Off

I had a beautiful conversation today when a Cebuano (fantastic people) asked me if I could vote in US elections while living outside the country. Of course we can….

There was another American present when the question was asked. He is the type that wanted to see Palin in office because she knows her way around a .38. We both came together in our mutual DISGUST with both of the choices that are on offer (Romney & Obama.) Both of us, have zero trust in the options available.

Despite our disagreement on core issues. We both never heard from anyone who has a strong argument supporting the idea that Ron Paul is ANYTHING BUT the best option for the USA.

Does ANYONE out there disagree? I’d love to get some insight. As a 3 year expat, I can’t understand whats going on. Please enlighten me.

I feel like November is approaching and the USA has been hoodwinked into missing the greatest opportunity to elect a man that could fix tremendous problems in our eminent country.

So: I Support Ron Paul

I support Ron Paul. Why isn’t EVERY AMERICAN doing the same?

Please Keep Me Informed

Please feel free to vent. Comment on this post, or send me a private message. I’m simply baffled. I’m in a foreign country far from the day to day life of my fellow countrymen.

I’d love to get some insight on the following:

WHY DO WE NOT HAVE A RON PAUL ticket in this election?

Please enjoy this video.

With love -i