FS | BRAIN FOOD

July 13, 2025 - #637 - read online - Free Version

Welcome to Brain Food, a weekly newsletter that helps you master the best of what other people have already figured out so you can use their insights in your life.

Tiny Thoughts

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Buy time, not status.

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Swim in your lane.

Every second you spend looking at a person in another lane comes at the cost of your progress.

Focus on yourself.

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Compensation follows autonomy.

When you need to be managed, there's a cap on what you can earn. When you know how to create value and do it without being told, there's no cap. This is structural, not personal.

The compensation gap isn't about performance; it's about autonomy.

Insights

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Ken Griffin on how obsession wins:

“If you're not passionate about the field you're engaged in you won't have the grit or perseverance to compete with those who are.”

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The simple genius of Charlie Munger:

“All intelligent people should think primarily in terms of opportunity cost. When deciding whether to do something compare it with the best opportunity you have.”

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FedEx founder Fred Smith on how to develop "vision":

“The common trait of people who supposedly have vision is that they spend a lot of time reading and gathering information, and then synthesize it until they come up with an idea.”

The Knowledge Project

Every year, Harley Finkelstein could lose his job at Shopify. Not really, but he acts like it. The president believes that if you're not requalifying for your role annually, you're already falling behind.

Putting outcome over ego is why he stepped down from COO (managing thousands of people) to become the chief storyteller. His father's imprisonment when Harley was 17 shaped this approach: a permanent sense of insecurity as fuel for excellence.

He color-codes every calendar block. Lives by one family motto: 'How you do anything is how you do everything.' And never accepts 'it is what it is' or 'that's not my job.'

When Shopify's CEO demanded employees use AI 'reflexively,' Finkelstein was already there. His message: Your best year should always be ahead of you. Or someone younger and hungrier will take your place.

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Thanks for reading,

— Shane Parrish

P.S. I wouldn't have predicted how long this went on.

P.P.S. I did the Neko Body Scan, and it was like walking into the future. For instance, how crazy is this: They took over 2,000 images of every tiny mole and imperfection on my skin, so when I return next year, they can instantly see what's new or if anything has changed in size. Highly recommended if you want to get ahead of your health.

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