Good morning, friends!

Three years ago, I was browsing the internet when I stumbled upon Lawrence Yeo’s blog More to That. I’m so lucky I did because it’s become one of my favorite places on the internet — so much so that I asked Lawrence to share an excerpt in The Profile in 2019.

Lawrence has created something special because he allows his curiosity to take the lead. He writes about the different aspects of the human condition — perspectives on death, navigating fear and anxiety, and our struggle with self-doubt — complete with fun and playful illustrations

Yeo writes, “It’s this very curiosity that drives the nature of More To That. It’s my way of battling the phrase, ‘It just is what it is.’ Things are never just the way they are when you take the time to look a little bit closer.”

His most recent post is a masterpiece. If you're thinking about becoming a creator or pursuing a creative path while still working at your day job, it’s a must-read.

Below is an excerpt from his article The Arc of the Practical Creator:

We often think that you have to be an established creator to justify a creative career. But no one thinks that you have to be the CEO of a company to justify your career there. No, a career begins at the entry-level, from the moment you get compensated and recognized for your capacity to solve problems. If those conditions are satisfied (at whatever scale) and you are serious about improving yourself as a creator, then you have a career.

Once you accept this, you’ll feel deeply empowered. The leap in commitment that occurs when you refer to a hobby as your career is the same as when a love interest becomes your life partner. In the same way that a marriage consolidates your networks into a united whole, every node of your creative life will be assimilated into your identity. There’s no choice but to take your creative endeavor more seriously, and you will invest the focus and rigor required to proudly refer to it as your career.

If you can cultivate this mindset while progressing forward, it’s only inevitable that the results will one day pour in. You’ll be able to convert the attention you attract into a flow of money, which allows you to invest more of your energy into this craft. A flywheel effect begins to form, and once it’s in motion, the practicality of your endeavor will become readily apparent.

It’s an amazing piece, and I highly recommend you read it. If you have questions for Lawrence about the piece, how he built More to That, or his storytelling process, you can ask him directly!

I’ve invited Lawrence to take part in an “Ask Me Anything” chat with The Profile’s premium members on Thursday, May 19 at 1 p.m. EST. If you’re not yet a member, you can subscribe below and join the chat in the Profile’s Telegram group on Thursday. Hope to see you there!

Become a premium member here

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THE PROFILE DOSSIER: On Wednesday, premium members received The Profile Dossier, a comprehensive deep-dive on a prominent individual. It featured Marc Lore, the serial entrepreneur building billion-dollar companies. Read it below.

The Profile

The Profile Dossier: Marc Lore, the Serial Entrepreneur Building Billion-Dollar Companies

Marc Lore is a self-described "moonshot seeker." It means that he looks for ideas and business opportunities that are unlikely to work, but could be life-changing if they do. "If you really want to go after a moonshot — you have to start with a big, bold vision, you need to raise the required capital, and surround yourself with the very best people in th…

Read more

4 days ago · 3 likes · Polina Pompliano

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✨ A WORD FROM OUR PARTNER: I wanted to draw your attention to a newsletter I really enjoy. It’s called 1440, a daily email with the most interesting reads across culture, science, tech, sports, business, and everything in between. There's a reason more than 1 million people read 1440 — it's the most unbiased, high-quality source for news I've found. Sign up for 1440 for free here.

PROFILES.

— Elon Musk’s right-hand man [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The man building the future of quantum
— The liver king
— The woman who invented adulting
—  The child star who’s all grown up
— The ‘Sex and the City’ star who plays by her own rules
— The company scouting the next tennis star

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

Elon Musk’s right-hand man: Jared Birchall has a peculiar job. He has served as Elon Musk’s right-hand man for the last six years. His role encompasses a lot, including managing his fortune, digging up dirt on an enemy, arranging massive loans, selling homes, hiring bodyguards, and leading a billion-dollar neurotechnology company. Meet the mysterious figure tending the world’s biggest fortune. (Bloomberg; reply to this email if you can’t access this article)

“The line between personal and professional cross over very often.”

The man building the future of quantum: Jerry Chow is one of the quantum world’s most influential scientists. Chow, director of IBM Quantum, has been working to uncover the technology’s mysteries for more than a decade. Why is quantum computing important, you may wonder? A quantum computer could eventually be able to find patterns and insights from data that could lead to applications like early knowledge of a pandemic virus, more powerful batteries for electric vehicles, or even treatments for cancer. Meet the man propelling us into the future. (Morning Brew)

“Throughout the journey, especially with these superconducting qubits, it’s been [those] kinds of incremental steps that have really brought us such a long way.”

The liver king: Brian Johnson is a 45-year-old influencer who’s known as the “Liver King.” He’s a supplement-brand owner and self-styled “CEO of the ancestral lifestyle.” His central message to his followers: the modern world has made men unconscionably soft, and that the only way to fight back is by living more like our earliest, most-jacked ancestors. And his message seems to be resonating, or at least the outrageous nature of his content is. (GQ)

“Vegetables don’t have the raw material required to produce a healthy set of testicles.”

The woman who invented adulting: Kelly Williams Brown wrote the book on “adulting,” which became the ultimate guide for young adults to learn how to navigate that awkward transition into the real world. Her manual not only dispensed practical advice on everything from friendship to buying bulk toilet paper, but it also insisted cheerily throughout that adulthood was a verb, not a definitive category. Ironically, Williams Brown’s life post-book blew up in almost every imaginable way. (The New York Times)

“You can be a successful person and be doing terribly. And then do terribly for a while.”

The child star who’s all grown up: Hilary Duff’s appeal as an actress has always been her easy familiarity. As a child star on Lizzie McGuire, she was the quintessential everygirl, as warm as she was vulnerable. After years of being identified with the character, and multiple passes on offers to reboot her, she agreed to revisit Lizzie in a series for Disney+. The project tanked when Hilary and the network differed on their vision for adult Lizzie. “She had to be 30 years old doing 30-year-old things,” Duff says she insisted, pushing for a more mature Lizzie. “She didn’t need to be doing bong rips and having one-night stands all the time, but it had to be authentic. I think they got spooked.” (Women’s Health Magazine)

“I want to work on the inside. That’s the most important part of the system.”

The ‘Sex and the City’ star who plays by her own rules: For six seasons and two movies, Kim Cattrall put the “sex” in “Sex and the City,” while adding a dose of glamour and surprising relatability to boot. Samantha came complete with her own company, trendy apartment, runway wardrobe and movie-star boyfriend, but it was Cattrall who gave the character desire and soul. So why exactly did she walk away from one of TV’s biggest phenomena? (Variety)

“It’s a great wisdom to know when enough is enough.”

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

The company scouting the next tennis star: The race to find the sport’s next stars has come to this: With eight-figure fortunes potentially at stake, agents and scouts are evaluating and cultivating tennis players even younger than 10 who are just getting started in serious competition. Future Stars is the newest and most extravagant recruitment effort for IMG, the company that essentially invented the sports representation business and dominated tennis for years. (The New York Times)

“You’ve got to be the kind of person who from 9 years old can improve consistently while taking losses every week for 10 or 15 years.”

✨ This installment of The Profile is free for everyone. If you would like to get full access to all of the recommendations, including today’s audio and video sections, sign up below.

AUDIO TO HEAR.

Tony Fadell on the power of storytelling: Tony Fadell is the inventor of the iPod and the iPhone, but he’s also very much a storyteller. He writes, “The story doesn’t exist to sell your product. It’s there to help you define it.” In telling the story, you need to ask yourself what the value of the product is first — are you saving the consumer time? Money? Effort? “You need to have this incredible balance of understanding your audience, understanding all of these variables and you need to write them down before you embark on the creative journey,” he says. This is a must-listen. (Link available to premium members.)

David Sinclair on the importance of biological stress: Is it possible for you to live past 100 years old? Genetics expert David Sinclair doesn’t just think it’s likely, he’s certain of it. In this podcast, he emphasizes the importance of putting stress on your body (different from psychological stress) and goes through the various types of exercise that are critical to longevity. (Link available to premium members.)

VIDEOS TO SEE.

Esther Wojcicki on trusting your kids: Often referred to as "Silicon Valley's godmother," Esther Wojcicki is the matriarch of one of the most well-known families in the Valley. Wojcicki, a long-time educator, is the mother of Susan, Anne, and Janet Wojcicki. When she was in charge of watching her grandkids for an afternoon, she decided to do a trust exercise. She dropped off two of her 9-year-old granddaughters at Target and told them to shop for school supplies by themselves and call her when they were done. Meanwhile, she took her grandson to get a haircut and allowed him to speak with the barber himself on what kind of haircut he wanted. Taking small steps to show kids you trust them is an invaluable skill that teaches them independence and sound judgement. (Link available to premium members.)

Brunello Cucinelli on being a trailblazer: Fashion mogul Brunello Cucinelli often quotes Voltaire: "If you do not accept the changes of your time, perhaps you will miss the greatest part." Let's use the most innovative technologies, he says, but let's use them in a considerate way. Check out his idea of "humanistic capitalism." (Link available to premium members.)

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