The Pomp Letter - The Obsession With Greatness
To investors, There is a quote from William Shakespeare that I am fond of — “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” It serves as a reminder that many paths exist to the same end state. But greatness is a weird thing. How do we define it? What makes someone great? These questions have no single answer. Take sports as an example. Is Michael Jordan the greatest basketball player to ever live? Maybe it is Kobe Bryant? What about Lebron James? People have argued for years over the answer. There are objective measurements around awards and accomplishments in some disciplines, but not every field has that luxury. What makes a great writer? Which politician is great and which is not? Who is a great reader or speaker? Sometimes greatness is the type of thing where you know it when you see it. There is one interesting idea around greatness that I have always found fascinating though. The greatest athletes, musicians, and business leaders are obsessed with studying the greatness of people from other fields. That is why Kanye West and Elon Musk hang out with each other. This reinforces the unattributable quote “surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.” There is more to greatness than simply hanging around other great people. The obsession manifests itself in many forms. It is why Chance the Rapper can sing a country rock version of Nelly’s Hot In Here with zero preparation. Greatness is acquired by those who practice their craft for years. You could write an entire book on what makes various individuals great, including how they obtain that level of proficiency and what lessons you can learn from it. Thankfully, I won’t have to write that book though because my wife, Polina, has spent the last 7 months writing it for all of us. Polina has been studying the world’s most successful people and companies for over a decade. She has read thousands of articles, hundreds of books, and listened to or watched countless hours of podcasts and videos. In a way, Polina is obsessed with unpacking what makes the greats among us stand out. Her book pulls back the curtain on how these people think, what their routines and habits are, and what each of us can take from them to apply to our own lives. How do I know? Because Polina has read me every single word in this book for the last 7 months. There were long nights, intense weekends, and plenty of frustrating moments, but Polina kept writing, editing, and writing more. She wrote the entire book with a newborn and the time commitments that come with ensuring our young daughter was healthy and happy. I couldn’t be more proud of Polina. She continues to amaze me on a daily basis. If you’re interested in the study of greatness, you can pre-order the book today. Understanding greatness is a constant journey. It never ends. There is always someone new to study. I will leave you with a final quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson: “You become what you think about all day long.” Spend your time wisely. Protect your mind by ensuring only the highest quality information enters. Hope you all have a great day. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. -Pomp SPONSORED: Your Non-fungibles Are Showing. Your crypto and shiny, brand-new NFTs deserve to be safe and secure in an Arculus cold storage wallet, especially if you spent a pretty ETH for your digital assets. Arculus knows a thing or three about security. Your assets are only accessible to *you* through 3-factor authentication with the Arculus Wallet App and Arculus Key Card. Danny Jones is on a mission to talk to the world's weirdest people. In this conversation, Anthony Pompliano and Danny Jones discuss Danny's podcast, Koncrete, how he finds strange people, talking to members of the cartel, Charles Manson, scientology, censorship, and more. Listen on iTunes: Click here Listen on Spotify: Click here Earn Bitcoin by listening on Fountain: Click here Weekly Bitcoin UpdatePodcast SponsorsThese companies make the podcast possible, so go check them out and thank them for their support!
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