Good morning, friends.

Some of the most important innovations have come from the world's most unlikely sources.

In 1857, the members of the Philological Society of London decided that existing English language dictionaries were incomplete. They thought up a crazy experiment: What if they could create a revolutionary new dictionary? It would be one that encompassed all sorts of words in the English language — from street slang to technical jargon. Most importantly, it would be less stuffy and pretentious than the official dictionary of the French language.

It was just as hard as you would imagine.

Each definition required supporting quotations: sentences from books, newspapers, and magazines that would show how the word could be used in various contexts. The team tasked to bring the dictionary to life spent years working on it, but eventually gave up as it turned into a disorganized disaster.

Then, in 1879, the Oxford University Press hired a professor named Dr. James Murray to take on the herculean effort. Murray understood he couldn't do it alone, so he published a request asking for volunteers to read books and submit the best sentences that portrayed the meaning of literally any word. His team would then sift through thousands of these slips looking for quotations that would illustrate each definition.

There was one contributor named Dr. William Chester Minor who would send in as many as 20 quotations per day to the dictionary editors. His submissions were really good and almost always accepted. He became one of the most prolific contributors to the dictionary.

James Murray was so impressed with his work that he decided to arrange a meeting with the mystery man. "I thought he was either a practicing medical man of literary tastes with a good deal of leisure, or perhaps a retired medical man or surgeon who had no other work," Murray said.

When Murray arrived at the location Minor had provided, he was stunned. Dr. William Chester Minor was a long-time patient at the Broadmoor Asylum for the Criminally Insane. The top contributor to the Oxford English Dictionary turned out to be a murderer.

Minor was an American, Yale-trained physician who had served as a surgeon-captain in the American Civil War. It was in his time treating soldiers that he began to show signs of paranoia. In the Army, he was given the task of punishing a soldier for "desertion" by branding him on the cheek with a "D." The punishment was considered a medical procedure, so it was up to Minor to carry it out. It is believed the incident played a major role in Minor's deteriorating mental health.

Since then, he became increasingly paranoid, carrying a handgun with him at all times and acting on an uncontrollable urge for sex by going to brothels every night.

On February 17, 1872, his paranoia materialized in an unfortunate way. Minor woke up in the middle of the night believing he saw an intruder in his room who ran out the door. He grabbed the gun from underneath his pillow, ran after him, and shot and killed a man in the street. Except the intruder existed only in his mind … Minor had killed George Merrett, a father and husband who was walking to work that morning.

A court found Minor not guilty on the grounds of insanity and sentenced him to the Asylum for the Criminally Insane. In a crazy turn of events, Eliza, Merrett's widow, went to visit Minor at Broadmoor a few times, bringing him books that helped build his collection.

Minor's life came to an end in a tragic way. After more than 30 years at Broadmoor, he was sent back to an asylum in the United States. He died 10 years later, and no obituary would ever mention his achievements and contributions to the Oxford English Dictionary.

I first learned about Minor's story when I read the book The Professor and The Madman a few years ago. When I finished it, there was one thing I couldn't stop thinking about: How many of us close ourselves off to some of the most fascinating conversations, ideas, and innovations simply because of the biases we hold?

Murray probably never thought that his most reliable source would be a patient in the Broadmoor asylum, but the best thing he did was ask volunteers from all walks of life to submit definitions and quotations. If he hadn't done that, an outsider as brilliant as Minor may have never been allowed to contribute more than 10,000 entries to the dictionary.

A more modern (and less extreme) example is that Flamin' Hot Cheetos wouldn't exist if a janitor at Frito-Lay hadn’t submitted his creation when the CEO asked for fresh ideas from all levels in the company. Janitor-turned-inventor Richard Montañez says, "Brilliance isn’t a diploma on the wall.”

The point is that innovation doesn't live inside elite institutions and fancy social clubs. More often than you think, it comes from "the poor, the unruly and the marginalized." And we all benefit when we open our worlds to the minds of people society has chosen to ignore.

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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 Guy Raz, the entrepreneur whisperer. Become a premium member and read it here.

PODCAST REC: I recently listened to a podcast conversation with Red Antler co-founder Emily Heyward. It's a fascinating story of how she bounced back from a job that was not right for her and found the motivation to build Red Antler, the brand agency behind Casper, Allbirds, Rent the Runway and more. You can listen to it here. (Source: How I Got Here)

HANG WITH ME: This week, I'll be doing two live virtual chats about The Profile! If you're free, come hang out! The first is on Tuesday at 2 p.m. EST with the London Writers' Salon. (Tickets are free for Profile members with the promo code POLINAFRIEND.) The second is a live town hall on Thursday at 8 p.m. EST. RSVP here. Hope to see you guys then!

PROFILES.

— The billionaire who will die broke [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— Google's wartime leader
— The nicest guy in Big Tech
— The biggest troublemaker in media
— The goddess of domestic bliss
— The actor who gets inspired by the struggle
— The comedian re-thinking the power of comedy
— The marketplace of famous people
— The grocery store of the future

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The billionaire who will die broke: Chuck Feeney, 89, has been called "the James Bond of philanthropy." The co-founder of retail giant Duty Free Shoppers pioneered the idea of Giving While Living—spending most of your fortune on big charity bets instead of funding a foundation upon death. Over the last four decades, Feeney has anonymously donated more than $8 billion to charities, universities, and foundations worldwide. "It’s a lot more fun to give while you live than give while you're dead," he says. (Forbes)

“Our giving is based on the opportunities, not a plan to stay in business for a long time.”

Google's wartime leader: Ruth Porat is no stranger to crisis. She began her career at Morgan Stanley in 1987, seven weeks before Black Monday—the largest single-day decline in trading history at the time. During the 2008 financial crisis, she advised the U.S. Treasury Department. Now, in the midst of a pandemic, Porat is leading Google’s latest efforts to help get America’s ravaged small businesses and economy back on track. “New opportunities arise out of crises," she says. (Forbes)

"This environment is more challenging than anything I've seen because you're combining a health crisis with an economic crisis."

The nicest guy in Big Tech: Google CEO Sundar Pichai has a reputation for being a really nice guy. But that won’t be enough for what looms next. Prosecutors could try to force him to prune key pieces of Google’s global empire. He’s also facing internal pressure to chart a new path beyond digital advertising. The company hasn’t had a big consumer hit in a decade. Can he continue to avoid conflict in a company that thrives on it? (WSJ; If you can't access this story, reply to this email.)

“He got the CEO job because he was the only person who didn’t want the CEO job.”

The biggest troublemaker in media: Ben Smith, BuzzFeed's old editor-in-chief, is now the new media columnist of The New York Times. He has spent the last six months stirring up an inordinate amount of chaos. He slammed the work of Ronan Farrow, who helped break the story of Hearst’s troubled culture and dropped the bomb that Brett Kavanaugh was one of Washington Post icon Bob Woodward’s confidential sources. Smith has the gift of being unafraid of making people uncomfortable. (New York Magazine)

“If you’re not breaking news, you don’t have any credibility."

The goddess of domestic bliss: Martha Stewart wants you to know she's an early adopter. She bought her first computer in 1982. She owns a Tesla. And she loves CBD. "That keeps you very on your toes, it keeps you extremely avant-garde, it keeps you current. I want to be current," she says. Here's what Stewart has been up to during quarantine. (Hint: it involves living on her farm and drinking Martha-ritas). (The New York Times)

The actor who gets inspired by the struggle: Actor Ethan Hawke has consistently challenged himself to grow. He has appeared in more than 80 movies, he's directed four films, written three novels, and co-founded a theatre company. What has he learned? “Acting, at its best, is like music,” he says. “You have to get inside your character’s song.” This is a really good one.

“The struggle is everything, the struggle makes everything.”

The comedian re-thinking the power of comedy: Chris Rock is feeling mistrustful about the power of his comedy to do anything other than entertain, and unsure when he will get to perform it again for large audiences. In this really candid interview, Rock discusses America's summer of strife, police brutality, and the future of his career. (The New York Times)

"This is the second great civil rights movement."

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

The marketplace of famous people: Cameo is a platform that allows users to pay famous people to make personalized video messages. It's been attracting bigger and bigger celebrities during the pandemic. Business has gone up 1000%, and celebrities have been signing on at a higher rate: popular recent additions include Mike Tyson and Busy Philipps. "Getting on Cameo is the best way for them to keep interacting with their fans in a way that is making them money and keeping them safe," says Cameo CEO Steven Galanis. (The New Yorker)

“In a lot of ways, shelter-in-place has really transformed our business."

The grocery store of the future: Kroger, America's biggest grocer, has poured millions of dollars into projects ranging from a self-driving grocery delivery robot to a partnership to sell goods in China through Alibaba. Yet, when customers rushed to order groceries online during the pandemic, it failed to meet demand. Here's Kroger's plan to make up for lost time. (WSJ; If you can't access this story, reply to this email.)

“It gets frustrating."

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.

Eric Jorgenson on wisdom from Naval Ravikant: Eric Jorgenson, a product strategist at Zaarly, recently released "The Naval Almanack," which is a comprehensive curation of Naval Ravikant's wisdom from Twitter, podcasts, and essays over the past decade. In this podcast, Jorgenson breaks down Ravikant's thoughts on wealth, happiness, mental models, and the importance of curiosity and nuance. (Link available to premium members.)

Cheryl Strayed on building resilience: Author Cheryl Strayed believes adventure builds resilience. In the wake of her mother’s death and impending divorce, she began using heroin and going down a dark path. So she decided to take on the nearly impossible in hopes of soothing her sorrow. Strayed trekked more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail — and she did it totally alone. There, she had a revelation about pain and resilience: "You know, two things can be true at once," she says. "You can look back at something and say, 'I wish it hadn't been that way.' You can also say, 'But because it is, I'm better for it.'" (Link available to premium members.)

Bob Bowman's culture of excellence: Bob Bowman has led his swimmers to 38 Olympic medals. He's also the long-time coach of Michael Phelps, training him since he was 10 years old. In this in-depth interview, Bowman shares the strategies he uses to make his swimmers physically and mentally tough. "Swimmers know that there will be expectations and that the intensity level is going to be high," he says. (Link available to premium members.)

VIDEOS TO SEE.

Chuck Feeney's life of philanthropy: In this documentary, we learn about the fascinating life of Chuck Feeney, the billionaire who gave away all his wealth over the last four decades. Born during the Great Depression, Feeney was an entrepreneur from a young age, shoveling snow and mowing lawns in the neighborhood. He became the first in his family to graduate from college, and as he made his money, he realized he could do so much good with it. "I'd always empathized with people who have it tough in life, and the world's full of people who don't get enough to eat," he says. (Link available to premium members.)

Michael Phelps on achieving the impossible: This is a great video to see after you listen to the Bob Bowman episode above. Phelps shares just how integral his relationship with Bowman was to getting him to the Olympics. "He had different pitches for whistles," Phelps says. "One was, 'Pick it up,' one was, 'What the hell are you doing,' and another one was, 'You've got to be f**king kidding me." It was his tight-knit, honest partnership with Bowman that allowed him to set — and reach — his ambitious goals. (Link available to premium members.)

Paris Hilton's alter ego: You know Paris Hilton as the club-going, self-absorbed socialite who was "famous for being famous." That's not the real Paris though, she says. That's a character she created to protect her real self from the scrutiny of the public. In this documentary, Hilton pulls back the curtain and explains the trauma she suffered as a teenager, why she developed trust issues, and how she plans to evolve her brand into something much more authentic. (Link available to premium members.)

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