Good morning, friends!

When he was 17, Franklin Chang Díaz wrote a letter to NASA in which he detailed his desire to become an astronaut one day.

To his surprise, he received a response, but one sentence, in particular, was underlined: "Careers with NASA are generally limited to United States citizens." "I interpreted that to mean, 'Hey, come on over to the U.S, become a U.S. citizen, and then come to work for NASA," Chang Díaz says. "I didn't need any more encouragement, so I went right ahead and immigrated to the United States."

Armed with a one-way ticket and $50 in cash, he was ready to begin his American adventure. He lived with his aunt, uncle, and seven cousins in a three-bedroom apartment in Hartford, Conn.

Chang Díaz was awarded a four-year scholarship to attend the University of Connecticut as a full-time engineering student. But there was a major misunderstanding. When he arrived on campus, a college representative told him: "You have very good grades. You deserve this scholarship, but you are not a U.S. citizen. We thought that you were from Puerto Rico, not from Costa Rica."

He eventually became an astronaut at NASA, tied the record for most space flights, and founded a company focused on getting humans to Mars. It's a winding story that's fully detailed in this week's Profile Dossier, but I wanted to highlight the idea that sometimes being naive can work in your favor.

We often fault young people for being naïve, which typically implies an optimistic ignorance of how the world works. As older, wiser beings, we think we have all the answers because we assume we know what's realistic and possible given our own experience.

But here's the thing: Sometimes, a healthy level of naïveté is required to do things that appear absolutely idiotic in the eyes of others in order to succeed.

Spanx founder Sara Blakely says the key to her success is that she was a fashion outsider, and what she didn’t know became her greatest asset. “I had no idea how things were supposed to be done, and if you have no idea how something’s supposed to be done, I guarantee that you’ll end up being disruptive,” she says.

If I hadn't been naïve, I would've never moved to New York City by myself on an annual salary of $34,000. I wouldn't have quit my job to work on a newsletter full-time during a global pandemic. Hell, I probably wouldn't have done 80% of the things in my life if I had even slightly more experience.

It's worth recognizing that sometimes experience can make you wise, but it can also make you jaded and risk-averse. Optimistic ignorance can make you fall flat on your face but it can also allow you to pave a path in an imperfect way that still gets you to your goals.

When the college rep told Chang Díaz that he wouldn't get the scholarship because he wasn't a U.S. citizen, he likened the feeling to someone pouring a "bucket of cold water" over his dreams. But he was already here. Thanks to his initial ignorance, he was still one step closer to NASA than he would've been if he read that letter and knew just how long and arduous the process of becoming a U.S. citizen would be.

As Stephen Hawking once said, "The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge."

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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 Franklin Chang Díaz, the astronaut who wants to get humans to Mars. Become a premium member and read it below.

The Profile

The Profile Dossier: Franklin Chang Díaz, the Astronaut Who Wants to Get Humans to Mars

At 18 years old, Franklin Chang Díaz moved to the United States from Costa Rica. He didn't speak a word of English, but he had big ambitions for his life in America: Become an astronaut. Growing up, Chang Díaz spent afternoons imagining that he had his own rocket ship. He would invite cousins to join his crew, and they would lie on their backs inside a l……

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4 days ago · 2 likes · Polina Pompliano

PROFILES.

— The most likable man in America [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The Texas mogul who got rich(er) during the pandemic
— The Manhattan restaurateur who refuses to quit
— The actor learning to exist in his new body
— The 18-year-old soccer prodigy
— Hollywood's most eccentric new couple
— The company giving every employee a megaphone

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The most likable man in America: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson is the most successful movie star in the world. For each of the last five years, he was either the highest or second-highest paid actor. And he's also the most likable. Earlier this year, a poll suggested that 46% of Americans would want him to run for the highest office in the nation. Could Johnson transition from wrestler to movie star to president of the United States of America? In this profile, he reveals it all. (Read Johnson's full Profile Dossier)

"I consider myself an industrialist and an entrepreneur and a businessman as well ... I love building."

The Texas mogul who got rich(er) during the pandemic: Tilman Fertitta is a man of many (business) interests. The 64-year-old Texan owns yachts, restaurants, casinos, hotels, and an NBA team (the Houston Rockets). Fertitta could have ended up going broke under $4.6 billion in debt accumulated to build his empire. Instead, he’s getting richer by making use of the era’s hottest financial trend: the special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. Thanks to creative SPAC financing and what appears to be some serious self-dealing, Fertitta has already increased his net worth from $4.1 billion a year ago to $6.3 billion today. (Forbes)

“We always get bigger and stronger during tough times."

The Manhattan restaurateur who refuses to quit: Known for famed restaurants including Balthazar, Pastis, the Minetta Tavern, and Café Luxembourg, Keith McNally has had a rough few years. A stroke in November 2016 left him partially paralyzed and unable to speak clearly. It was followed by a costly divorce from his second wife in 2018. Then the pandemic came. COVID forced him to enter the hospital and shut down his restaurant. “Divorce and COVID cost me $10 million,” he says. But he's not slowing down. Here's what his comeback plan entails. (Grub Street)

“My stroke allowed me to be vocal about other people’s. It left me not giving a fuck what anyone thinks of me."

The actor learning to exist in his new body: Kumail Nanjiani lit the internet on fire when he posted a few pictures of his new body to Instagram. The internet collectively gasped so loudly that even The Rock felt compelled to comment: “Extremely hard work. Dense muscle is hard to achieve.” But Nanjiani had gotten so fit, in part, because he had made it a specific goal of his to play a Marvel superhero. “If I'm playing the first South Asian superhero, I want to look like someone who can take on Thor or Captain America, or any of those people,” he says. But here's the not-so-pleasant reality of what it means to be 'jacked.' (GQ)

“I wanted different types of opportunities. I wanted the industry to see me differently.”

The 18-year-old soccer prodigy: Ricardo Pepi is a goal-scoring sensation for the U.S. men's national soccer team. When he announced his decision to play for the U.S. instead of Mexico, Pepi said that he was still proud of being a Mexican American and that "will never be taken away from me, no matter what national team I play for." This is a beautiful story of compromise, struggle, and familial pride. (ESPN)

"If you're prepared for it, if you expect it, then it's going to come."

Hollywood's most eccentric new couple: In this profile, Machine Gun Kelly and Megan Fox explain their unusual whirlwind courtship, from first meeting on set to their deepening spiritual connection, and how love has seared them together for life... through joint tattoos. "This is a very intense relationship," Fox says. "Our souls chose this to absolutely have to face our shadow selves; to face things about ourselves we didn’t want to have to know, that we tried to push away." (GQ)

"‘[I was] definitely open [to] love, but I did not anticipate walking right into my soulmate like that."

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

The company giving every employee a megaphone: Slack is probably the first cool enterprise software company in history. It has seeped out of startup land and into all corners of corporate America, with more than 169,000 organizations—including 65 of the Fortune 100—paying for its services. Slack has helped usher in a world where openness and transparency are prized; where work is something we are always kind of doing; where all of these dynamics mean that sometimes things go very wrong, especially for people in power. (The Atlantic)

“People can amass power in the organization by being good at this tool. They are not elevated by an institution; they just happen to have mastered a technology."

✨ 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.

Zak Williams on prioritizing your mental health: After Zak Williams's dad took his life in August of 2014, Zak's anxiety went into overdrive. He found himself depressed, anxious, traumatized, and unable to cope with daily life. His father was the beloved actor Robin Williams. Zak began self-medicating with alcohol and various cannabis products until he realized he was going down a dangerous path. So Zak co-founded mental wellness company PYM. In this podcast, he explains the importance of developing an individually personalized mental health hygiene ritual. (Link available to premium members.)

Leymah Gbowee on standing up to Liberia's warlords: Leymah Gbowee led a nonviolent movement that helped end Liberia's bloody civil war in 2003. A coalition of women used some unusual tactics to fight Liberia's warlords — one of them being a sex strike, effectively denying sex to men. This is a fascinating conversation. (Link available to premium members.)

Craig Heller on using temperature to optimize health: Craig Heller is a professor of biology at Stanford and a world expert on the science of temperature regulation. In this podcast, he explains the relationship between the body and the brain when we expose ourselves to different temperatures and conditions. He offers several techniques that we can use in our everyday lives to optimize our physical and mental performance by regulating our body temperature. (Link available to premium members.)

VIDEOS TO SEE.

Tilman Fertitta on becoming a multi-billionaire: If there's one thing about business mogul Tilman Fertitta, it's that he is very precise and calculated in his thinking and decision-making. In this interview, he explains his "95:5 Rule," which details how to find the 5% percent of things that are going wrong in a business. That 5% is what he always looks for during his deal-making process. (Link available to premium members.)

Courtney Dauwalter on finding her inner purpose: Ultra-runner Courtney Dauwalter eats candy, crushes nachos, and drinks beer — all while ruthlessly beating male and female competitors on the 200+ mile course. And here’s the thing: She’s extraordinarily humble about it all. “When you talk to her, she seems so normal,” Joe Rogan says. “You’re like, ‘Where’s your demon?’ Her demon’s a quiet demon. It’s there … it has to be.” This short documentary follows Dauwalter during an ultra-race and explores her source of motivation. You’ll feel the pain just from watching this. (Link available to premium members.)