Good morning, friends.

I became a parent two months ago.

It’s surreal, but no one’s asking me about how surreal it is that there is a new full-blown human here now. Instead, this is the burning question they want me to answer: “So ... do you still have time to write?” It’s a polite form of the clichéd question new moms get all the time: “How do you balance it all?”

As much as you try to prepare for the first few weeks, it’s impossible. You find yourself bleary-eyed in a seemingly endless tunnel of sleep deprivation. When I don’t get enough sleep, it’s not writing I think about — it’s sleep.

But here’s the shocking answer to the question above: I do have time to write because I make time to write. I work in 2- to 3-hour spurts and write one-handed on my phone in the middle of the night as I feed the baby. (Fun fact: This exact paragraph was written at 3:18 a.m.)

Katherine Boyle, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, recently said that motherhood has made her more productive — not less. “It made me more creative, better with time management,” she writes. “It gave me the superpower of saying ‘no’ to the priorities of others. It made me speak up for the things I believed in when I would have been more polite before.”

So, dear reader, here I am writing to you not out of obligation but out of fulfillment. There’s no “balance,” but rather, a shifting of priorities. Luckily, The Profile is my livelihood, my priority, and my joy. It’s not easy to focus on writing while tending to the needs of a newborn, but it’s worth it.

After asking Profile readers to share their best parenting advice, I learned this very important thing: As challenging as it may seem in the moment, one day you’ll refer to the life you’re living today as “the good old days,” and you’ll miss them tremendously.

Thanks to the dozens of readers who weighed in, I have crowdsourced the ultimate guide to parenthood. Whether you’re a parent, an older sibling, or a mentor, I guarantee you’ll learn something.

Read the Article 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 Betty White, Hollywood’s beloved golden girl. Become a premium member & read it below.

The Profile

The Profile Dossier: Betty White, Hollywood’s Beloved Golden Girl

Betty White died just three weeks short of her 100th birthday. At age 99, White was still a firecracker — just like she’d always been. A six-time Emmy winner, she had worked in the show business consistently for more than 75 years, which makes hers the longest television career of any female entertainer in history…

Read more

4 days ago · 6 likes · 2 comments · Polina Pompliano

PROFILES.

— The player who changed the game of basketball [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The investor who outperformed Warren Buffett
— The boy king of YouTube
— The bartender trolling Citadel’s CEO
— The tech elite’s favorite surfer

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The player who changed the game of basketball: NBA sensation Steph Curry helmed one of the best offensive teams in NBA history. Two years after that dynasty fell apart, he’s willing the Golden State Warriors toward another championship run—and underlining his claim as one of the game’s all-time greats. In this profile, Curry talks about dynasties, rivalries, and legacies. (GQ)

“I understand where the bar is at and I've got to keep raising it. So that level of insecurity drives me.”

The investor who outperformed Warren Buffett: Wilmot H. Kidd III has racked up one of the greatest long-term track records in the history of investing. Over the past 20 years, Kidd’s Central Securities Corp has outperformed Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Over the past 25, 30, 40, and even nearly 50 years under Kidd, Central Securities has resoundingly beaten the S&P 500. What are the keys to his success? (Wall Street Journal)

“Skill is just recognizing when you’ve gotten lucky.”

The boy king of YouTube: Ten-year-old Ryan Kaji and his parents have turned videos of him playing with toys into a YouTube sensation. The Kaji family has created a content behemoth whose branded merchandise took in more than $250 million last year. Here’s why his channel has grown at an explosive rate. (The New York Times)

“If you finish this scene, you can play Minecraft.”

The bartender trolling Citadel’s CEO: California bartender Katherine Larsen began investing in movie theater chain AMC Entertainment in January, around the time it got caught up in the meme trading frenzy. Even though she made money, she learned of Wall Street’s practices (like payment for order flow), and became convinced the system is stacked against investors like her. Now, Larsen has hired firms to run digital billboards and banners lambasting Citadel and its billionaire founder Ken Griffin. And he’s not happy about it. (Institutional Investor)

“We’re just trying to spread awareness. I’m not going to back down.”

The tech elite’s favorite surfer: Surfer Kai Lenny was once treated as an outcast in Maui’s cool kid surf culture, so naturally, he went on to master nearly every extreme water sport. He has dominated windsurfing, stand-up paddleboarding, kitesurfing, and big-wave surfing. Along the way, he has also become a kind of secret spirit animal to the world’s tech elite. Larry Ellison, Richard Branson, and Mark Zuckerberg are all Lenny fanboys. Here’s how their worlds collided. (WIRED)

✨ 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.

Andrew Wilkinson on building the Berkshire Hathaway of the internet: Andrew Wilkinson is the co-founder of Tiny, which buys cash-flowing internet businesses. In this conversation, he discusses why paranoia and pessimism have helped him be a better investor, what he looks for in a cash-flow company, and why he’s bullish on the subscription podcasting model. (Link available to premium members.)

Lori Gottlieb on the power of getting to ‘unknow’ yourself: Psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb says she helps patients “edit” the stories they tell themselves. She believes we’re all the unreliable narrators of our lives, and in many cases, using logic isn’t enough to revise the plot. Here’s how she helps people — especially in times of great uncertainty — examine the accuracy of their stories. (Link available to premium members.)

VIDEOS TO SEE.

Jason Oppenheim on buying property in the metaverse: How did the star of Netflix’s hit TV show ‘Selling Sunset’ get his start? In this podcast, Jason Oppenheim reveals what it takes to sell luxury real estate, where the housing market is headed, and why he thinks buying property in the metaverse will be incredibly valuable. It’s a great conversation. (Link available to premium members.)

Elon Musk on the state of crypto: Elon Musk has a lot of opinions. In this wide-ranging conversation, he discusses colonizing Mars, self-driving cars, and SpaceX’s human spaceflight. But there’s an interesting section in which he shares his predictions about the future of cryptocurrency and who Satoshi Nakamoto could be. (Link available to premium members.)

Steph Curry’s life of devotion: Stephen Curry has lived a life rooted in faith, and religion has remained a prominent part of his identity since he was a child. “It’s always been a part of who I am,” he says. This is a fascinating look at how Curry has evolved as a player, leader, and entrepreneur while staying true to his core values. (Link available to premium members.)