This week, we’re celebrating five years of The Profile. FIVE. WHOLE. YEARS. 🤯

That means that since February of 2017, you've received 263 Sunday emails, 100 Profile Dossiers, and thousands of longform profiles.

If you’re reading this right now, I want you to know just how much I appreciate you being part of this community. I started this newsletter so that my friends and I could have better conversations about interesting articles I found on the internet. It has evolved into something much bigger and much more meaningful.

I’ve interviewed author James Clear, legendary restaurateur Danny Meyer, ‘Humans of New York’ creator Brandon Stanton, and four-time obstacle race champion Amelia Boone.

On Wednesdays, I publish The Profile Dossier, a deep-dive on a prominent individual that takes you on a journey from their greatest triumphs to their most gut-wrenching failures. We've learned important lessons from mountaineer Nims Purja, war zone journalist Clarissa Ward, actor Keanu Reeves, and of course, the one & only Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson (who is a Profile reader).

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last five years, it’s this: Discipline pays off.

I’ve always said that I’m not the most talented writer nor am I the best curator, but I am willing to bet that I will outlast and outwork the competition. Shane Parrish recently wrote, “The hardest part is the discipline required to do otherwise ordinary things for an extraordinarily long period of time, even when the results are barely noticeable.” He adds, “Extraordinary results come from ordinary people with uncommon consistency.”

It’s easy to be consistent when things are easy and life is smooth. But when it gets bumpy, do you throw in the towel or do you find a way to continue? I’ve had plenty of reasons to pause — international travel, family situations, and, you know, having a baby. But I haven’t stopped.

Why?

Because I believe in the simple formula of “consistency + time = trust.” The only way you can earn people’s trust is by consistently keeping your word and delivering on what you’ve promised. And your trust, dear reader, is one thing that I take very seriously.

That’s why I’m not worried if people try to replicate The Profile. I just know that discipline and consistency come from a blazing hot passion for your craft. For me, it’s this — studying the most interesting people in the world and sharing my lessons with you every week.

Thank you for joining me on this journey for the last five years. Cheers to many, many more.

🎉 HELP ME CELEBRATE 🎉

It would mean the world to me if you helped me celebrate The Profile’s five-year anniversary by sharing a sign-up link on Twitter 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 Melanie Perkins, the billionaire founder of the world's most valuable software startup. Become a premium member & read it below.

The Profile

The Profile Dossier: Melanie Perkins, the Billionaire Founder of the World's Most Valuable Software Startup

While no one was looking, Melanie Perkins built Canva, an online graphic design business valued at $40 billion. Canva's latest funding round made it one of the world's most valuable private software companies, and the most valuable female-founded and female-led company…

Read more

4 days ago · 5 likes · 1 comment · Polina Pompliano

PROFILES.

— The MMA champion who survived the impossible [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— Bitcoin’s Bonnie and Clyde
— The CEO shaping the future of the internet
— The NBA’s breakout star
— The star living by her own rules
— The hedge fund that lost $6.8 billion in one month

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The MMA champion who survived the impossible: This profile details MMA sensation Francis Ngannou’s miraculous 14-month journey to reach asylum and get one step closer to his then-dream of becoming a boxer in the United States. Whenever he doubted himself and thought about heading back to his village, he repeated the words that kept him going. "Never underestimate somebody who has hope.” This is a powerful one. (ESPN)

"They may think I have no options, but I am a free man.”

Bitcoin’s Bonnie and Clyde: When anonymous hackers infiltrated the cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex in 2016, it shook the nascent world of digital currency and prompted speculation about who might have stolen what was then $71 million in Bitcoin. And then the arrests of Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan left the world of cryptocurrency incredulous: Could this goofy young couple have been Bitcoin’s Bonnie and Clyde? (The New York Times)

“It is very jarring to think someone so open and vulnerable with people would have secrets,”

The CEO shaping the future of the internet: Companies everywhere are struggling to figure out the future of work. Matt Mullenweg, founder and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, says his employees are already living it. In this Q&A, Mullenweg talks about the benefits and challenges of asynchronous work, and why he thinks more companies will inevitably embrace it. (Wall Street Journal)

“You need great clarity on what your workers are expected to accomplish, and you’ll probably be humbled and surprised by how they accomplish it, in ways that you couldn’t imagine.”

The NBA’s breakout star: A decade after Jeremy Lin’s NBA breakout, Lin and some of the people who observed his sudden ascent reflect on the excitement and lasting cultural significance of his heroics for the Knicks in February 2012. It’s been a long journey for Lin that has tested his deep religious faith along the way, but over time, he’s been able to embrace Linsanity for the special blip in time that it was. (The Ringer)

“For a lot of us, Jeremy Lin represents us.”

The star living by her own rules: Jennifer Lopez has had an eventful time during the pandemic. She has prepped for and shot not one but two movies, orchestrated a documentary about her life, finished postproduction for Marry Me, marched with her children for Black Lives Matter, performed at Biden’s inauguration, broken off her engagement with Alex Rodriguez, and rekindled things with Ben Affleck. How does she feel about it all? “You start realizing there are no rules,” she says. (Rolling Stone, reply to this email if you can’t access the article)

“For me, it’s always been very important to figure myself out.”

COMPANIES TO WATCH.

The hedge fund that lost $6.8 billion in one month: At the worst point in January 2021, Melvin Capital Management was losing more than $1 billion a day as individual investors on online forums such as Reddit banded together to push up prices of stocks Melvin was betting against. “We were in a terrible position. Stared death in the face,” says Melvin’s fund manager Gabe Plotkin. “But we’ve made it through.”

“One of the great things about, whether it’s sports or the stock market, you’re knocked down a lot.”

✨ 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.

Garrett McNamara on his turbulent childhood: Legendary big wave surfer Garrett McNamara has spent the last few decades of his life trying to understand how his childhood shaped the person he is today. Even though he describes his childhood as “a ton of fun,” it was anything but. As a child, their family found themselves living a nomadic life that sometimes required them to eat out of trash cans. In this episode, you see the conflicting emotions that McNamara wrestle with in order to make sense of it all. (Link available to premium members.)

Diana Chapman on how to eliminate drama: Leadership adviser Diana Chapman says she uses a tool called “the drama triangle” to help her clients live a drama-free life. She says many of us have begun to identify as the victim, and there are three unique flavors of drama that are incredibly harmful to our lives. (Link available to premium members.)

VIDEOS TO SEE.

Hasan Minhaj on his comedy secrets: Comedian Hasan Minhaj enjoys mixing stand-up comedy, storytelling, and theater. “This is my elixir,” he says. Live comedy, he believes, is one of the most intimate acts because he can’t make the audience laugh in that moment — they do it of their own volition. In this interview, he talks about his preparation process, how he incorporates feedback, and what he does to deal with the haters. (Link available to premium members.)

Brandon Stanton on creating intimacy with strangers: ‘Humans of New York’ creator Brandon Stanton tells the fascinating stories of complete strangers. In this interview, he explains how he develops intimacy with strangers, why his conversations are so transformative, and why it's natural for us to empathize with other people's pain. (Link available to premium members.)

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