About

Learn from history's greatest entrepreneurs. Every week I read a biography of an entrepreneur and find ideas you can use in your work. This quote explains why: "There are thousands of years of history in which lots and lots of very smart people worked very hard and ran all types of experiments on how to create new businesses, invent new technology, new ways to manage etc. They ran these experiments throughout their entire lives. At some point, somebody put these lessons down in a book. For very little money and a few hours of time, you can learn from someone’s accumulated experience. There is so much more to learn from the past than we often realize. You could productively spend your time reading experiences of great people who have come before and you learn every time." —Marc Andreessen

  • #346 How Walt Disney Built Himself
    What I learned from rereading Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination by Neal Gabler.
  • #345 George Lucas
    What I learned from rereading George Lucas: A Life by Brian Jay Jones.
  • Steven Spielberg
    What I learned from reading Steven Spielberg: A Biography by Joseph McBride.
  • #344 Quentin Tarantino
    What I learned from reading Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino.
  • #343 The Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness: David Ogilvy
    What I learned from reading Eternal Pursuit of Unhappiness Being Very Good Is No Good,You Have to Be Very, Very, Very, Very, Very Good by David Ogilvy and Ogivly & Mather.
  • #342 The Lessons of History (Will & Ariel Durant)
    What I learned from reading The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant.
  • #341 Cornelius Vanderbilt (Tycoon's War)
    What I learned from rereading Tycoon's War: How Cornelius Vanderbilt Invaded a Country to Overthrow America's Most Famous Military Adventurer by Stephen Dando-Collins.
  • #340 Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
    What I learned from reading Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable by Tim Grover and Winning: The Unforgiving Race to Greatness by Tim Grover.
  • Jay Z's Autobiography
    What I learned from reading Decoded by Jay Z.
  • #339 Joseph Duveen: Robber Baron Art Dealer
    What I learned from reading The Days of Duveen by S.N. Behrman.
  • #338 Monty Moncrief Texas Oil Billionaire
    What I learned from reading Wildcatters: A Story of Texans, Oil, and Money by Sally Helgesen.
  • #337 Napoleon's Maxims and Strategy
    What I learned from reading Roots of Strategy by Thomas R. Phillips and Napoleon and Modern War by Napoleon and Col. Lanza.
  • #336 How To Lose A Few Billion Dollars: Samuel Insull
    What I learned from reading Insull: The Rise and Fall of A Billionaire Utility Tycoon by Forrest McDonald.
  • #335 How To Make A Few Billion Dollars: Brad Jacobs
    What I learned from reading How To Make A Few Billion Dollars by Brad Jacobs.
  • #334 Oprah
    What I learned from reading the transcripts of Young Oprah on Her Life and Career and Oprah on Career, Life and Leadership.
  • #333 Red Bull's Billionaire Maniac Founder: Dietrich Mateschitz
    What I learned from reading The Red Bull Story by Wolfgang Fürweger.
  • #332 Jesus
    What I learned from reading Jesus: A Biography from a Believer by Paul Johnson.
  • #331 Christian Dior
    What I learned from reading Dior by Dior: The Autobiography of Christian Dior and Creators by Paul Johnson.
  • #330 Les Schwab (Charlie Munger recommended this book)
    What I learned from rereading Les Schwab Pride In Performance: Keep It Going! by Les Schwab.
  • #329 Charlie Munger (the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack)
    What I learned from reading the NEW Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Wit and Wisdom of Charlie Munger.