Patrick O'Shaughnessy, founder of Colossus and Positive Sum, discusses recurring themes from the hundreds of guests who have answered his signature closing question on 'Invest Like the Best.'
Insight
O'Shaughnessy: Setting explicit goals blinds talented people to unexpected opportunities
“One of the reasons I don't like goals is I think very talented people, when they set a goal, they tend to do it. And that's why goals are interesting to lots of people is it's a great way to make progress. But I find it unexciting because the second you set so…”
Insight
O'Shaughnessy: Creators and entrepreneurs must ignore base rates to achieve outliers
“I think, like, screw base rates. I don't care what the, I never care what the base rate is. Like, the whole, the most interesting stuff is outliers by definition. So I don't care what happened to everybody else. I don't care if, you know, there's common pitfal…”
Opinion
O'Shaughnessy: Online content is junk food and audiences crave crafted work
“The world is so sick of this crap just all day, every day. It's just crap. And it's, everyone makes the junk food comparison because it's a perfect comparison. Like junk food got to where it was because it's been optimized for us to want the most of it possibl…”
Insight
O'Shaughnessy: The best story wins, defined by originality, hardship, and transformation
“The best story always wins. And I actually spent the last couple of months, like, really trying to figure out what do I think best story means? And the best principles for a great story that I could come up with were originality, hardship, and transformation.”
Insight
O'Shaughnessy: Success typically pulls creators into branching into multiple businesses
“Most people that have achieved a level of success in their field or in their job that you have begin to The world, when that happens, pulls you into this branching exercise where you end up doing lots of different stuff. And that, you know, you end up monetizi…”
Insight
O'Shaughnessy: Inventing on principle means correcting violations to serve others
“The principle should be something that when you see it violated, it is your obligation to go correct it, and that that correction is an act of service for other people, not for yourself. It's not about you. And that's what makes the idea so powerful.”