Welcome to Friday. Merry Christmas!
Knowledge
Franchise Player: Ulysses Lee “Junior” Bridgeman was, by any account, a great basketball player. He was drafted in the first round by the Lakers in 1975 and became a key bench player for over a decade on the Bucks and Clippers. But the most important part of his career began after basketball. During the offseason, Bridgeman would research the fast food industry by working at Wendy’s. He invested his modest earnings from the NBA — some $3,000,000 — into 3 Wendy’s franchises. In less time than he spent in the NBA, Bridgeman scaled his holdings to 360 restaurants, which he leveraged to become an independent bottler for Coca Cola. Today, Bridgeman is worth half a billion dollars, meaning that over 99% of his wealth came after his playing days were over. It’s an inspiring story for anyone interested in starting a new career. Get the full scoop from Joe Pompliano’s Huddle Up.
Wisdom
Incompetent Philosophers: People who think too much are often ridiculed by those who don’t think enough. This has been true for millennia. One ancient example is the story of Thales and the well. One day, Thales walked into a well while pondering the cosmos. The community ridiculed him for being out of touch with the world around him, ascribing the outcome to the impracticality of philosophy. Annoyed, Thales decided to come down to earth for a season. He employed his analytical skills and superior observation of the natural world to anticipate a bountiful olive harvest, buying options on the olive presses in the area. He was then able to command high prices from the olive farmers, having monopolized the means of production. Thales demonstrates that a good philosopher is capable of making money if he chooses. If you meet a brilliant person who seems aimless and spacey, don’t ridicule them — ask them what’s so interesting that they aren’t pursuing money.
Inspiration
Value Time: Time is our most valuable resource. How we think about your time affects how we spend it. As we close out the year, think about how you’ve used your time in 2020. What did you do well? What could be better? Here’s one way to value time:
Ingvar Kamprad, the founder of IKEA, on the value of time:
“You can do so much in ten minutes’ time. Ten minutes, once gone, are gone for good. Divide your life into 10-minute units and sacrifice as few of them as possible in meaningless activity."
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Notes
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