Back in Business
- Will Darr
- Oct 2, 2019
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 3, 2019
"Dad, are you going to write on your site again soon?" My nine-year-old daughter caught me off guard with this question last week. Several days later, I ran into a friend at a fundraiser who asked me the same. I quickly retreated to a quiet corner of the room, opened the Wix app on my phone, and realized that my last post was on July 16th. Two and a half months! There is no single reason for the delay. It's the usual stuff - enjoying summer, travel, work demands, family obligations, plans with friends, the back to school transition for the girls, and a whole lot of reading. Writing is an avocation for many - one that requires the discipline to carve out uninterrupted time for putting pen to paper or, in this case, fingers to keyboard. I love the word ASSIDUITY (pronounced ass-uh-doo-it-ee). It means a constant or close attention to what one is doing. My personal hero, Charlie Munger, defines it as "sitting on your ass until something gets done." Writing, especially decent writing, requires assiduity.
Much like writing, reading is an avocation of mine. My birthday was last month and my wife and daughters bought me a Kindle as a present. Actually, in mid-August, I ordered myself a Kindle and thanked them for their thoughtfulness in advance of its arrival. I swore for years that I'd never get one. Paper books always held more appeal and allowed me to turn pages, highlight, annotate, and stick a bookmark in wherever I left off. The bookmark is typically a color swatch, sourced from the paint wall at Home Depot. In fact, when we hit the store now, one of the girls will ask, "Dad, can I grab a few 'bookmarks?'." Tangibility has lost its luster, largely in lockstep with my wife's lost patience with the stacks of physical books scattered throughout the house. It was time for a change. The transition has exceeded my expectations and dispelled any preconceived biases. If you enjoy reading and space is an issue, get a Kindle Oasis 2. E-readers have come a long way and now allow you to highlight text, look up words, bookmark numerous pages and create notes. As an added bonus, I find reading on the Kindle to be much faster vis-a-vis physical books.
What do I have downloaded on the Kindle right now? I'm usually hesitant to share my reading list with others, out of fear of a "signaling effect." This can be defined as expressing something intended to demonstrate one's _____________(you can fill in the blank) to others. Virtue signaling is one example and it happens all the time. If I listed a bunch of religious books, it could be interpreted as my showcasing some spiritual superiority, whether intended or not. Signaling shows up on bumper stickers, too. One of them reads "My Kid is an Honor Student at Someplace High School." The read-through is supposed to be "I have a smart child" and/or "I am crushing it as a parent." If you leave your dumbbells on display in the living room, you may be signaling to guests that fitness is important to you, or that you're not to be reckoned with in a curling or arm wrestling contest. No judgment here, just possible examples. With that as a preface and the promise of no signaling on my part, here are the current downloads:
Working, by Robert Caro - He wrote the multi-volume biography on President LBJ and a book titled The Power Broker about Robert Moses. I plan to read the latter one day soon. Caro's writing style is second to none. A review by NYT: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/books/review-working-robert-caro.html
Digital Transformation, by Thomas Seibel - 50% through this one. As the world becomes more digitized, Seibel (founder of Seibel Systems - purchased by Oracle) takes the reader through the four forces shaping our digital future - Cloud Computing, Artificial Intelligence, Big Data and the Internet-of-Things (IoT - connected devices). Outstanding so far!
Secrets of Sand Hill Road, by Scott Kupor - Describes how the world of venture capital works and what goes on behind closed doors at major VC firms. https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Sand-Hill-Road-Capital-ebook/dp/B07KLJQ13R
Dopesick, by Beth Macy - Gripping story about the genesis and evolution of the opioid crisis in the US, involving pharma companies and doctors. Eye-opening to say the least. https://www.amazon.com/Dopesick-Dealers-Doctors-Company-Addicted/dp/0316551244
Stillness is the Key, by Ryan Holiday - I have all of Holiday's other books and this one is brand new. His Daily Stoic has helped me immeasurably. I'd also recommend his book Conspiracy, about Hulk Hogan, Peter Thiel, and their quest to take down Gawker Media. https://www.amazon.com/Stillness-Key-Ryan-Holiday/dp/0525538585
Permanent Record, by Edward Snowden - Also brand new, I read the intro sample on Amazon and had to buy it. The Introduction alone had me consider ditching my iPhone and picking up a flip-phone, which might be tantamount to Henry David Thoreau's moving to Walden Pond in today's world. Snowden sought asylum in Russia after unveiling the extent of global surveillance by the NSA and these are his memoirs. There will be more of this activity to come and for those who have doubts, read the Seibel book above. The infrastructure is being put in place today and there will likely be more surveillance, digital monitoring and abuses of power. https://www.amazon.com/Permanent-Record-Edward-Snowden/dp/1250237238
Call Sign Chaos, by Jim Mattis - I had to counterbalance Snowden's book with something patriotic. Mattis spent four decades as a Marine and two years as the US Secretary of Defense. We listened to Admiral William McRaven's Sea Stories audiobook on our drive to North Carolina this past summer. Two thumbs up. If Call Sign Chaos is just half as good, I am in for a treat. https://www.amazon.com/Call-Sign-Chaos-Learning-Lead/dp/0812996836
The obvious common thread is that all of the books above are non-fiction. I'm not averse to fiction reading and every so often a great title comes along. It's a personal decision and non-fiction books tend to spark more joy for me. However, for a good fiction pick, I'd highly recommend A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles to anyone looking to escape into a well-written adventure. Here is a review: https://www.npr.org/2016/09/03/490101866/a-gentleman-in-moscow-is-a-grand-hotel-adventure
I'm hoping to do more writing on a range of topics and interests in coming months. There are several ideas bulleted in my notebook to revisit. I just need to sit down and do the research. Assiduity........
Humbly yours,
W.
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