David Senra — Pick The Right Heroes (EP.127)

“To get me stop, they’re going to have to pry the microphone out of my cold dead hand”.

Hot on the heels of his hugely popular appearance on ‘Invest Like The Best’, David Senra joins a marathon episode of Infinite Loops to discuss obsession, education, optimism, podcasting, and so much more.

Unsurprisingly, this one is not to be missed.

Important Links:

Founders Podcast
Founders on Colossus
David’s Twitter
David’s Substack
Runnin’ Down a Dream - Bill Gurley

Show Notes:

David’s grandfather, refugees, and risk-taking
Why reading history raises our ambition
Obsession and genetics
Why founders are the most important people in the world
Our failing education system
“To get me to stop, they’re going to have to pry the microphone out of my cold dead hand”
“Don’t do anything that somebody else can do”
Societal responses to change, predicting the future
The benefits of small teams
“Plan B should be to make plan A work”
Optimism, risk and the bridge of nihilism
Why you need to start a podcast
“History doesn’t repeat, human nature does”
AI and art
The internet is the greatest variance amplifier in history
“You can’t fake passion”
Infinite networks
Luck, burnout, learning and excuses
“Don’t be surprised if your best idea comes 30 to 40 years into your career”
The blueprint for a great day
Pick the right heroes

Books Mentioned:

Am I Being Too Subtle?: Straight Talk From a Business Rebel; by Sam Zell
The Sugar King of Havana: The Rise and Fall of Julio Lobo, Cuba's Last Tycoon; by John Paul Rathbone
The Hypomaniac Edge: The Link Between (A Little) Craziness and (A Lot of) Success in America; by John D. Gartner
One Summer: America, 1927; by Bill Bryson
Reluctant Genius: The Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell; by Charlotte Gray
Born of this land : my life story; by Chung Ju-yung
Shoe Dog; by Phil Knight
Pulitzer: A Life in Politics, Print, and Power; by James McGrath Morris
Only the Paranoid Survive: How to Exploit the Crisis Points That Challenge Every Company; by Andrew S. Grove
Time to Make the Donuts: The Founder of Dunkin Donuts Shares an American Journey; by William Rosenberg
Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration; by Ed Catmull
The Tao Te Ching; by Laozi
My Life & Work - An Autobiography of Henry Ford; by Henry Ford
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization; by Dee Hock
Zanies: The world’s greatest eccentrics; by Jay Robert Nash