Go on a public quest

Hi Reader,

I’m a big fan of working in public.

I don’t just mean taking your laptop to a coffee shop (although I love doing that too). I mean in a figurative sense: showing your work as you go, sharing the process, and letting other people in on your progress.

But beyond just showing your work, share where you’re going. What are your ambitions? What’s your aim? What is it you want to achieve?

Danny Miranda loved watching basketball as a kid. He idolized Kobe Bryant’s relentless pursuit for being the best basketball player and wanted some kind of obsession of his own.

Then he found podcasting and fell in love. He immediately knew this is what he wanted to explore, get good at, and be known for.

But he wanted to set an ultimate vision. Something he could strive for but would also be interesting to people following his journey.

He remembered going to Madison Square Garden when he was young to watch the New York Knicks play. That’s when it hit him. He knew what his goal would be:

“I’m going to sell out Madison Square Garden.”

Danny doesn’t believe he’s specially talented or inherently gifted. But this ambition to podcast in front of an unfathomable number of people gives him something to strive towards. He truly believes he’ll reach his goal within the next 10 years.

Because people can hear the conviction in his voice, the more he talks about it, the more connections he makes, and the more people he has rooting for him to sell out Madison Square Garden.

This is what I call a public quest.

Danny knows if he’s going to do what he’s set out to do, he needs to get better at what he does. The quest is a driving factor for developing his skills. Things like public speaking, researching, interviewing guests, and being entertaining.

For many people, if they get a reel that goes viral, that’s the pinnacle for them. But that’s such a vapor.

Set out to do something that will change you and drive you to build hard skills along the way.

Go on a public quest.

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ARTICLE

Clock speed

What is the biggest determinant for success in a technology company?

Sriram Krishnan makes a case for the answer being “clock speed”. He explains what he means in a 2-minute analogy.

This is a really important idea that I believe defines many organizations. It’s also why we ship a new feature every week at ConvertKit.

​Read article »​

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NEW BOOK

Ghost Town Living

Long-time readers will know that my most random investment is that I own 10% of the California ghost town Cerro Gordo. Brent Underwood, the dedicated genius behind this project, wrote a book about the wild journey these last six years.

The book comes out today. I think you'll love it!

​Buy your copy of Ghost Town Living »​

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Have a great week!

—Nathan

P.S. I passed my private pilot check ride on Friday. Which means I'm not a licensed pilot!