The Art of The Impossible
Welcome to my weekly newsletter where I share my top 5 pieces of content to inspire, educate and uplift you. If you are a maker, creator, entrepreneur or innovator, I think you will enjoy this week's picks. So here goes...
PODCAST
Did you listen to my interview with Jimmy Soni last week? It was my most downloaded episode of last year. Listen here.
Also, Peter Attia recently re-released his conversation with James Clear which is very good and worth listening to as we kick off a new year focused on old habits to break, and new habits to build. Watch here.
In this podcast episode, James provides insights into how both good and bad habits are formed, including the influence of genetics, environment, social circles, and more. He points to changes one can make to cultivate more perseverance and discipline and describes the profound impact habits can have when tethering them to one’s self-identity.
I also enjoyed this interview with Bob Iger - CEO of The Walt Disney Company It's a wide-ranging Andreessen Horowitz podcast conversation with Bob on the interplay between technology, content, and distribution; as well as Bob’s journey - and that of various creators as the industry evolved from TV and cable to the advent of the internet/web 1.0 to 2.0 to briefly touching on web3 and other emerging technologies. Subject topics covered include advice for company and community builders: from build vs. buy and the innovator's dilemma, to managing creativity, decentralization, remote work.
Listen to the full episode here - hosted by investor (ex-founder) Chris Dixon and Sonal Chokshi .
Buy Bob's book, The Ride of a Lifetime here (more info on the book below).
QUOTE
INTERVIEW
"During a time of Jim Crow segregation, during a time when women frequently weren't even allowed to have credit cards in their own names, here were these women — large numbers of women — doing very high-level mathematical work at one of the highest scientific institutions in the world at that time."
How 'Hidden Figures' Came Together: Interview with Author Margot Shetterly
Writer, researcher, and entrepreneur Margot Lee Shetterly is the author of Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race. Shetterly is also the founder of The Human Computer Project, an endeavor that is recovering the names and accomplishments of all of the women who worked as computers, mathematicians, scientists and engineers at the NACA and NASA from the 1930s through the 1980s.
This interview shines a light on how this book came to be and why it was so important for Margot to tell the story of these incredible women.
Read the full interview here.
Recommended by LinkedIn
BOOK
The Ride of a Lifetime: Lessons in Creative Leadership from 15 Years as CEO of the Walt Disney Company by Robert Iger.
"The ideas in this book strike me as universal. Not just to the aspiring CEOs of the world, but to anyone wanting to feel less fearful, more confidently themselves, as they navigate their professional and even personal lives." Bob Iger
This book by Disney CEO Bob Iger is about the relentless curiosity that has driven him since the day he started on the lowest rung of the ladder at ABC. It's also about thoughtfulness and respect, and a decency-over-dollars approach that has become the bedrock of every project and partnership Iger pursues, including a deep friendship with Steve Jobs. Buy the book here.
And if you like this book, be sure to check out Creativity Inc: Creativity, Inc. an inspiring look at how creativity can - and should - be harnessed for business success by the founder of Pixar by Ed Catmull, computer scientist and co-founder of Pixar Animation Studios - it's one of my favourite "business" books.
FILM
Lamborghini - The Man Behind the Legend
I warn you, this is not a fast-paced film nor a particularly entertaining one but it does offer a great insight into one of the most prolific Italian engineer-entrepreneurs - Ferruccio Lamborghini.
Lamborghini was an Italian automobile designer, inventor, mechanic, engineer, winemaker, industrialist and businessman who created Automobili Lamborghini in 1963, maker of high-end sports cars.
Born to grape farmers in Renazzo, Lamborghini's mechanical engineering knowledge led him to start his own tractor manufacturing company in 1948, when he founded Lamborghini Trattori. The company quickly became an important manufacturer of agricultural equipment in the midst of Italy's post-WWII economic boom. In 1959, he opened up an oil burner factory, Lamborghini Bruciatori, which later entered the business of producing air conditioning equipment.
He then founded Automobili Lamborghini before founding his fourth company, Lamborghini Oleodinamica, a manufacturer of hydraulic valves and equipment. Lamborghini sold off many of his interests by the late 1970s and retired to an estate in Umbria, where he started winemaking.
The takeaway lesson for me is the attitude Lamboghini had to everything, "We will make it work." Whatever it is you are doing, however many naysayers you may have, how many competitors try to bury you..., just remember what he always said, "It has to work. We will make it work"
Watch the trailer here.
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Finally, those who have read my newsletter for a while will know I worked with Ericsson last year to promote their Imagine Possible event in Santa Clara. For those of you who couldn't make it, you can now watch all the fantastic talks from the event here. Enjoy!
Thanks for reading this week's newsletter. and for listening and sharing the podcast. I appreciate every one of you.
See you on the other side.
Danielle