Sahil Bloom's Linkedin Analytics

This is the single most valuable human trait: Tolerance for Uncertainty: Most people are so afraid of uncertainty that they leap at the chance to avoid it. Right on the verge of the breakthrough, they take the comfortable path. They settle. They relent. They accept. Here’s a question I wish I had started asking earlier: Where am I accepting good because I’m afraid to tolerate the uncertainty necessary to reach great? The worst mistakes in life may not look like mistakes at all. Sometimes, the worst mistakes look like modest wins. But the truth is that a mistake isn’t defined in absolute terms. A mistake is defined relative to one’s true potential. And the only way to reach that potential is to tolerate uncertainty long enough to unlock it. Your success in life is proportional to the amount of uncertainty you can tolerate. It’s easy to show up when the rewards are certain. When everything makes sense. When the path is entirely clear. But there is no clear, linear path to the life you want. The real rewards in life go to those who can show up every single day when the rewards are uncertain. It’s showing up day after day without a guarantee. It’s taking the next step forward even when you can’t see where your foot is going to land. The one who can tolerate the most uncertainty is the one who will eventually win. Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should do it. Get comfortable saying no to the good so you can say yes to the great. Where are you accepting good because you’re afraid to tolerate the uncertainty necessary to reach great? Your answer might change everything. Enjoy this? Share it with your network and join 800,000+ others who get a deeper dive straight to their inboxes in my 4x weekly newsletter. It's completely free: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

20 years ago, Steve Jobs spoke at Stanford graduation. 7 timeless lessons from the legendary speech: 1. Question the defaults Throughout your life, you will encounter certain "truths" that are only truths in the sense that they've been repeated so many times that people accept them to be true. It takes courage to question these defaults in a world that profits from your acceptance of them. But the best things in life sit on the other side of the questions you dare to ask. 2. Let your curiosity guide you Make time to get lost in things that have no obvious utility to your life. It’s hard to explain, but the things with no obvious utility often end up having the most utility of all. The world is full of entirely unpredictable connections. You never know what small, seemingly irrelevant interest will open the next door. The universe opens up to those who open up to it. 3. Have faith in the dots The idea of “dots” changed how I see everything: We’re all just laying down dots. Decisions, successes, failures, side quests, chance occurrences, random conversations. They’re all dots. At the time, they feel disconnected. Random. But when you look back, you see the thread. The hidden pattern. The impossible perfection. You never know which dot matters while you’re in it. That’s where the faith comes in. Faith that the actions of today create the meaning of tomorrow. So keep going. Keep moving. Keep taking action. Keep stacking dots. The meaning will reveal itself in time. 4. Fall in love with the starting line There’s a beauty in being a beginner. There’s a beauty in the starting line. No expectations. No legacy. No weight. Embrace it. Sometimes the best thing that can happen is to begin again. 5. Never settle for less than you deserve If you truly believe you are meant for more, never settle for a life of less. It will be uncomfortable. It will hurt. You will have to tolerate uncertainty when every force around you tells you to take the easy way out. But the rewards are worth it. The life you want is on the other side of the uncertainty you’ve been avoiding. 6. Remember your own mortality This is perhaps life’s greatest paradox: You have to accept your death in order to live your life. Our time is finite, but we often fail to recognize it until it's too late. Time is cruel in that way. Always remember: Later is just another word for never. Later we’ll all be dead. So go do the damn thing. 7. Stay hungry, stay foolish The fight against normalcy is the most important fight of your life. The world doesn’t need more of the same. It needs more of you. Unique. Different. Unapologetic. Hungry. Foolish. You. No one can compete with you, at being you. I wrote a deep dive on the speech and lessons in my free weekly newsletter. You can read the deeper dive (and subscribe) here: https://lnkd.in/ePNW66pz

5 harsh truths nobody told you about entrepreneurship: 1. Real freedom is terrifying. Most people want the social media version of entrepreneurial freedom. In my experience, real entrepreneurial freedom looks…well…different. Real freedom is terrifying. It’s the recognition that everything is on you. It’s the acceptance that you have to hunt if you want to eat. It’s the accountability to recognize that when things aren’t going well, you are the only one who can change it. It’s staring out into the darkness. It’s riding the ups and downs. Most people want the illusion of freedom. They wouldn’t last a few days with the reality. But for those who accept the challenge, there is nothing more rewarding. 2. Most of society is built for traditional employment. There are a lot of simple things that you take for granted as a traditional employee that disappear as an entrepreneur. Like getting a mortgage to buy a house. The bank prefers a traditional (W2) employee making $100k per year to an entrepreneur making $250k per year. The truth is that a lot of the societal infrastructure was built around traditional employment. The point: Be prepared for headaches in unexpected places. 3. Lack of structure will be your worst enemy. In my opinion, the single greatest challenge facing new entrepreneurs is the lack of this structure in their days. It’s a weird feeling waking up and not knowing what you should be doing. It’s oddly disconcerting. And for those who’ve grown accustomed to the structure of the traditional path, it can be a significant blocker to progress. 4. It’s a lonely journey (most of the time). When you start living differently, you will stop fitting into your old environments. The people you felt aligned with start to feel distant. It's almost as if you start speaking an entirely different language. You no longer have much to talk about. They don't seem to understand your values or motivations. And as you leave behind the old, you have yet to attract the new. The season of loneliness is natural—a sign you're on the right path. Embrace it. Use the solitude and the focus it unlocks to accelerate your growth. 5. Nobody cares if you win (or if you lose). A mentor gave me a simple piece of advice early in my journey: Nobody cares. When you're winning, when everything is going well, when you're crushing it, nobody cares. When you're losing, when everything is falling flat, when you're down and out, nobody cares. It doesn't mean nobody loves you. It just means nobody cares about your life as much as you do. It just means that you are in control. It’s all on you. Nobody is coming to save you. So you might as well do the thing. You might as well pursue what calls you. You might as well live your life on your own terms. If you enjoyed this, you're going to love my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. Order it now on a big 50% sale: https://lnkd.in/efUWCNW9

Want the key to success? I’ll give it to you in the next 3 minutes... There is one mindset that I have observed across every single success story: An Internal Locus of Control. Locus of Control is a psychological concept first introduced by Julian Rotter in 1954 that describes how people perceive the causes of events in their lives. Those with an External Locus of Control believe that their outcomes are determined by forces outside their control. Those with an Internal Locus of Control believe they have control over their outcomes through effort, focus, and attitude. As it turns out, this one mindset—the simple lens through which you view your world—has an extraordinary array of implications. An External Locus of Control has been linked to learned helplessness, victim mentality, and challenge avoidance. An Internal Locus of Control has been linked to greater resilience, improved mental health, lower stress levels, higher achievement, and proactive problem-solving. The key is to embrace this mindset at the testing point—when life seems to be conspiring against you. In these moments, it's perfectly normal to find yourself drifting slowly into an External Locus of Control. Ask these 5 questions to reclaim your Internal Locus: What part of this situation is within my control? What's one tiny action I can take right now? If my best friend were facing this, what advice would I give them? How would my ideal self show up in this moment? How can I create space to separate myself from this situation? Never, ever give up your control. You’re going to fail. It’s going to hurt. You’re going to feel lost. You’re going to feel confused. You’re going to feel betrayed. Complaining, blaming, pointing fingers—none of it will get you anywhere worth going. You are in control. Of everything. It's all on you. But you are entirely capable of climbing back all on your own. Of squeezing everything you want out of this life. You are at the wheel. Never let go. Enjoy this? Join 800,000 growth-minded readers who go deeper in my 4x weekly newsletter. Join for free here: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

This is a harsh truth nobody wants to admit... Blind consistency is worse than inconsistency: We live in a world that celebrates consistency. But, like most things, the dose makes the poison. Blind consistency is rigid. Formulaic. Stubborn. It clings to original thoughts, mindsets, habits, and behaviors under the guise of virtue. The consistency that was meant to free you begins to cage you. Consider this: You control your inputs, but you're ultimately judged for your outcomes. Inputs that fail to produce desired outcomes should be adjusted, not repeated. The trick is in the time horizons. In the short-term, it's perfectly reasonable for inputs and outcomes to be dislocated—meaning you won't always see a direct reward for your efforts. But in the long-term, inputs and outcomes should converge. If they don't, you may need to adjust your inputs. I like to implement a monthly check-in ritual. At the end of each month, ask yourself: Are my daily inputs creating my desired outcomes? Are there any thoughts, mindsets, habits, or behaviors that I'm clinging to that no longer serve me? Are there any adjustments I should be making to my days? Consistency should be celebrated only when paired with adaptability. Adaptive Consistency is the key that unlocks your dream life. Show up. Adapt. Win. If you enjoyed this, go deeper with my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. 250,000+ others are reading it around the world. Order it now (50% off!): https://lnkd.in/eUzjZUxj

I'm nervous about AI... Here's why: The Tragedy of the Commons is a situation in which individual actors, acting in their own rational self-interest, destroy a valuable shared resource. This mental model is a useful lens through which to consider the modern situation we’re facing with AI. But in this case, our commons is society itself: The social fabric that holds us together, our markets, and even our sense of meaning, trust, and purpose. The technology industry has always embraced a "move fast and break things" mantra, but we've never seen it play out when things potentially includes society as a whole. The stakes could not be any higher... Here are the four general actors I see in this tragedy: 1. The Nations: Global superpowers jockeying for long-term supremacy in a rapidly changing geopolitical climate. USA, China, etc. 2. The Builders: The companies building on the frontier of the technology. OpenAI, Anthropic, xAI, Google, etc. 3. The Companies: The companies using the newly developed technologies to improve their operations. 4. The People: The employees, contractors, creators, and freelancers using the technologies to improve their individual workflows. The Nations seek to create conditions for their native Builders to move as fast as possible. The Builders move as fast as possible in this modern day Wild West regulatory climate. The Companies scale adoption of the new technologies from the top-down. The People automate and optimize an increasing percentage of their daily work and life. A few potentially scary implications: 1. Companies are growing, but need fewer employees to drive that growth. You could see an unprecedented situation where stock markets and unemployment rates rise together, which creates the conditions for social unrest. 2. People are more efficient and productive, but lose a sense of texture, meaning, or purpose in the work. They have unwittingly optimized the life out of their life. 3. The genie escapes the bottle. We create a sentient technology that decides we're the biggest risk to its survival and destroys us. (Maybe I've just watched too many sci-fi movies...) To me, this is all a function of time horizons. Humans are bad at long-term thinking—individually and collectively. But long-term thinking is the only way to avoid our modern Tragedy of the Commons. So as we consider the path forward, my view is that it all comes down to a simple question: How can we lower the cost of long-term thinking? This means making it easier, more rewarding, or less risky for the actors in our tragedy to make decisions that benefit the long-term future of our commons, not just the short-term horizon. It's not about stopping AI or its development. It's about how we make it rational for each actor to act with the longer-term future of our shared commons in mind. What do you think? If you enjoyed this, join 800,000+ others who get these insights in my free newsletter: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

If you're feeling stuck... These 8 questions may change your life: Am I solving the right problem, or just the first one I noticed? What constraints am I treating as fixed that might be flexible? What would I do if I wasn't afraid of being wrong or judged? What if I tried the opposite of what I've been trying? How would someone in a completely different field solve this? Am I trying to untie something I could just cut through? If this were a puzzle or game, how would I approach it differently? If this were someone else's problem, what advice would I give them? They may be uncomfortable or challenging, but your next breakthrough is found in the answer to one of those questions. The answers you seek are found in the questions you avoid. Remember that. Enjoy this? Join 800,000+ others who received a deeper dive in my free 4x weekly newsletter. Subscribe here: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

The secret to navigating life’s highs and lows? Think like a surfer. A surfer knows two things: The wave they’re riding will eventually end. And there are always more waves coming. They don’t fight it. They don’t cling to it. They just ride. That’s the surfer mentality. And it applies to life more than we realize. You might be in a season of growth, momentum, and creation. You might be in a season of grief, struggle, or uncertainty. Either way, the season will eventually pass. The key is learning to appreciate where you are—without fighting it, without fearing what’s next. Get in the water. Catch the wave. Ride it for what it is. And trust: more waves are always on the horizon. 👉 If you want frameworks that help you build a life around what matters (not just what’s urgent), order The 5 Types of Wealth today: https://lnkd.in/eUzjZUxj P.S. Email your receipt to sahil@sahilbloom.com and get access to several exclusive bonuses.

How to survive hard times… The Stockdale Paradox: This mindset is named after Admiral James Stockdale, the highest-ranking U.S. military officer held in the infamous Hanoi Hilton prisoner of war camp during the Vietnam War. For eight years, Admiral Stockdale endured brutal conditions, including solitary confinement, torture, and the constant threat of death. When author and management theorist Jim Collins interviewed Stockdale for his book, Good to Great, he asked how the Admiral survived: “I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted not only that I would get out, but that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life.” Admiral Stockdale continued with an additional point: “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can never afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” The Stockdale Paradox is the ability to hold two minds at once: 1. An unwavering faith in your ability to prevail; and 2. A clear-eyed recognition of the harsh reality of the present The former enables a positive long-term outlook that provides direction and vision, while the latter enables a gritty, resilient, dogged mindset that provides motivation for short-term action. You need both to survive life’s hardest challenges. If you can stare down the darkness of reality and believe in your eventual climb out of it, you become invincible. So, to anyone out there in the darkness of a struggle, I want you to remember the Stockdale Paradox: Have the courage to see it clearly. Have the faith to keep going anyway. Enjoy this? Share it with your network and follow me Sahil Bloom for more. P.S. Subscribe to my free newsletter and join 800,000 others who get deeper dives of these ideas straight to their inboxes every single week: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

My free newsletter goes out 4x per week to 800,000+ growth-minded readers all around the world! - Monday: Question - Wednesday: Deep-Dive - Friday: Framework - Saturday: Weekly Review I pour myself into it and make sure that every single issue is something I would read and find value in myself. It's a free way to guarantee you're growing every single week. Join for free here: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q P.S. Share this with someone you love. You'll both get your first issue tomorrow morning!

My entire definition of success was broken... Here's what I learned (and what everyone needs to hear): You will never feel successful unless you create your own definition of success. I lived the first 30 years of my life blindly accepting the default definition of success that the world hands to you. That money is the most important thing. But one day, I woke up to a harsh reality. I was living 3,000 miles away from the people I loved most--and while the money I was making could help me pay for plane tickets, it could not fill the void I felt in their absence. So, we made a change. We moved 3,000 miles across the country to live closer to them. And I'm here to tell you the truth: No amount of money will improve your quality of life more than proximity to people you love. It could be family or dear friends, but that proximity is life-giving. It's worth more than any job will ever pay you. So when you sit down to create your definition of success, make sure you factor it in. You'll thank me later. This is a core idea from my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. Mel Robbins called it "a compelling call to action that will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page." Order it now (50% off): https://lnkd.in/eUzjZUxj

This is a powerful life hack… (and it’s completely free) I recently attended a funeral of a family friend. I was struck by all of the wonderful things everyone said about the person. But it made me wonder: How many of those people told her those things while she was around? It’s so easy to go through life, get busy with your own various things, and forget to give people their flowers in this way. When you think something nice about someone, let them know. It's a shame that we often wait until a person's funeral to say all of the nice things we thought about them. The next time you have a positive thought about someone—tell them right then. It's a wonderful thing. Enjoy this idea? It’s one of 25+ relationship hacks I collaborated with happiness expert Dr. Arthur Brooks on in my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. Order it now (50% off): https://lnkd.in/eUzjZUxj

If you want to get ahead of 99% of people… Learn to embrace this one principle: In the 15th century, an Italian courtier named Baldesar Castiglione wrote of the traits of the perfect courtier: "I have found quite a universal rule...to practice in all things a certain sprezzatura [nonchalance], so as to conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it." This term—sprezzatura—has come to be defined as a "studied carelessness" in the modern English language. I think of it as earned effortlessness. Call it the Effort Paradox: Effortless, elegant performances are often just the result of a large volume of effortful, gritty practice. From the outside, it looks easy, almost unconscious, but in reality, it's the product of consistent compounding of tiny daily actions over long periods of time. Work so hard at your craft in the dark that your performances appear effortless, even careless. If you want to stand out: Practice the art of studied nonchalance. Enjoy this? Share it with your network and follow me Sahil Bloom for more. I write about these topics in my 4x weekly newsletter. Join 800,000+ readers (completely free!): https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

I asked 1 million people for the best advice from their father… 10 pieces of advice everyone needs to hear: What would you add to the list? What was the best advice you received from your father? Happy Father’s Day! Enjoy this? My NYT bestselling book has a chapter called “The Days Are Long But The Years Are Short” that explores the challenges of parenting and balancing your personal ambitions with your desire to be present with your kids. 300,000+ others are getting value from it. Order it today (50% off): https://lnkd.in/eUzjZUxj

This is something I've changed my mind on recently: It's not about the journey or the destination. It's about the people. When you surround yourself with inspiring people, the journeys become more beautiful and the destinations become more brilliant. It's impossible to sit where you are and plan out the perfect journey. Instead, focus on the company—the people you want to journey with—and you'll find that the journey reveals itself in due time. Nothing bad has ever come from surrounding yourself with inspiring, positive sum individuals. Find your people. Cherish them. This is a core idea of the Social Wealth section of my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. You will never regret investing in your relationships. Order it now (50% off): https://lnkd.in/eUzjZUxj

This is the single greatest habit you can build... (and it's entirely free) In his famous biography of Steve Jobs, author Walter Isaacson comments that Jobs believed he did his best creative thinking while walking. He and Jony Ive, Apple's Chief Design Officer, would often pace around the tables in the design room together as they hammered out the finer points of Apple's revolutionary product designs. As a lasting legacy of Jobs' love of walking, the open, circular design of the new Apple Park was specifically designed to foster long walks and creative bouts. No mental block can outlast the power of a 30-minute walk. Simple challenge for the week: Go for a 30-minute tech-free walk. • No phone • No music • No podcasts • No articles • No audiobooks Just you, your thoughts, your gratitude, and the fresh air. It’s a simple reset that will change your perspective, spark creativity, and improve your mental and physical health. For more ideas on how to build a healthy, wealthy life, join 800,000+ others who read my free newsletter 4x per week: https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q Enjoy this? Share it with your network and follow me Sahil Bloom for more in future!

Here’s a harsh truth: 95% of the time you have with your children is gone by the time they turn 18. Writer and philosopher Sam Harris once said: "No matter how many times you do something, there will come a day when you do it for the last time." There will be a last time your kids want you to read them a bedtime story, a last time they’ll run up and jump into your arms, a last time they’ll crawl into bed with you after a nightmare. There will be a last time for all of it. How many moments do you ­really have remaining with your kids? It’s probably not as many as you’d like to believe. All the tiny things that we take for granted are things our 90-year-old self will wish we had again. Time is your most precious asset and the present is all that’s guaranteed. Spend it wisely, with those you love, in ways you’ll never regret. Note: This is an excerpt derived from the Time Wealth section of my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. It will help you ask the questions you’ve been avoiding so you can take action to build your dream life. Order it today (50% off): https://lnkd.in/eEvFnNr3

I made a list of things I know I'd regret on my deathbed. Everyone should do this: To conduct your own, simply ask yourself these questions: What are the things you know you'd regret on your deathbed? If you continue on your current path, will you have those regrets? If so, what changes need to be made to avoid them? How can you design your life to avoid those regrets? I recommend doing the exercise by yourself, but then coming together with a group of loved ones to discuss and reflect on your learnings. These ideas are from my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. Andrew Huberman called it “an important clarifying force in anyone’s search to make the best possible choices for their life.” It’s on a big 50% sale right now: https://lnkd.in/eUzjZUxj

This letter stopped me in my tracks… Every single person you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Your one tiny action can create ripples that extend far beyond yourself. Create more ripples. For anyone out there battling in silence, you’re not alone. We’re all in it together. Lift someone up this week for no reason at all. “I hope you win the war you tell no one about.” Enjoy this? Share it with your network and follow me Sahil Bloom for more. P.S. I write about these topics in my 4x weekly newsletter. Join 800,000+ other readers (completely free): https://lnkd.in/esGsF85Q

Hot take: There’s no such thing as a loser who wakes up at 5am and works out. Why? Because it’s hard. It requires intense discipline—and it creates evidence of your power and control over your world. That has ripple effects into every other area of life. This is NOT to say that you have to wake up early to be successful, but it is to say that waking up early is the fastest way to rewire your brain. To remind yourself that you can do anything. That you are capable. That you are a winner. Remember: Confidence is built, not born. It is built through keeping promises to yourself. Say what you’re going to do—do it. When you’re feeling stuck, that can provide the spark to get you out of it. A lot of problems are solved by waking up early and working out. So with that in mind, I’m off for my morning run. Who’s with me? This is a powerful idea from my NYT bestselling book, The 5 Types of Wealth. It was just named one of the Best Books of the Year (So Far) by Amazon. You can order it now on a huge 50% sale! Get it here: https://lnkd.in/eTi7b-RN