Billionaire Solopreneur
Tings Newsletter #18
Who am I? I’m Michael Karnjanaprakorn. I’m an ex-founder of Skillshare and Otis. Now, I’m exploring new ideas. Every month, I write a newsletter about novel ideas related to life, work, and random tings. P.S. You can suggest a topic here.
I’ve updated my website, drawing inspiration from xanga-like blogs of the 90s. I plan to write more blog posts. In addition to longer essays, I’ll share shorter, less polished ideas on the blog. This will help me become more disciplined with my writing.
I’ve been focused on following my curiosity, pursuing what’s fun and interesting, rather than working backwards from a specific outcome like starting a company. It’s a common theme among the people I’ve interviewed on my podcast. It’s going down a path of the unknown, which is a different approach for me.
Tied to this, @Schlaf wrote an article on “how he transitioned from goals to a values-guided life.” After going through the exercise, the three values that resonated for me were: a) Creativity (to generate new and original ideas), b) Discipline and c) Health.
Outside of pursuing creative projects and improving my health, I’ve started to get the tech startup itch again. While I don't think I'll be doing exactly what I did before, it'll be adjacent, and will be on my own terms, which will make it 100x more fun. It’ll be a mix of becoming a more active angel investor and incubating my own ideas.
Some new life protocols I’m updating/working on: a) getting an annual cancer scan through Ezra; b) getting my blood work done every 3-6 months and c) starting a journaling practice/habit.
The first gene-editing cure for sickle-cell disease just arrived with CRISPR, which was also just approved by the FDA.
I’ve been reflecting on my own creative process. I found a book by Herbert Lui, “Creative Doing”, which has helped me design my own unique creative process. I paired it with another book, “Creative Dysregulation”, which the author wrote in five days to just get the “work out there”.
Dan Shipper hosts a new podcast called “How Do You Use ChatGPT?”. In this podcast, he interviews the most interesting people to learn how they use ChatGPT and other cutting-edge AI tools.
Sam Altman believes that “we are not far from AI enabling a one-person billion dollar company” 🤯
Polyamory is the "ruling class's latest fad", which brings to mind Thorstein Veblen's theory of leisure from Rob Henderson. In a society where luxury items have become more mainstream, the latest symbols of status have shifted to "luxury beliefs," such as the decriminalization of drugs and different relationships types.
We're all familiar with the researcher who can predict divorcing couples. He popularized the idea behind the four horsemen (contempt, criticism, defensiveness, and stonewalling) in relationships. In this podcast, he also highlights healthy habits that couples can adopt as alternatives.
Here's another article from The Atlantic by Adam Grant: "Stop Trying to Raise Successful Kids. And start raising kind ones."
I've been battling a recurring calf/achilles strain in both legs. If I could give my younger self advice, it would be to stretch, properly fuel, drink lots of water, and run with proper form. Especially because my day job was sitting at a desk, which led to a tilted pelvis.
This is a great tip on tracking food: “I eat the same thing every day in the morning and afternoon, and I’m in such a good spot that it doesn’t matter much what I eat for dinner.”
It's been on my to-do list for nearly a decade, and I finally created a robust Notion Dashboard. This dashboard allows me to quickly capture ideas and links, ultimately helping me build a second brain.
Some other apps I’ve been testing out for fun: Simplify (h/t Naveen) and Capacities.
Are these the best store bought bagels? Trader Joe’s Everything Bagels are delicious. Pair them with Black Garlic Cream Cheese for a soft and crunchy breakfast.
I've been working on the free New York Times crossword puzzles, but I often get stuck on pop culture references from the 70s. This led me to an idea - someone should create a crossword puzzle app tailored for millennials. For instance, I would have no trouble answering this clue: "Corner Kid from The Wire".
If you’re a fan of Game of Thrones, and wish they explored the Samauri world more in Westworld, then you’ll like Shogun.
Is this the the most ridiculous Super Bowl commercial of all time?
The Karnjanaprakorn Show
Through the podcast, I search for novel ideas on the fringes. You can subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or Youtube (and I would appreciate a review 🙏🏼).
Here are some recent episodes:
#19: Emi Gal (Ezra) — Longevity Protocols
#18: Yong-Soo Chung — Building a Personal Holding Company
#17: Henrik Werderlin — Pursuing Interestingness over Goals
#16: Justin Duke — Buying Companies
#15: Kevin Lee (immi) — Personal/Company Operating Systems
That’s a wrap!
Michael
This might be a very basic question, but I clicked through to your website. What platform/provider do you use? I like how simple and straightforward it is.
Re the Super Bowl ad, I thought it was genius.