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To the obsessed,

Happy Saturday.

Let's get right to the bullets. This edition is one of my favorites.

PS: I just went on The Alchemist Library Podcast, with Ryan Anala.

​​Ryan's a great interviewer. He did his research, and knew exactly what to ask so I could rant on content, creativity, obsession, and more.

Go watch, and let me know what you think.

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If you were sent Ten Bullets, click below to subscribe.

1. On honesty:

If you’re honest at all times, life will push you in the right direction. Say the truth bluntly. Show up where you want. Avoid where you don’t. Have absolutely zero filter. Most of your stress is the result of simply not being yourself.

Filters make life messy. So be your raw, real, authentic self. People might hate it- and that's the point. Getting off the path with them, makes a new path clear for you.

2. On goals and promotion:

“When you’re a person that always has a goal, that always has a mission, the less time you have to think about ‘How do I feel today? Am I depressed today? Do I feel sorry for myself? Have I become a victim? Oh my god, I feel so bad about myself. No, I don’t have time for this crap. A lot of times people don’t work enough. If you’re busy all the time, you don’t have time to think about this stuff.” - Arnold Schwarzenegger, ARNOLD, Netflix​

This documentary just came out, and it's even better than I expected. It's split into three parts- Athlete, Actor, and American, which I loved- because all the great obsessed live in acts. Two other quotes I loved:

"Half the job was performing the film, half the job was promoting the film."

"Ted turner had a quote 'Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell and advertise.'"

3. On product market fit:

"Product market fit: if you have to ask, you don't have it." - Siqi Chen​

Like most things in life- when you know, you know.

4. On doing what only you can do:

"If it sounds like something could be on someone else's album, it cant be on your record." - Rick Rubin to Kanye West​

5. On turpentine:

“When art critics get together they talk about Form and Structure and Meaning. When artists get together they talk about where you can buy cheap turpentine." - Picasso

Turpentine is the first ingredient in obsession. It's the atoms, the pixels, the tiny details of the process that no one ever sees. Great analogy below from Pixar:

When you're starting out, it's easy to buy books on theory, big-picture ideas, and philosophy. When in reality, you need to go selling door-to-door.

"When making Ratatouille, the entire crew visited restaurant kitchens in Paris to get an feel for them. Ed Catmull credited these trips with the 'obsessive specificity' of the kitchen scenes; the sound of clogs on the tiles, how chefs held their arms while chopping, etc." - Brie Wolfson​

6. On creator merch:

"Think about repetition— how does merchandise become character in your universe?" - Colin and Samir, The Ultimate Guide to Selling YouTube Merch​

Example: PRIME with Logan Paul.

7. On the top skill for entrepreneurs:

"Top skill for entrepreneurs: Being great at ignoring what everyone else is doing." - Jason Fried​

8. On making friends:

"I’ve met several really good friends off Twitter. Can’t recommend Twitter enough. Tweet like your life depends on it for six months and then you can enjoy the returns for the next five years."

"Write in public. You want to meet people who like how you think, so think in public. If you’re anxious remember: haters are fans too :)"

"Be friends with people you can genuinely, effusively praise to everyone. You should be super proud of your friendships. If you aren’t there’s something wrong." - Ava, Making and Keeping Friends​

9. On belief:

“Fear of failing in the eyes of the world is single biggest impediment to amassing wealth.”— Felix Dennis, How to Get Rich​

10. On the pinnacle:

"There are goals, there are aspirations and affirmations, and then there are obsessions. The word obsession is often used a a pejorative, which is comical to me because if you look at the pinnacle of any discipline, all you see is obsession. Genghis Khan, Caesar, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway, Kobe Bryant, Anne Wintour. What do all these people have in common? Read the biographies. Obsession. If you want to find true happiness in life, lose yourself in obsession." - Brian Norgard

PS- I get a ton of DM's asking for advice- on life decisions, obsession, content creation, and more. There's too many for me to give thoughtful responses to all, which I'd love to do.

So, I opened up some time mid-week, for those who would really like personal help, and to connect with me.

30 minutes. 1 on 1 video call. Ask anything. $500.00.

​Click here to schedule a call, if you'd like to.​

If you can't find a time on there that works, email me at zach@zach.blog and we'll try to schedule something. Also, this link/offer may be changed or unavailable in the future- just a heads up.

I’d love to know what you thought of this edition. Reply to this email, or tweet me at @zachpogrob.

One quick favor- if you enjoyed this newsletter, forward it to an obsessed friend and tell them which bullet they'd love.

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Stay obsessed,

Zach

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