“God, what a beautiful beach. Calm. Turquoise water. I should go back to Thailand. I wonder what time it is in Thailand. But why is there a mangy German shepherd on my beach? Orange collar. Kind of looks like John’s dog. Actually, I owe John a call. Did I put his birthday party in the calendar? Birthdays and clowns. Clowns?! Why the hell am I thinking about clowns?!”
“God, what a beautiful beach. Calm. Turquoise water. I should go back to Thailand. I wonder what time it is in Thailand. But why is there a mangy German shepherd on my beach? Orange collar. Kind of looks like John’s dog. Actually, I owe John a call. Did I put his birthday party in the calendar? Birthdays and clowns. Clowns?! Why the hell am I thinking about clowns?!”
“A diamond is forever.” That is probably the most successful advertising slogan in history. De Beers spent decades convincing the world that diamonds are rare, precious, and eternal stores of value. But Chapter 12 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” tells a different story. A story where investment-grade diamonds lost 90% of their value in twelve months.
“A diamond is forever.” That is probably the most successful advertising slogan in history. De Beers spent decades convincing the world that diamonds are rare, precious, and eternal stores of value. But Chapter 12 of Torsten Dennin’s “From Tulips to Bitcoins” tells a different story. A story where investment-grade diamonds lost 90% of their value in twelve months.
Henderson is sitting in Wroclaw, Poland. It is Easter week. The city is empty because all the students went home to their villages. He finds a kebab shop, sits outside in the cold wind, and starts eating his shawarma. Two pigeons attack his food. He yells at them in English. “Go away, pigeons!”
Everything we covered so far in this book was about numbers. Profit, growth, risk, cash flow, cost structures, valuation. Important stuff. But here is the thing: none of it works without people. And people are messy.
These two chapters are about male hormones and fertility. Tim opens chapter 21 with a story about a date where he was practically radiating pheromones after weeks of testosterone experiments. His date, a CEO, was climbing over him at the restaurant before bread arrived. Women across the room couldn’t stop staring. His scratches from the night healed like Wolverine.
These two chapters are about male hormones and fertility. Tim opens chapter 21 with a story about a date where he was practically radiating pheromones after weeks of testosterone experiments. His date, a CEO, was climbing over him at the restaurant before bread arrived. Women across the room couldn’t stop staring. His scratches from the night healed like Wolverine.
Henderson is walking through Siem Reap, Cambodia. He is not heading to Angkor Wat like every other tourist. He is going to the Sofitel Hotel to hear the story of a French expat who became a millionaire selling cakes.
November 25, 1973. A Sunday morning in Germany. The autobahn is completely empty. No cars. No trucks. Nothing. The country that gave the world Mercedes, BMW, and Audi, the country that has no general speed limit on its highways because people love driving that much, just banned driving on Sundays.