JQ Rising

Tag: books

  • I’m Not Throwin’ Away My Shot

    I recently had a conversation with a former colleague. He was intrigued by my decision to join a seed stage start-up as the founding head of sales. Dude, do you know how much work that’s going to be?  Why not join a bigger, less risky company and coast it out? At this point in your career, don’t you think you’ve earned it? That would be the easy choice. I’m 52 years old and on the back nine of my career. Most people in my situation would indeed choose the comfortable path. I’m not most people. 

    The truth is I’ve been stuck in a rut professionally for the last few years now. I’ve done good work, but I haven’t felt satisfied. After a bit of soul searching it struck me. For the entirety of my career, I’ve been on someone else’s mission. I’ve mostly had a good seat on the bus and at times agency, but I’ve always had to play by someone else’s rules. That chapter of my career is now over. I’m no longer going to follow in someone else’s tracks. I’m going to make my own. It’s time to set out on my own mission where I control the outcome. 

    I’ve always believed if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. For the last few years I haven’t been getting any better. This role will force me to be better every single day. It is an exciting and somewhat daunting challenge to be the first one carrying the bag for a company with this kind of technical pedigree, but I’m all in. One of the lessons from my book is that true belief takes failure out of the equation. At Weilliptic, I truly believe we will forever change the world of AI. 

    If you’re wondering about the picture I chose for this post it is a rendering of Icarus from Greek mythology. His father, Daedalus, famously crafted two pairs of wings out of branches, string, and wax, so that they could escape imprisonment by King Minos in a tower on the island of Crete. Despite being warned by his father, Icarus flies too close to the sun, his wings melt, and he falls to his death in the ocean. Icarus is also the name of our fully aggregated AI chatbot, which is no coincidence. Our mission at Weilliptic is to enable our customers to take the capabilities of AI as close to the sun as possible, but without crashing and burning. We provide the missing trust layer so our customers can deploy AI safely, transparently, and cryptographically securely. 

    The mission is set. The tank is full. Now it’s all about the grind. LFG! 

  • Everyone Has A Story

    As I’ve gotten older I no longer have patience for small talk. It just feels like a waste of time. I want to know the real deep-down shit about people. What makes them tick? When were they most happy in their lives? What’s been their biggest disappointment or failure? How did they bounce back? Where do they want to be in ten years? Any bucket list items they’re eager to check off? If they could live anywhere in the world, where would it be? 1:1 dialogue is where it’s at. That’s where you learn the stuff about people that makes you feel something. It’s the same reason I love to read biographies. I want to know the essence of someone, not the superficial, surface-level bullshit (you the human > you the public persona). Over the past year I’ve read the following memoirs:

    The Light We Carry by Michelle Obama

    Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry

    The Storyteller by Dave Grohl

    Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney

    Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

    The Truths We Hold by Kamala Harris

    Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger

    A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston

    What I Know For Sure by Oprah Winfrey

    From Here to the Great Unknown by Lisa Marie Presley

    Born A Crime by Trevor Noah

    Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

    A Very Punchable Face by Colin Jost

    It’s a Long Story by Willie Nelson

    Being Henry by Henry Winkler

    Yes Please by Amy Poehler

    I enjoyed them all for different reasons, and I intentionally chose a diverse range of people to learn about. Each of these authors is highly introspective and ultimately found success in their chosen field. But before they did, they all dealt with various setbacks and differing degrees of self doubt. Some were unable to overcome their demons (Matthew Perry, Lisa Marie Presley, Anthony Bourdain). Others became stronger as a result of their adversity. Each have led fascinating lives and all have left a lasting mark on the world in some way. Perhaps most importantly what they share in common is that they are all indelibly human. That’s why I want to learn someone’s real story, and have no time for the highlight reels they post on social media. The more I learn about other people the more I learn about myself, and the more I’m ultimately convinced that we’re all pretty much the same, except for Oprah – she’s the chosen one! 🙂 Bottom line how about we all cut the bullshit and start being real…