If you don’t know Carri, she passed away last week. It was a surprise and shock.

Carri was a hidden gem of the No Code community. A friend, an advocate, and a friendly face. Her passing was announced by her parents on her twitter account and you could instantly see the global outpouring of love and sadness.

So this week is dedicated to Carri, someone who made the entire nocode community a better place and should serve as a reminder of the impact you can have online.

What I’m Reading

Last week I mentioned Howard Mark’s most recent interview. It was a reminder that I should reread his memos. I reread the last few and Sea of Change is the one I recommend you read. I found it insightful.

On the topic of business giants, Warren Buffet published Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder letter. If you haven’t gone to their website, I recommend going through the entire process to get the letter.

First, I can’t believe this website is real. I feel like I’ve time traveled back to the 90’s. Secondly, it’s a powerful move to open the annual letter with 55 years comparing performance against the S&P500.

This year’s letter was underwhelming. Bezos, Marks, and several other business leaders have better written and more insightful letters. My only takeaway is that Buffet is investing heavily in America. I completely agree with this sentiment and investment thesis.

On a vastly different topic than business, Nature is Thriving in the Age of Mass Extinction by Ted Hesser is a counter intuitive read that challenges the status quo. I appreciate that. It’s easy to read headline snippets, extrapolate, and form our world view. Sometimes this takes us in the entirely wrong direction and we can form conclusions that just aren’t true.

What I’m Learning

Copy is underrated. It’s hard and infinitely impactful. I’m glad I’m taking Sam’s course, but it’s hard. I’m not a strong writer and it isn’t natural.

Some things I’ve learned this week from the course:

• Practice does help, but having dedicated time is more helpful.

• Don’t be lazy. Stuff, things, just, and very aren’t necessary. There’re so many more. I’ve found Hemingway App helpful and of course Grammerly.

I still have a few days left in Copy That. At this point, I can say it’s a difficult course to complete but worth it.

What I’m Thinking

I’m fascinated by our drive to achieve “false objectives”. Every day we, myself included and especially, try to achieve things we don’t actually want.

The most common example is taking a job or position requiring more time and effort. Eventually, you may reach a point in your career where you don’t need the raise, the title, or the responsibilities. Sure, a paycheck is great, but more isn’t necessary. Yet, people take on these roles all the time.

Turning down money, title, and prestige is hard. It’s so hard that we self-sabotage and do things we know aren’t in our best interest.

Think into your own life, is there something you’re doing that doesn’t bring you joy and happiness that you volunteered for?

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About Erik

Erik’s the founder of Flywheel Studio, a software development agency. He’s also the founder of Thyme Real Estate, a partner in a real estate investment firm, and an angel investor.