3 Things I Learned Last Week

Last week was… interesting to say the least.

Between the Super Bowl, the Putin interview and… whatever the hell is going on in US politics there’s one constant in the world:

You can always learn something from the current situation.

Here’s 3 things I’ve learned in the past week -

1) The NFL (and sports in general) has never felt more like a pure entertainment product

I know I know.

You’re going to tell me “Evan, it’s always been that way!”

And yeah, you’re right to an extent.

Sports and sports teams always had advertisement and sponsorship deals, it’s how they make extra money to afford their salaries and to make profits.

But it’s never felt as obvious or in our faces as it has the past few years.

All of the grassroots aspects of… really ANY sport at this point is completely gone and I don’t think it’s ever been on as much display as it was this past Sunday for Super Bowl LVIII.

You can throw every statistic in the book at it too:

• Most watched program in American history (surpassing the Apollo 11 Moon landing in 1969)

• Most expensive average ticket price for a Super Bowl (estimated at over $8000 per ticket)

• First Super Bowl held in Las Vegas (the gambling capital of the US)

It’s just proving my point even more.

Anyone who watched the Kansas City Chiefs this year (the winning team) kind of had the feeling this was going to happen due to the influence of a certain Taylor Swift’s impact on ratings.

I’m not saying it was fixed.

I’m not saying it was predetermined in any aspect.

It just felt hollow, like it had no character.

In other words, most people could see it coming.

I definitely had that feeling when watching it.

I wish this wasn’t the case in other sports, but it’s increasingly common. Formula One Racing is just very fast billboard for corporate advertising space. Champions League/Domestic leagues in soccer have financial rules to keep the large clubs mostly in charge (which keeps advertisers happy and visible due to the revenue they bring in).

They no longer feel like competition, which is what sports are all about.

What did I learn from this situation?

Three things:

1) Don’t sign up for online sportsbooks.

Gambling, particularly sports betting, is becoming insanely popular with younger men as a hobby, and it’s all too easy to hook up your bank account to these apps and place a $20 wager here or there.

Betting lines were everywhere before this game, it was impossible to watch any sports content and not see who was the favorite or who was the underdog and by how much.

If you want to gamble on anything or anyone, the best bet to place is on yourself.

The most successful people in life are risk-averse.

Gambling is risky.

2) Athletes are great examples of perseverance.

These guys train hard both mentally and physically, and have the spotlight on them at a national or worldwide level.

They have to play through bad days, injury, girlfriends breaking up with them etc.

You name it, they have to deal with it on top of being criticized under a microscope.

They’re great examples of people determined to function at the highest level of their field.

Use them as additional influence if needed.

3) At the end of the day, it’s just a product to be sold.

Never associate your identity with a team or athletes.

Since the days of Michael Jordan, it’s all just a way to push sales for merchandise and tickets.

Don’t attach your hopes and dreams to them — it’s just entertainment.

If you want to be an athlete or train like an athlete, read the previous point.

2) The Tucker Carlson/Vladimir Putin interview was… something

The Russia/Ukraine conflict is a stranger to nobody at this point.

Everyone wants it to end, it’s been fought and funded for conflicting geopolitical reasons and people have lost patience with it.

Tucker Carlson had a 2-hour sit down interview last week with Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia.

It started off with an extensive history lesson by Putin of the founding of Kievan Rus (Russia) and it’s historic ties with Ukraine.

I watched it.

A Russian history lesson was a nice breath of fresh air considering most Western leaders and candidates refuse to do anything than fling verbal shit at each other and scream about how wrong the other party is.

The rest of the interview though?

Useless.

Putin didn’t really say anything of substance, made claims that can’t be backed up such as a meeting with Bill Clinton during his final year in office where Russia asked if they could theoretically join NATO and the CIA blowing up the Nordstream pipeline and blaming it on Russia.

The only retort when asked for the proof was “Why don’t you ask your leaders?”

What did I learn from this interview?

Everyone is full of shit.

The most powerful people on the planet are full of shit half the time.

They can’t back up their claims, they manipulate statistics (every President does this), they try to retain as much power as possible.

Don’t pay attention to the noise.

I’m hoping that’s the final political interview I watch.

Politics is a waste of your time and energy in 2024.

Focus on building for yourself.

3) David Senra’s Founders Podcast might be the best podcast in the world

I have learned so much about leaders across time in various industries and fields due to his podcast.

David does deep dives of these leaders and points out specific attributes, personality traits or characteristics of these leaders that sets them apart from the rest.

Here’s some of my favorite episodes:

• #333 on Dietrich Mateschitz (founder of Red Bull)

• #307 on Family Dynasties (Rockefellers, Morgans, Toyada (Toyota), Rothschilds)

• #289 Brunello Cucinelli (famous fashion designer with an incredible work culture in his company)

Now, here’s a couple of things I’ve learned from his podcast

1) All of the people he covers were incredibly successful for doing what they wanted.

You never find a massively successful person who’s willing to compromise their desires.

They go for what they want without apology and they spend their lives on the journey to acquire it and they don’t care what it costs them.

The term “balance” doesn’t exist for them.

They’re all in.

2) He’s stuck with it for almost a decade

The Founders podcast is up to 338 episodes as this is being written.

He does his research - he reads biographies, he reaches out to people if they’re still alive, he pumps out episodes weekly (it’s an hour long podcast so it’s not just quick snippets either).

David started the podcast in 2016 and it’s more popular than ever 8 years later.

He never quit.

I never even heard of this podcast until a few months ago.

It’s been incredibly useful.

I’m glad you made it to the end and I hope you learned something as well.

Here’s a few memes for making it through.