Jason Fried — How to Live Life on Your Own Terms (#329)
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“I’m pretty oblivious to a lot of things intentionally. I don’t want to be influenced that much.” — Jason Fried
Jason Fried (@jasonfried) is the co-founder and CEO at Basecamp, and the co-author of Rework, Remote: Office Not Required, and Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application. The upcoming It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work will be out later this year.
Jason writes a regular column for Inc. magazine and is a frequent contributor to Basecamp’s popular blog Signal v. Noise, which offers “strong opinions and shared thoughts on design, business, and tech.”
Enjoy!
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#329: Jason Fried — How to Live Life on Your Own Terms
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Want to hear an episode with Jason’s co-author and Basecamp co-founder? — Listen to this interview with David Heinemeier Hansson (DHH) in which he shares his thoughts on the power of being outspoken, running a profitable business without venture capital, Stoic philosophy, and much more (stream below or right-click here to download):
#195: David Heinemeier Hansson: The Power of Being Outspokenhttps://rss.art19.com/episodes/b4d4ea29-a5a0-4d96-bbcc-39f06fe506f3.mp3Download
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Scroll below for links and show notes…
SELECTED LINKS FROM THE EPISODE
Connect with Jason Fried:
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Remote: Office Not Required by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Getting Real: The Smarter, Faster, Easier Way to Build a Successful Web Application by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
It Doesn’t Have to Be Crazy at Work by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson
Get Real by Jason Fried, Inc.
Signal v. Noise
Key Performance Indicators (KPI), Investopedia
I Wish Drucker Never Said It (“If It Gets Measured, It Gets Managed”) by Bill Hennessy
Seeking Wisdom: From Darwin to Munger by Peter Bevelin
The Old Farmer’s Almanac 2018
7 Key Takeaways From Warren Buffett’s Letter to Berkshire Hathaway Shareholders by Matthew Frankel, The Motley Fool
What 20 Years of Jeff Bezos’s Shareholder Letters Can Teach You About Becoming a Top Performer by Julian Hayes II
A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy by William B. Irvine
The Stoic Art of Negative Visualization, The Daily Stoic
Fear-Setting: The Most Valuable Exercise I Do Every Month
Asian World Of Martial Arts
Sportsman’s Guide
Twenty Dollars in an Envelope: Jason Fried’s Teenaged Software Company by Justin Jackson
Tribe of Mentors: Short Life Advice from the Best in the World by Timothy Ferriss
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
McKinsey & Company Business Analyst Interview Question: “How Many Golf Balls Fit in an Airplane?”, Glassdoor
Automattic
Revising Prose by Richard A. Lanham
The Writing Class I’d Like to Teach by Jason Fried, Signal v. Noise
Simple and Direct by Jacques Barzun
Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process by John McPhee
Tom Petty’s 50 Greatest Songs, Rolling Stone
Ernest Hemingway’s Six-Word Sequels by Zack Wortman, The New Yorker
Meet The Dealer Who Made Jean Prouve Famous by Hannah Martin, Architectural Digest
This Unwanted Rolex Milgauss 6541 Now An Iconic Timepiece Collectors Drool Over by Paul Altieri, A Blog to Watch
Official Patek Philippe Site — Swiss Watchmaking Since 1839
Just Because: Hands-On With A 1968 Jaeger-LeCoultre Polaris by Benjamin Clymer, Hodinkee
The Prairie Enthusiasts
Planning an Oak Savanna Restoration, OakSavannas.org
Probiotics and Prebiotics: What You Should Know by Katherine Zeratsky, Mayo Clinic
The Philip Johnson Glass House
Jason and DHH’s Getting Real YouTube Channel
I’ve Never Had a Goal by Jason Fried, Signal v. Noise
Living without Expectations by Jason Fried, Signal v. Noise
SHOW NOTES
Is Jason really, as Jeff Bezos once said of him, “immune to dogma?” If so, how much of this is an innate versus acquired skill? [07:14]
How does Jason find the sweet spot of deliberate, selective ignorance he intentionally cultivates to avoid unintentional influence by others over his ideas? [10:36]
If Jason doesn’t live his life by setting goals, what does his decision-making process look like — personally and professionally? [13:08]
How might we try to be more like Jason regarding goals, KPIs, and putting off moments of possible joy — or should we try? [19:16]
The incentives of measuring metrics and the reasons for my approach to tracking. [24:00]
The genesis of Jason’s attitude toward goals and metrics tracking. [26:05]
JOMO and Jason’s case for reading newspapers over online journalism. [28:24]
What’s the real wisdom Jason takes from Charlie Munger and Warren Buffett? [32:02]
Why Jason doesn’t read fiction, and what he feels is the most important point of Stoicism. [34:36]
How negative visualization can be used to make plans and alleviate what might otherwise be constant anxiety. [36:56]
Jason and I share early memories of getting in trouble as wannabe entrepreneurs and ninjas. [44:06]
The way Jason thinks about business today is just a continuation of when he was 13 and selling knives and other contraband to his friends. [50:30]
How 15-year-old Jason finally learned about the consequences of his bad behavior. [51:42]
Why Jason didn’t really enjoy college. [56:49]
Jason’s first foray into selling software, what he learned from the experience, and how it differed from his earlier enterprises. [57:51]
How Jason has used rejection and negative feedback as fuel to excel rather than succumbing to feelings of anger and resentment. [1:02:40]
How does Jason minimize time wasting? [1:08:51]
What’s Jason’s general template for politely declining potentially regretful future obligations? [1:12:08]
Putting the importance of protecting personal time and attention in perspective — no matter who you are — and how to deal with people who don’t understand your boundaries. [1:15:41]
Why is a candidate’s ability to communicate well in the written form so important when Jason is making hiring decisions — even if it’s for a designer position? [1:18:16]
Jason digs a little deeper into his unique process for hiring designers that ignores portfolios of past accomplishments. [1:22:37]
What questions does Jason ask potential hirees about their creative process that lets him know whether or not they’re someone with whom he can work? [1:28:52]
What having everyone in a company work customer service on a rotating basis accomplishes. [1:32:07]
What Jason recommends for becoming better at written communication, and how the college class he’d teach about writing would focus strongly on revision and iteration — usually ignored by traditional education. [1:34:45]
Books I recommend for becoming a stronger writer and how a writing course with John McPhee made me better in all of my classes. [1:40:16]
What Jason takes away from the storytelling efficiency of Tom Petty lyrics. [1:43:05]
Jason explains his fascination with the design behind watches and chairs. [1:44:49]
If Jason could only save three watches from his collection, which three would he pick? [1:48:52]
The therapy of prairie restoration. [1:52:01]
What can we learn by closely observing the way nature sets conditions for good things to happen rather than trying to force good things? [1:59:56]
Jason ties prairie restoration to business building and gut health — “not only creating the conditions for things to thrive, but also not creating conditions for certain things to thrive.” [2:01:52]
What would Jason’s billboard say? [2:05:12]
Jason elaborates on what this John Rawls quote means to him: “The fairest rules are those to which everyone would agree if they did not know how much power they would have.” [2:06:41]
What Jason learned about paying attention to what’s under his feet from a wise gardener on a visit to the Philip Johnson Glass House. [2:08:11]
Parting thoughts. [2:12:30]
PEOPLE MENTIONED
Jeff Bezos
David Heinemeier Hansson
Mark Twain
Abraham Lincoln
Albert Einstein
Jim Coudal
Andy Grove
Charles Darwin
Charlie Munger
Peter Bevelin
Derek Sivers
Warren Buffett
William B. Irvine
Tim Kennedy
Tara Mann
Matt Mullenweg
Richard A. Lanham
John McPhee
Tom Petty
Elmore Leonard
Ernest Hemingway
Jean Prouve
Peter Attia
Bette Reese
Eric Hoffer
John Rawls
William Bruce Cameron
Albert Schweitzer
John Maeda
Philip Johnson
