Dickie's Digest #21 — Spotify, Elon Musk, and the Murph
Hey there — happy Sunday and happy Memorial Day weekend!
The Digest is packed this week so let’s jump right in. This week, we’re talking Spotify’s acquisition of the Joe Rogan Experience, diving into what Elon Musk is up to when he’s not tweeting, recapping a beautiful memoir from Haruki Murakami, and breaking down the Murph.
Thanks to everyone who sent over their thoughts on the Digest last week. It’s been tremendous to hear from those of you who are finding something worthwhile in each edition. Here’s to many more.
Have an epic week,
Dickie
The Podcasting World is Now Spotify Versus Everbody Else — This week, Spotify shook up the media landscape by acquiring the rights to the Joe Rogan Experience for roughly $100 million. I’ve talked previously about why I am so bullish on the future of Spotify due to their unmatched position to capitalize on our ambient hours. This move puts them one step closer to establishing a monopoly over our ears. So what’s next? With their stock surging 30% this week, they are in a lucrative position to make an all-stock acquisition. A potential target? Sonos. This article from Sid Jha and Brett Bivens explores the value proposition of a Spotify-Sonos merger. As a long-time user of both products, I can’t stop thinking about the possibility.
Elon Musk is the Hero America Deserves — Elon Musk has had an eventful 2020. Whether it’s his endless Twitter rants, tip-toeing the edge with the SEC, naming his daughter X Æ A-12, threatening to sue the state of California, or vowing to sell all of his possessions, he’s found time to constantly make headlines. Despite all this, Tesla’s stock is up 100% YTD and SpaceX is three days away from becoming the first private company to launch humans into space. This article, written by Musk’s biographer, looks a bit closer at each of Musk’s current undertakings.
“The thing that gets me the most fired up is creating a self-sustaining civilization on Mars would be the greatest adventure ever, ever in human history. It would be so exciting to wake up in the morning and think that’s what’s happening.” — Elon Musk
We need more ambitions like THAT. If you want some excitement for the future, check out this video of Musk watching the Falcon 9 landing.
What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami — This weekend I picked up this short memoir and could not put it down. In a series of loosely-connected essays, Murakami beautifully sews together his passion for writing and running. The prose, the word choice, the message, the commitment to the process, everything about this book made for a delightful read. You can find my favorite parts here.
The Murph — 1-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, 1-mile run — This Memorial Day, thousands of workout-junkies will put themselves through the Murph — a workout challenge named after fallen Navy SEAL Michael P. Murphy. If you’re looking to challenge yourself and honor the heroes that have fallen to protect us, give the Murph a whirl. This article breaks down the best strategy for completing it as quickly as possible.
How many of us have become drunks and drug addicts, developed tumors and neuroses, succumbed to painkillers, gossip, and compulsive cell-phone use, simply because we don’t do that thing that our hearts, our inner genius, is calling us to?
From The War of Art by Stephen Pressfield. Resurfaced with Readwise — if you aren’t using Readwise, you are missing out.
Possibly the most epic video on Twitter — I have watched this start to finish no fewer than 50 times. The cat, the commentators, the crowd erupting, I’m addicted.
End Note
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