This edition is brought to you by Athyna

Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is your Wednesday edition of Faster Than Normal, exploring one short story about a person, a company, a high-performance tool, a trend I’m watching closely, and curated media to help you build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself. 

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Today’s edition:

Cheers,
Alex

P.S. Send me feedback on how we can improve. I respond to every email.

Stories of Excellence

Person: Eren Ozmen

Eren Ozmen's journey embodies the American Dream. She arrived in the US from Turkey in 1981 with just a backpack, pursuing an MBA at the University of Nevada, Reno. "I even sold homemade baklava at a local bakery to pay the bills," Ozmen recalls. In 1988, she joined Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), a small technology firm. Later, she and her husband Fatih acquired SNC, growing it from 20 employees to nearly 4,000 across 19 states and 3 countries. Today, SNC is a leading aerospace and defense contractor. Ozmen's success has earned her recognition on Forbes' Top Self-Made Women list and a place on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Board of Advisors. Her story is one of determination, innovation, and giving back to her community.

Key Lessons from Eren Ozmen:

• On perseverance: "I always knew my future would be in business. From my teen years, I did everything in my power to help set my path."

• On determination: "When I came to the U.S., I had $15 in my pocket. But I had a dream and I knew that in America, anything is possible."

• On leadership: "It's not just about having a vision. It's about inspiring your team to believe in that vision as much as you do."

Read More.

Company: Converse

Converse was founded in 1908 by Marquis Mills Converse in Malden, Massachusetts. Initially producing winterized footwear, the company pivoted to athletic shoes in 1915 with the introduction of the "Non-Skid" basketball shoe. In 1917, the iconic Chuck Taylor All-Star was born, named after basketball player Chuck Taylor who became a brand ambassador in 1921. The company experienced rapid growth, becoming the official shoe of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1936. Despite facing bankruptcy in 2001, Converse was acquired by Nike in 2003 for $305 million. Today, Converse remains a cultural icon, with annual revenues exceeding $2 billion as of 2024.

Key Lessons from Converse:

• On simplicity: The Chuck Taylor design has remained largely unchanged for over a century. Sometimes, not fixing what isn't broken is the best strategy. As Nike CEO Mark Parker said, "Converse's cultural relevance is due to its simplicity and adaptability."

• On product placement: Converse never paid for product placement in movies or TV shows. The shoes' ubiquity in pop culture was organic, creating a more genuine connection with consumers.

Read More.

Hire remote employees with confidence

Two years ago, I hired an offshore assistant , and it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made. From marketing to customer support, it’s helped streamline work and boost productivity.

Athyna is a service that finds top remote employees in <5 days in Latam, Africa, and Sth East Asia. They cover roles in finance, creative, engineering, and product, sourcing top talent from companies like Google, AWS, Microsoft, and more.

If you’re in the market for talent, visit their website to explore options and cover all your hiring needs.

Accelerants

High-performance tool

⎯

Halfpinion

The act of ignoring one-half of a topic (costs or benefits).

If you want to convince people to change their opinions, always compare the full costs to the full benefits.

A full opinion is credible. And credible people change minds.

Insights

Tactical reads

⎯

> When reflecting on time management and prioritization
You Never Have Time, Only Intentions (Read it here)

> When seeking a comprehensive overview of productivity techniques
Every productivity thought I've ever had, as concisely as possible (Read it here)

1 question

That’s all for today, folks. As always, please give me your feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want to see more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.

Have a wonderful rest of week, all.

Recommendation Zone

⎯

Hire remote employees with confidence

Two years ago, I hired an offshore assistant for the first time. Since then, I’ve recommended many people do the same. It’s been one of the highest leverage things I’ve done, helping with everything marketing and customer support (for The Intelligence Age) and personal matters and email management.

Athyna is a service that quickly (<5 days!) finds remote employees across 150+ countries for you or your team. They cover roles from sales and marketing to creative and product, and have worked with companies like Facebook, Zoom, Uber, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Amazon.

I’ve personally used Athyna and recommended them to my Brother, Will, who runs a fashion label, and several close friends running their own businesses. To date, they’ve all had very positive experiences.

If you’re in the market for talent, visit their website to explore options and cover all your hiring needs.

Why Faster Than Normal? Our mission is to be a friend to the ambitious, a mentor to the becoming, and a partner to the bold. We achieve this by sharing the stories, ideas, and frameworks of the world's most prolific people and companies—and how you can apply them to build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself.

Faster Than Normal is a ‘state' of being’ rather than an outcome. Outlier performance requires continuous, compounded improvement. We’re your partner on this journey.

Send us your feedback and help us continuously improve our content and achieve our mission. We want to hear from you and respond to everyone.

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