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: George Soros

George Soros, born in Hungary in 1930, is a billionaire investor and philanthropist who has given away over $32 billion through his Open Society Foundations. He survived Nazi occupation, hiding his Jewish identity. "Not only did we survive, but we managed to help others," Soros recalled. He left for London in 1947, working odd jobs to fund his studies. In 1956, he moved to the US, entering finance. He launched his hedge fund in 1970, becoming one of America's most successful investors. Soros began his philanthropy in 1979, funding scholarships for Black South Africans. He's known for his commitment to democracy, freedom of expression, and equality. Now in his 90s, Soros remains active in philanthropy, tackling global issues. "I believe that in philanthropy one should do the right thing, whether or not it succeeds," he says.

Key Lessons from George Soros:

• On using what you have: "It is much easier to put existing resources to better use, than to develop resources where they do not exist."

• On seeing what others' dont: "Misconceptions play a prominent role in my view of the world."

• On knowing when you're wrong: "I'm only rich because I know when I'm wrong."

Read More.

Company: Meta

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, was founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, along with co-founders Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes. The idea originated in Zuckerberg's Harvard dorm room as a platform for college students to connect. It quickly expanded beyond Harvard, reaching 1 million users by the end of 2004. The company received its first major investment of $500,000 from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel in 2004. Facebook went public in 2012, raising $16 billion in the largest tech IPO at the time. In 2021, Facebook rebranded as Meta, shifting focus to the metaverse. As of 2024, Meta's revenue was over $120 billion, with 3.03 billion monthly active users across its family of apps.

Key Lessons from Meta:

• On company culture. Foster a startup mentality. Despite its size, Meta maintains a "hacker culture" that encourages rapid iteration and risk-taking. Zuckerberg once said, "The biggest risk is not taking any risk."

• On product-market fit. You don't need a perfect product to launch. Facebook started as a basic profile directory for college students. It grew because it solved a real need - connecting with classmates. "Move fast and break things" became their mantra.

• On pivoting. Don't be afraid to change course. Facebook's shift to Meta shows a willingness to bet big on future trends, even if it means moving away from your core business. Zuckerberg said, "The metaverse is the next frontier."

Read More.

Hire remote employees with confidence

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Accelerants

High-performance tool

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North Star

In a company, a north-star is the one metric that the company optimizes for over all others.

It’s the metric that produces the most business value over the long term when optimized.

For example, Airbnb's north-star metric is “# of nights booked.”

Insights

Tactical reads

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> When seeking comprehensive nutrition and diet advice
The Last Conversation You'll Ever Need to Have About Eating Right (Read it here)

> When optimizing your smartphone for productivity
How to Configure Your iPhone to Work for You, Not Against You (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

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Build Global Teams, Save Smart

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I’ve used Athyna, a global talent platform that helps companies quickly hire top professionals from talent-rich regions like Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa — often delivering up to 70% cost savings. They move fast (under 5 days), and cover roles across engineering, marketing, design, and ops.

Athyna sources talent from companies like Facebook, Uber, Zoom, and Salesforce, so you’re not sacrificing quality, just unlocking global efficiency. Highly recommend giving them a look.

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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