This edition is brought to you by Rize

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. 

If you enjoy this, feel free to forward it along to a friend or colleague who might too. First time reading? Sign up here.

Today’s edition:

Cheers,
Alex

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

P.S. — If you’ve got 45 seconds, would you please help me by filling out this quick survey?

I value your confidence in Faster Than Normal. To support Faster Than Normal and continuously improve, we work with a limited number of high-quality brands each year. We only choose brands we know and trust that align with our readers’ goals and needs. 

Your input helps us decide what brands we will and won't work with. We are grateful for your support.

Stories of Excellence

Person: JK Rowling

J.K. Rowling once said, "Rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life." This encapsulates her journey from living on welfare as a single mother to becoming the architect of the Harry Potter franchise, a cultural phenomenon and multi-billion dollar enterprise. Her narrative isn't just about writing books; it's about conjuring worlds that resonate universally, impacting both young minds and the global entertainment landscape.

Key Lessons from J.K. Rowling:

• On failure: "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all - in which case, you fail by default."

• On perseverance: "The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive."

• On success: "It matters not what someone is born, but what they grow to be."

Read More.

Company: Virgin

Richard Branson, a high-school dropout, launched his entrepreneurial career at 16 with Student magazine in 1966. After expanding into mail-order records, Branson founded Virgin Records in 1972, signing major acts like the Sex Pistols and The Rolling Stones. Virgin Records became one of the world's top six record companies by the 1980s. Branson entered the airline industry with Virgin Atlantic in 1984, emphasizing customer service. He later launched Virgin Trains in 1997. In the 2000s, Branson founded Virgin Galactic to offer commercial space flights. Today, the Virgin Group encompasses over 40 companies in 35+ countries. Branson's unconventional style and ambitious ventures have made him a billionaire and global icon.

Key Lessons from Virgin:

• On customer focus: Prioritize exceptional customer service and experience. Branson: "The key is to set realistic customer expectations, and then not to just meet them, but to exceed them - preferably in unexpected and helpful ways."

• On company culture: Foster a positive, fun, and inclusive work environment. Branson: "Train people well enough so they can leave, treat them well enough so they don't want to."

• On publicity: Leverage the founder's personality and media attention for promotion. Branson's adventurous stunts have generated valuable publicity for Virgin.

Read More.

Take care of your most valuable asset: Time

Rize.io tracks how you spend your time on your computer and gives you personalized insights to improve your focus and build better work habits. It tells you when to take breaks so you can recharge and avoid burnout.

I've found Rize.io incredibly valuable for understanding how I use my time and identifying distractions. The break reminders keep me energized throughout the day.

Most people drastically underestimate distractions during the day—Rize gives you nowhere to hide. Reality is confronting. I challenge you to give Rize.io a try and see how your time-use stacks up.

_{(You can use coupon code "ALEXBROGAN" for 25% off for 3 months.)}

Accelerants

High-performance tool

⎯

Anthropic tool library

Every few weeks, I’ll share a tool or hack I’ve been trying that’s improved some aspect of my life. I have no affiliation with these and will always clearly share when that’s false.

This week, it’s the Anthropic Prompt Library. If you'd like to understand the different ways you can use AI, it's a perfect starting point.

You can sort by business, personal, or user-submitted prompts. The progress in AI is hard to believe. The next couple of years will be interesting to watch...

A trend I’m watching

⎯

The U.S. Surgeon General recently sounded the alarm on an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, with prolonged disconnection posing serious health risks. Even before the pandemic, average time spent alone was rising. Now, Google searches for "where to make friends" and "social groups near me" are surging.

This trend opens up opportunities for startups and products that help people find meaningful connections:

• Apps that use AI to intelligently match people with compatible friends, activity partners, or support groups in their area

• Platforms that make it easy to discover, join and organize local interest-based clubs, teams, classes and events

• Social spaces designed to facilitate interaction, like board game cafes, community workshops, or urban "third spaces" that encourage lingering and meeting people

• Digital tools for strengthening bonds with existing friends/family, like online party games, watch-together video apps, or collaborative projects

As the Surgeon General's report notes, investing in "social infrastructure" will be key. Startups that create scalable ways to build community and belonging could make a real impact on this growing societal challenge.

(Read More).

If you’re interested in more trends and business ideas, check out Capital Ideas—Faster Than Normal’s paid sister publication (Subscribe with one click).

Tactical reads

⎯

> When you need to lead a big group of people
The way that Jensen Huang runs Nvidia (Read it here)

> When choosing how you play the game
How the Game Should Be Played (Read it here)

> When you need to get better at saying no
How to get better at saying no — Andrew Wilkinson (Read it here)

> When considering the future
When considering the future (Read it here)

> When considering private real estate
An Introduction to Private Real Estate (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

⎯

If you’re interested in more trends and business ideas, check out Capital Ideas—Faster Than Normal’s paid sister publication (Subscribe with one click).

If you’re considering building a newsletter, I put together a free 5-day email course called the Newsletter Mastery Playbook. You can sign up below:

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.

Interested in reaching Founders, Operators, and Investors like you? To become a Faster Than Normal partner, apply here.