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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:
> Stories: Larry Ellison & Sony
> High-performance: Peter Kaufman on "Simple"
> Insights: Be kind
> Tactical: Self-doubt and limiting beliefs
> 1 Question: Burnout culprits
Cheers,
Alex
P.S. Send me feedback on how we can improve. I respond to every email.
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Stories of Excellence
Person: Jim Simons
Larry Ellison, co-founder of Oracle, is a tech industry giant known for his audacious vision and competitive spirit. Born in New York City in 1944, Ellison's journey to success was far from conventional. He dropped out of college twice before finding his calling in computer programming. In 1977, he co-founded Software Development Laboratories, which later became Oracle Corporation. Under his leadership, Oracle grew into a behemoth of the software industry, dominating the database market. Ellison's bold strategies and relentless drive propelled Oracle to the forefront of enterprise technology. He stepped down as CEO in 2014 but remains executive chairman and CTO. With a net worth over $150 billion, Ellison is the ninth-wealthiest person globally. Beyond business, he's known for his lavish lifestyle, including owning 98% of the Hawaiian island of Lanai.
Key Lessons from Larry Ellison:
On the fear of failure: "Great achievers are driven, not so much by the pursuit of success, but by the fear of failure."
On resilience: "I have had all of the disadvantages required for success."
On vision: "When you innovate, you've got to be prepared for everyone telling you you're nuts."
Company: Sony
Sony was founded in Tokyo, Japan on May 7, 1946, by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita. Initially named Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation), the company started with just 20 employees and 190,000 yen in capital. Ibuka, an engineer, and Morita, a physicist, met during World War II while working on military research projects. Their first product was a rice cooker, which failed commercially. In 1950, they produced Japan's first tape recorder, the Type-G. The company changed its name to Sony Corporation in 1958, derived from the Latin word "sonus" (sound) and "sonny" (little son). Sony's breakthrough came with the world's first transistor radio in 1955, followed by the launch of the Trinitron color TV in 1968. By 2025, Sony had grown into a global conglomerate with annual revenue of ~$100 billion.
Key Lessons from Sony:
On miniaturization: Make it smaller, make it better. Sony's obsession with shrinking technology gave birth to the Walkman. As Morita said, "The Walkman was not based on market research. It was the result of my desire to listen to music while walking."
On long-term thinking: Invest in future technologies, even if unprofitable now. Sony spent years developing the PlayStation, initially at a loss. Ken Kutaragi, "Father of the PlayStation," said, "We don't care about revenue from this business... we're just focused now on expanding the platform."
Something New
You read the newsletter. Now search the library. Faster Than Normal has 350+ founder playbooks and 380+ company breakdowns — every one structured, searchable, and cited to the source.
Try asking: "How did Steve Jobs think about product focus differently than his peers?"
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High-performance tool
⎯
Peter Kaufman On "Simple"
"So, if you think about things being complex as being sophisticated like most people do, you think the more complex it is, the more sophisticated it is. I want you to remember, as best you can, what I’m about to say. It’s very, very important. Albert Einstein once listed what he said were the five ascending levels of cognitive prowess. Now there’s nobody in this room that doesn’t want to be level number one. Right? That’s why we’re here. You don’t want to be level number five. You want to be level number one. Wait until you hear what these levels are, it’s going to blow your mind.
So number 5 he said, at the very bottom, was smart. OK. That’s the lowest level of cognitive prowess is being smart. The next level up, level 4, is intelligent. Level 3, next up, is brilliant. Next level up, level 2, he said is genius. What? What’s higher than genius? He must have that backward. No he doesn’t.
Wait until you hear what number one is according to Albert Einstein. We just demonstrated it. Number one is simple. Simple transcends genius."
—Peter Kaufman, Chairman & CEO of Glenair, Inc.
Insights
George Saunders, "Be Kind":
"So, quick, end-of-speech advice: Since, according to me, your life is going to be a gradual process of becoming kinder and more loving: Hurry up.
Speed it along. Start right now. There’s a confusion in each of us, a sickness, really: selfishness. But there’s also a cure. So be a good and proactive and even somewhat desperate patient on your own behalf — seek out the most efficacious anti-selfishness medicines, energetically, for the rest of your life.
Do all the other things, the ambitious things — travel, get rich, get famous, innovate, lead, fall in love, make and lose fortunes, swim naked in wild jungle rivers (after first having it tested for monkey poop) – but as you do, to the extent that you can, err in the direction of kindness. Do those things that incline you toward the big questions, and avoid the things that would reduce you and make you trivial. That luminous part of you that exists beyond personality — your soul, if you will — is as bright and shining as any that has ever been. Bright as Shakespeare’s, bright as Gandhi’s, bright as Mother Teresa’s. Clear away everything that keeps you separate from this secret luminous place. Believe it exists, come to know it better, nurture it, share its fruits tirelessly.
And someday, in 80 years, when you’re 100, and I’m 134, and we’re both so kind and loving we’re nearly unbearable, drop me a line, let me know how your life has been. I hope you will say: It has been so wonderful."
Tactical reads
⎯
> When overcoming self-doubt and limiting beliefs
The Prescription for Self-Doubt (Read it here)
> When managing your emotions effectively
How to Become an Effective CEO: Chief Emotions Officer (Read it here)
1 question
What drains me? And how can I do less of it?
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.
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