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23 Lessons From 2023, Microsoft adds $1 trillion, Robots making coffee and much more...
Luca Bersella
January 07, 2024
Hey everyone, Luca Bersella here.
Welcome to the first-ever edition of Stocks To Space. I’m super excited to bring you the new-look design and newsletter format.
This is the Sunday Space (which, from now on, will be posted first thing on Sunday...)
It’s a shorter, bite-sized edition that distils the best ideas, resources and principles I’m studying each week into a ~5-minute read.
I’m always looking to improve, so I’d love to hear your feedback — from topics you’re interested in reading about to design critiques, anything goes. If you have any thoughts, reach out on X.
Without further ado, let’s get to it.
IDEAS
23 Lessons From 2023
I’ve never been someone who performs personal reviews consistently — whether they’re weekly, monthly or annually.
The rush of the holidays usually kills any chance I have of performing a relevant annual review close enough to the end of the year.
But 2023 was different. I finally prioritised a couple of hours to reflect on the year that had been. And I’m so grateful I did.
The review culminates in the overall lessons you learned during the year. Because the exercise was so rewarding, I wanted to share those lessons here.
So, these are the 23 lessons I learned in 2023:
Don’t start a business with friends unless they think like you, have the same ambitions as you, have complementary skillsets to you, and you’re willing to lose the friendship over the business.
Talking about doing “the thing” does not equate to doing “the thing.”
You cannot think your way out of your problems; you must take action. “If you’re in your head, you’re dead.”
Measure your vision in years and your execution in weeks.
If you take care of your family, then everything else takes care of itself.
There’s no shame in securing the bag.
Success, however defined, is not guaranteed. Survivorship bias is real.
Take advantage of shortcuts, cheat codes and hacks wherever you can.
Drink less alcohol.
Distance yourself from energy drainers and pessimists.
Spend more time with energy creators and optimists.
Building deep, meaningful relationships takes time and effort.
Call your parents more often.
You’re not always going to feel good. Things aren’t always going to make sense. Life will get hard. And, that’s okay.
Design measurable metrics, steps to completion and an explicit finish line for everything you do. Then, work backwards.
Every day, work on getting 1% better than you were yesterday.
Develop your inner scorecard. Drown out the expectations of others.
Make decisions because you want to make them, not for any other reason.
Allocate time daily for creation, brainstorming, consumption, and reflection.
Choose the path where your luck surface area is maximised, always.
Front-load hard conversations.
Focus on one thing relentlessly for as long as possible.
Thinking long-term is the antidote to indecisiveness and procrastination.
We’re only in the second week of 2024, so if you haven’t already done a Personal Annual Review of 2023, it’s not too late to do one.
This is the template I used — 7 simple questions that push you to reflect on the year that was and manifest growth from there.
If you still aren’t convinced of the benefits, remember:
Pain plus reflection equals progress.
The Personal Annual Review is the way to progress.
RESOURCES
What I Consumed This Week…
…From around the web
The only caveat is that this is limited to the first iteration of the character, seen in Steamboat Willie — the black-and-white, silent version.
Besides a first-person shooter called “Mouse” being hyped (which looks epic, by the way), it’s anybody’s guess where this could go.
Knowing that Walt Disney used similar public domain assets to make Snow White and Cinderella, which essentially launched the Disney franchise, it’ll be fascinating to see what modern creators do with Mickey Mouse’s IP.
Microsoft Edge is now an ‘AI browser,’ Copilot AI app expands to iPhone and iPad, GitHub makes Copilot Chat generally available, A Copilot AI button is being added to Microsoft PC keyboards.
Microsoft has been on a tear with AI, and they don’t show any sign of stopping. It’s no wonder that they added $1 trillion to their market cap in 2023.
It’s fascinating to me how relentless they’ve been in launching and distributing AI products that compete with OpenAI, where they’ve invested $11 billion.
~50% of S&P 500 companies spoke about AI in earnings calls since May 2023, but less than 5% of US businesses are actually using AI.
We’re still early.
All the talk has been about how AI is disrupting and will eventually replace low-pay workers. This is a fascinating read, looking at the argument from the other extreme.
I think we’re a long (long!) way from the best CEOs in the world (think Musk, Bezos, Jobs) being replaced by AI.
…from key events, where Big Tech stands to weird and wacky companies doing all types of incredible things that we need to keep an eye on.
One thing I’m beyond excited for — humans are going back to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.
…From exploring X
The proliferation of Large Language Models (LLMs), the tech behind ChatGPT, has blown open a world of possibilities to push the boundaries of technology.
One innovation that I think is flying in stealth mode is that of autonomous humanoid robots that can perform human tasks independently.
2024 may be the moment when ChatGPT gets a body.
Do not mistake this for our “Skynet” moment; I think these humanoid robots will bring massive benefits to humanity before that’s a material risk.
…From podcasts
“All-In” is the one podcast I listen to religiously.
The conversation is unfiltered with insights that seem unfair for us mere mortals to have the scoop on.
Their end-of-year review and new-year prediction show covering the best and worst in business and tech never disappoints. They’re filled to the brim with lessons on how to win in today’s world.
Food For Thought
Quote I’ve Been Pondering…
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Thanks for reading, speak soon.
— Luca
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