On a rainy morning earlier this spring, I pulled my car out of our driveway to take my seven-year-old son to school. After shifting from reverse into drive, I looked at my phone to listen to a podcast on Spotify. Then it happened. He said it. “Dad, why do you have to look at your phone SO much?” Dagger. I knew it was coming. It was only a matter...

John D. Rockefeller was the most successful businessman of all time. He was also a recluse, spending most of his time by himself. He rarely spoke, deliberately making himself inaccessible and staying quiet when you caught his attention. A refinery worker who occasionally had Rockefeller’s ear once remarked: “He lets everybody else talk, while he...

Japan has 140 businesses that are at least 500 years old. A few claim to have been operating continuously for more than 1,000 years. It’s astounding to think what these businesses have endured – dozens of wars, emperors, catastrophic earthquakes, tsunamis, depressions, on and on, endlessly. And yet they keep selling, generation after generation....

Thirty-seven thousand Americans died in car accidents in 1955, six times today’s rate adjusted for miles driven. Ford began offering seat belts in every model that year. It was a $27 upgrade, equivalent to about $190 today. Research showed they reduced traffic fatalities by nearly 70%. But only 2% of customers opted for the upgrade. Ninety-eight...

After tapping in for par on the 18th hole at Augusta National with the sun setting behind its towering pines, Scottie Scheffler claimed his second Masters in three years. Shortly thereafter, the prior year’s winner, John Rahm, placed the green jacket on Scheffler’s broad shoulders cementing Scheffler at the top of the world rankings. As I watched...

Luck plays such a big role in the world. But few people want to talk about it. If I say you got lucky, I look jealous. If I tell myself that I got lucky, I feel diminished. Maybe a better way to frame luck is by asking: what isn’t repeatable? Lucky implies random events you could not see coming. What isn’t repeatable is different. Did Jeff...