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. 

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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: Cathy Hughes

Cathy Hughes, born in 1947 in Omaha, Nebraska, is a trailblazing media mogul and founder of Urban One, the largest Black-owned media company in the United States. She started her career in radio in 1969 at KOWH, a Black radio station in Omaha. Hughes later moved to Washington D.C., where she became general sales manager at WHUR-FM, Howard University's radio station. In 1980, she purchased her first radio station, WOL-AM in Washington D.C., laying the foundation for Radio One (now Urban One). Despite facing numerous challenges, including homelessness and single motherhood, Hughes persevered. "I don't want to be separated from those I serve," she says, reflecting her deep commitment to her audience. Today, Urban One operates 55 radio stations across 16 markets, owns a cable network, and has a controlling interest in Reach Media.

Key Lessons from Cathy Hughes:

• On listening to intuition: "I think God talks to every single solitary one of us, and I think the difference between some of us and others of us is that some of us listen and some don't."

• On vision: "I'm very myopic about turning a 'no' into a 'yes,' and turning a negative into a positive."

• On integrity: "I consider myself forthright, honest, and fair with integrity as my mantra."

Read More.

Company: Chess.com

Chess.com was founded in 2007 by Erik Allebest and Jay Severson, two chess enthusiasts with backgrounds in technology and business. The site started as a simple online chess platform but quickly grew into a comprehensive chess community. In 2009, they acquired the coveted Chess.com domain name for $295,000. The company bootstrapped its growth initially, focusing on user experience and community building. By 2017, Chess.com had reached 19 million members. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to a surge in popularity, with membership doubling to 57 million by 2021. Today, Chess.com boasts over 100 million members and is valued at over $1 billion.

Key Lessons from Chess.com

On domain names. Spend big on the perfect domain. Chess.com's founders shelled out $295,000 for their domain name. Crazy? Maybe. But it paid off. A memorable, authoritative domain can be worth its weight in gold.

On community. Build a playground, not just a product. Chess.com isn't just a place to play chess. It's a bustling community of chess nerds. Forums, articles, videos - they gave users reasons to stick around.

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

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Reflexivity

Reflexivity was developed by George Soros as an economic theory. It suggests there's a feedback loop between investor perceptions and economic fundamentals. "Markets are constantly in a state of uncertainty and flux and money is made by discounting the obvious and betting on the unexpected," Soros said.

This theory makes sense when you look at how markets often overshoot. Investors' beliefs about a stock can drive its price up, which then reinforces those beliefs, creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. It challenges traditional economic models that assume rational actors and efficient markets. Reflexivity explains why we see bubbles and crashes.

Have you ever noticed how your expectations about something can actually influence the outcome? That's reflexivity at work. Next time you're making an investment decision, consider how your own perceptions might be shaping the market reality.

Insights

Tactical reads

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> When studying human motivation and behavior
The "What" and "Why" of Goal Pursuits: Human Needs and the Self-Determination of Behavior (Read it here)

> When examining the foundations of behavioral change
Self-efficacy: Toward a Unifying Theory of Behavioral Change (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

⎯

Hire remote employees with confidence

Two years ago, I hired an offshore assistant for the first time. Since then, I’ve recommended many people do the same. It’s been one of the highest leverage things I’ve done, helping with everything marketing and customer support (for The Intelligence Age) and personal matters and email management.

Athyna is a service that quickly (<5 days!) finds remote employees across 150+ countries for you or your team. They cover roles from sales and marketing to creative and product, and have worked with companies like Facebook, Zoom, Uber, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Amazon.

I’ve personally used Athyna and recommended them to my Brother, Will, who runs a fashion label, and several close friends running their own businesses. To date, they’ve all had very positive experiences.

If you’re in the market for talent, visit their website to explore options and cover all your hiring needs.

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Alex Brogan

Find me on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

Offshore Talent: Where to find the best offshore talent. Powered by Athyna.

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.

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