Cookies, Challenges & 179 Weeks of Stories

Ever wonder where chocolate chip cookies came from? Ruth Wakefield. Back in the 1930s, she ran a little inn called the Toll House and one day, while baking, she ran out of baking chocolate. (Tragic, right?) Instead of giving up, she tossed chopped bits of Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate into her dough, thinking it’d melt. Spoiler: it didn’t. But what came out of the oven? Pure magic.

She could’ve seen it as a failure, but Ruth embraced the "oops" moment. She stuck with it, refined the recipe, and boom—she created a timeless classic.

Her story got me thinking about why I started this newsletter 179 weeks ago. (Yep, that’s over three years of weekly emails!) Like Ruth, I didn’t know exactly how things would turn out. I just knew I wanted to do something.

For me, that “something” was about showing up every week and trying to share ideas that inspire, educate, and maybe spark a little magic in your own journey. Starting was scary—I wasn’t sure anyone would read it! But I stuck with it because I believe in the power of persistence. Whether you’re baking cookies, building a business, or simply trying to get through life, sticking to something has a way of transforming you—and the world around you——consistency is transformative.

And let me tell you, there were plenty of “chopped-up chocolate” moments along the way—articles that didn’t land, ideas that fizzled, and weeks when I wondered if it even mattered. But like Ruth, I kept going. I learned that sticking to something, even when it’s messy, opens doors you didn’t know were there. She signed a lifetime free chocolate deal with nestle, albeit modest, in exchange to publish her recipe on their products.

Now, 179 weeks in, this newsletter is my chocolate chip cookie—a little imperfect, a little improvised, but full of desire to bring about incremental change.

So, here’s my lesson for you this week: whatever you’re working on, stick with it. Whether it’s starting a business, learning a skill, or just writing that blog you’ve been putting off, keep showing up. Because you never know when your “mistake” might turn into magic.

Success Doesn’t Require a Perfect Plan or a Privileged Start

I love telling every one this, but what I love more is the story of a product I discovered in 8th grade. Enter the era of the fountain pen and mistakes. Welcome, Blanco, Wite-Out, Liquid Paper and many other names depending on where you grew up.

Later in life I was curious to figure out what kind of brain/mind one needs to have to one day wake up and think you need to invent some thing like this. Albeit a special mind for sure.

In the 1950s, Bette Nesmith Graham was living the not-so-glamorous life of a secretary, juggling single motherhood and battling one big enemy: typewriter mistakes. Back then, a typo wasn’t just annoying—it was a disaster. Erasers left smudges, starting over wasted time, and Bette was over it.

One day, while watching painters cover up their goofs by painting over them, she had an aha moment: “If they can fix mistakes on a canvas, why can’t I fix mine on paper?” Armed with nothing but a big idea and her kitchen, she got to work.

Bette started mixing tempera paint and other random ingredients until she landed on a formula that worked. She bottled it up, called it “Mistake Out,” and casually started selling it to her co-workers. Before long, everyone in the office was hooked, but her success wasn’t without its hiccups.

People doubted her. A secretary inventing something game-changing? “Unlikely,” they scoffed. But Bette didn’t care. She stayed up late, hand-mixed every batch in her kitchen, and roped in her son (yes, the future Monkee Michael Nesmith!) to slap labels on bottles.

Eventually, the demand became too big for her kitchen operation. Rebranding her product as Liquid Paper, Bette leveled up—securing a loan, pitching her idea to skeptical manufacturers, and turning a lot of “no’s” into one big YES. By the 1970s, her little invention wasn’t just fixing typos; it was fixing bank accounts. Liquid Paper became a multimillion-dollar global business.

The best part? Bette didn’t have a perfect plan or fancy resources—she just had a good idea, a lot of determination, and belief in herself. So what ever phase of life you are in, average, good or bad, take our your liquid paper, clean up the mess, re-start, we are all allowed to paint over our mistakes, entrepreneurship gives us the ability to start from zero and get to 100 without having a perfect plan.

URGENCY….

Thanksgiving got me thinking ….—if you’re in North America, chances are you don’t live in the same city as most of your family. The average American only visits their parents or siblings a handful of times a year. If they’re in their 60s or 70s, that’s not 20 or 30 years left with them—it’s 20 or 30 visits. And when you start counting time in moments rather than years, the urgency hits differently.

The same is true for founders. The idea that “there’s plenty of time to start later” is what keeps so many great ideas from ever seeing the light of day. Believing you have endless time creates a false sense of security—it’s a lie we tell ourselves to avoid taking action. Whether it’s family or that bold leap into entrepreneurship, the clock doesn’t wait.

Here’s the truth: if you’re waiting for the perfect moment, the right resources, or the stars to align, you’re wasting the only thing you can never get back—time.

So stop measuring in years. Measure in opportunities. What if you only had 20 more shots to visit your parents, or just a handful of chances to get that startup off the ground? Would you still wait for the "right time," or would you start today?

Because the reality is, the best time to start anything meaningful—whether it’s reconnecting with loved ones or building something big—is now.

Being prepared. Even for Luck.

Globalization 

2 Million Minutes: A Global Examination showcases six high-achieving teens, two each from China, India, and the United States, and how they spend their 2,000,000 minutes (four years) of high school.

Students may have a sense that their Chinese and Indian counterparts study more, but they’ll be shocked to see it’s nearly twice as much as the average American teen. This film, though, is about more than just minutes. 

Following the lives of six students—two in each of the three countries—this groundbreaking, controversial documentary forms a picture of the various levels of education worldwide and addresses the implications of these differences on the 21st century global economy.

A must watch for budding entrepreneurs. There are multiple ways to access the movie, for students the best way is https://www.kanopy.com/ if you are in North America using your library card.

The Power of GSD (Get Sh*t Done)

Time is your most valuable currency as an entrepreneur. The difference between thriving and merely surviving often boils down to one thing: execution. This is where GSD—Get Sh*t Done—comes into play. Stop waiting for permission, stop overthinking, and start acting. The most successful entrepreneurs don’t wait for the perfect conditions; they seize opportunities and create value immediately.

Take this tweet

It exemplifies the power of permission-less execution. The idea is simple: instead of spending hours, days, or even weeks planning and perfecting, just dive in. Iterate along the way. Every hour you spend analyzing instead of acting is an hour of lost opportunity. If you’re building a product, launch the MVP. If you’re offering a service, pitch it today. The feedback you get from the real world will always trump what’s in your head.

The essence of monetizing your time lies in action. Every moment spent waiting for validation, resources, or the "perfect" moment is time wasted. Want to build something? Start. Want to earn? Sell. Want to learn? Do. The beauty of GSD is that it creates momentum, and momentum leads to results. Execution isn’t just a step—it’s the entire game.

The only difference between motion and momentum? A clear direction.

Bonus! Thought of the week

The most ingenious thing I came across. Driving engagement, book sales and running a lotto without being regulated. How?

A BITCOIN MILLIONAIRE HAS HIDDEN $2M TREASURE ACROSS THE U.S.—CAN YOU FIND IT? Jon Collins-Black, a Bitcoin investor with a flair for adventure, hid five treasure chests worth over $2M—including gold doubloons, rare Pokémon cards, a Picasso coin, and even a Bitcoin. No need to dig or trespass—each chest is above ground, within 3 miles of a public road. The catch? You’ll need his book. There’s Treasure Inside, which is packed with puzzles and maps, to uncover the loot. Absolute best scavenger hunt I have ever heard of.

Fun Fact: Reversing 179 gives 971, which is also a prime, making 179 an emirp.