I've fairly recently discovered this concept of a "moat", even though competitive advantage and all the other arguments in your article have been around for a long time. Somehow "moat" describes this position better. Thanks for the write-up.
Thank you so much for sharing great insights with us, Erik!
I was in ODF9 and I often read this article to keep reminding myself of what matters in my life.
Here's a list of my highlights that I really resonated with from this article and my notes:
* Ask others: What’s something that’s easy for me to do but hard for others? What's something I have that’s very difficult for people to reverse engineer?
=> Note: this is very important questions!
* Some other hacks to build moats include picking something that isn’t big now, but will be in the future (e.g. crypto in 2016), something that relies on exclusive relationships that you can access (e.g. enterprise healthcare, access to LPs), or something that is legibly impressive or valuable but has no playbook. (e.g. Tyler Cowen, Tim Ferris, Elad Gil examples)
=> Note: I should be flexible on new things as a founder. Access.
* Should you specialize or generalize? Either could work, but you have to actually be good at something. That’s a key concept. If you’re a generalist, you want to be the best at the intersection of a few different skills
=> Note: I think I'm a generalist type of person. I keep looking for the intersection of a few different things.
The best moat comes from persistence and long term dedication. Engage with something wich is important for the world for which the world i snot ready yet, but you love to do and engages with your whole being. Subsidize "your habit", your "side hustle" with something adjacent, as Frank Herbert would advise you. When the time comes, you will be ready, and it cannot easily be re-engineered. There is no short term fix for levelling up what Long Term Attention can create.
It is like the joke, do all that with your lawn, but keep doing it for hundreds of years.
Build Personal Moats
Erik, I'd appreciate if you would stop exposing these extremely valuable secrets. 😂
I've fairly recently discovered this concept of a "moat", even though competitive advantage and all the other arguments in your article have been around for a long time. Somehow "moat" describes this position better. Thanks for the write-up.
Thank you so much for sharing great insights with us, Erik!
I was in ODF9 and I often read this article to keep reminding myself of what matters in my life.
Here's a list of my highlights that I really resonated with from this article and my notes:
* Ask others: What’s something that’s easy for me to do but hard for others? What's something I have that’s very difficult for people to reverse engineer?
=> Note: this is very important questions!
* Some other hacks to build moats include picking something that isn’t big now, but will be in the future (e.g. crypto in 2016), something that relies on exclusive relationships that you can access (e.g. enterprise healthcare, access to LPs), or something that is legibly impressive or valuable but has no playbook. (e.g. Tyler Cowen, Tim Ferris, Elad Gil examples)
=> Note: I should be flexible on new things as a founder. Access.
* Should you specialize or generalize? Either could work, but you have to actually be good at something. That’s a key concept. If you’re a generalist, you want to be the best at the intersection of a few different skills
=> Note: I think I'm a generalist type of person. I keep looking for the intersection of a few different things.
Thank you so much again!
Reference: https://glasp.co/#/kazuki/?p=StPqvKX4hUlvfLV56q61
I've been calling my personal moat 'community builder', but I'm refining it more towards 'indie community builder'.
Thank you, Erik! I enjoyed reading this article and I put this in my newsletter that curates good reads of a week.
I think there's interesting perspective that connects this ikigai map and curation. The process of pursuing the career and curating something you think important is very similar. Ref: https://glasp.substack.com/p/ikigai-map-and-the-curator-economy
this was a great read, thanks Erik
The best moat comes from persistence and long term dedication. Engage with something wich is important for the world for which the world i snot ready yet, but you love to do and engages with your whole being. Subsidize "your habit", your "side hustle" with something adjacent, as Frank Herbert would advise you. When the time comes, you will be ready, and it cannot easily be re-engineered. There is no short term fix for levelling up what Long Term Attention can create.
It is like the joke, do all that with your lawn, but keep doing it for hundreds of years.
Thoroughly enjoyed this Erik.
Amazing read, Thanks Erik!
Definitely interested in Jam access just signed up!
Amazing read, Thanks for sharing.