My First Million
The best business ideas come from noticing what's working and doing it better, faster, or for a different audience.
“Step by step, ferociously.”
What It Means
Combine long-term patience with daily urgency - move aggressively on daily tasks while maintaining long-term vision.
Why It Matters
Resolves the apparent contradiction between long-term thinking and daily execution speed.
When It's True
When building complex businesses that require both sustained effort and rapid daily progress.
When It's Risky
When ferocious daily pace leads to burnout or when you sacrifice long-term positioning for short-term gains.
How to Apply
Set ambitious long-term goals with patient timelines
Execute daily tasks with maximum intensity and focus
Balance urgency with sustainable work practices
Measure progress on both daily and annual timescales
Example Scenario
“Startup founder commits to 10-year vision for market leadership while working intensively every day on product development, customer acquisition, and team building.”
Related Knowledge
Fuck you. This is a family heirloom.
Dyson's response to acquisition offers, treating his company as something to pass to future generations rather than sell for profit.
Anti-Business Billionaire Framework
A framework identifying five core traits of entrepreneurs who build massive companies by being contrarian to typical business advice: high disagreeableness, extreme self-confidence, product obsession, total control retention, and refusal to sell at any price.
Edisonian Principle of Design
A product development approach focused on rapid experimentation, immediate feedback, and constant iteration rather than master planning.
Maintain freedom to work on what you love while building a successful business
Ability to work exclusively on projects you're passionate about, declining lucrative distractions, and having money follow from doing what you love rather than chasing money directly.
Family Heirloom Business Model
Viewing your business as a family heirloom to be passed down through generations rather than an asset to be optimized for sale.
Go Slow Now to Go Fast Later
Deliberately limiting initial growth to deeply learn fundamentals, enabling exponentially faster growth later when you apply accumulated knowledge.