Three people I admire

Why they have been fundamental in my entrepreneurial journey

David Goggins

I discovered Goggins on a weekday at 7 am. I was listening to a podcast at the gym. The podcast hit me like nothing else before, and I read can’t hurt me shortly after. In some sense, his story was mine: in 2005, I was a fat, depressed, and insecure guy. I overcame my fears, worked on myself, and lost 150 pounds in 18 months.

When I discovered Goggins, I was getting out of my comfortable tech job and started exploring entrepreneurship. I was scared of failure, and Goggins was the one to remind of that hard work pays off.

Goggins never complained about his condition. He did not take any shortcuts to reach his goals. He is not afraid of failing and talking about his failure.

Goggins is the hero nobody wants. In a world where mediocrity is rewarded, and people want to be cuddled in their safe space, Goggins is the hero everybody needs.

Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio's books have been fundamental to understanding how to build a company and how societies come and go.

In ”Principles”, Dalio explained his life and work principles. Dalio is clear about his failures and explains the principles that led him to build a successful company with Bridgewater associates. I borrow a lot from this book when building Codiga, especially regarding culture and feedback.

In “The Changing World Order”, Dalio explains the history of societies and why societies rise and fall. The book also explains the signals and factors showing that the US society is on the verge of collapsing. This book helped me understand the world more clearly than any other history book.

John McWhorter

John McWhorter is one of the clearest and most articulate people I ever read and listened to. He spoke multiple times on the Freakonomics Radio podcast, and I read some of his books (the most recent being Woke Racism).

Debating is hard. Making a point when the other party keeps criticizing or interrupting you is an exercise very few people are good at. McWhorter excels at this and always focuses on the fundamentals. He never attacks the person and always debates the idea. McWhorter always adapts to his audience to make his ideas accessible to anyone.

Listening and reading him helped me to focus on the core of what I am trying to explain and always make my content accessible to my audience. It took me a long time to change, and I still listen to him periodically to remind me of how he talks.