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BOOKS

The Tycoons: How Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, Jay Gould and J.P. Morgan Invented the American Super Economy by Charles R. Morris

Forget Elon Musk. Forget Zuck. Forget Bezos. Forget Gates. Sure, they’ve got billions and have built tech empires and products we use every day… but in terms of raw power, are they really that impressive?

If Amazon shuts down there are dozens of other options. If Facebook or Instagram disappeared your day probably improves… SpaceX is cool and maybe you like your Tesla or Twitter (X), but if they vanished tomorrow the country keeps rolling along.

But back in the day, in the late 1800s and early 1900s, four men had it within their power to shut down the American economy. To stop commerce and travel on a dime. They controlled the railroads, the rivers, shipping, steel production, politicians, gold, and most importantly, the nation’s money.

I’m talking about the men whose names are on buildings and concert halls and corporations to this day: Carnegie. Rockefeller. Gould. Morgan.

These four individually were worth near a half-trillion in today’s dollars and they fought for the title of richest man in the United States and the world for decades. J.P Morgan singlehandedly bailed out the US. Twice. His company financed England in World War I. Rockefeller may have been the richest man. Ever.

And the only thing they enjoyed more than making money was destroying each other’s reputation when possible and demolishing the competition when necessary.

If you’re reading this, I’m sure you’ve heard about the talked-about-and-might-happen MMA fight between Zuck and Musk. That’s small potatoes.

And don’t worry. This isn’t a boring business book. Far from it. It’s a history of some of the fiercest financial rivals and it’s fascinating.

If you want to read about billion-dollar battles between the most ruthless, manipulating and powerful dudes in history, it’s all in there.

Grab it here.

BICEPS

Whenever I do the radio/podcast circuit to promote a book I get asked about my favorite athlete or whose career I’d want to have. It’s a cool question and most people expect me to say Tom Brady or Michael Jordan or Ken Griffey Jr. or someone like that…

But my answer is always the same: Laird Hamilton

Surf monster waves all day. Workout all the time. Never wear a shirt. Eat my own health foods from my own company. Live in Maui and Malibu. Yeah, Laird’s my guy.

I interviewed him once many years ago and he was great. Dropped so much knowledge about unique training methodologies and interesting health foods, I could have talked to him for hours.

This week, Sam Parr, host of one of my favorite podcasts, My First Million, had Laird on and he got to ask him all the questions I didn’t get to. About his business. About how his training evolved. About recovery and aging and trial and error and how to build the lifestyle that you want.

Definitely recommend listening to it here.

And if you’re game, this is Laird’s famous total body Primal Workout:

Perform 10 perfect reps of each of the following exercises, resting as needed between moves:

Barbell overhead presses, dumbbell bent-over rows, goblet squats (hold a dumbbell at your chest, and squat as low as you can), kettlebell swings, step-ups to a box, and Russian twists. (Sit with knees bent, feet off the floor and hold a weighted ball at your chest. Tap it on the floor at one side of your hip, then the other.)

Do the circuit three times.

Quick Flexes

I wrote this column about one of my favorite autobiographies of all time: Bo Knows Bo

And I wrote this piece as a reminder for dads to do a little self care this time of year:

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Have a great weekend! - Jon

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