Escaping the rat race is hard.

Escaping the rat race requires escaping conventional thinking. It requires taking uncommon risks and constant self-directed learning. Hardest of all, it requires sustaining contrarian viewpoints about most aspects of modern life.

In my opinion, it’s all worth it.

American culture exerts a powerful influence on the beliefs and habits of its citizens. From the earliest of ages, we are groomed to be perfect members of our capitalist society. …

Who Is Elliot Bisnow?

Elliot Bisnow is a wildly high-energy and successful young entrepreneur.

He is the co-founder of Summit Series, an “organization best known for hosting global flagship events that unite the leaders of today and tomorrow.”

Bisnow is also a startup investor, having made almost 50 early stage investments, including Uber, Warby Parker, Allbirds, Coinbase, and Poshmark.

What is Elliot Bisnow Energy?

This is my own term to capture Elliot’s uncommon, infectious energy.

He is authentic, inspiring, accomplished, and radiates positivity. Listening to this interview recharged my dead batteries and made me want to tackle the world. …

Systems rarely “get better” by accident. Instead, progress is usually a product of intentional efforts aimed at positive change.

In this post, I share 4 brief examples of actions to take and ideas to consider in order to deliberately improve.

(1) Cultivate Inputs

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it’s worth repeating.

“You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with” — Jim Rohn

Jim is correct, but he should take the idea even further.

Like it or not, we are massively influenced by our surroundings: who we follow on social media, who we text, who we…

Some Context

In March of this year, my friend Kyle Bishop and I launched The Louis and Kyle Show out of a mutual passion for deep conversations, self-improvement, and entrepreneurship.

Our goals for the show were simple: grow an audience, learn about entrepreneurship, and gain access to incredibly smart mentors.

Looking back nine months later, I can confidently say we’ve succeeded at all three goals. With substantial help from The Edge Entrepreneurship Center, we had the resources to enable us to reach this point.

This short piece focuses on the main lessons from running this podcast during the fall semester of my…

Quick Roadmap

In this short article, I explain the (very) basics of graph databases and use RoamResearch’s note-taking software as an example of an early and powerful mainstream application of this new technology.

Technical Background

As knowledge advances in any field, understanding the connections between ideas and data becomes increasingly important for making new insights and forging progress.

Graph databases (GDBs) are a type of NoSQL database designed to efficiently store and query information in these contexts. More formally, Neo4j defines a graph database as a “database designed to treat the relationships between data as equally important to the data itself” [1]. …

The 75HARD is an internet challenge dubbed as the “tactical guide to winning the war with yourself.”

Andy Frisella, the host of the MFCEO podcast, created the 75HARD to teach listeners how to cultivate discipline, integrity, and physical and mental toughness.

In this post, I share the five most significant lessons I learned from completing the challenge this summer.

What is the 75HARD?

To complete the 75HARD, you must do six things every day.

1. Follow a diet that you set for yourself. No cheat meals.
2. Do two 45-minute workouts.
3. Do not drink alcohol.
4. Take a progress picture.
5. Drink one gallon of water.
6. Read 10…

Obligatory Reference to COVID-19

My 21st birthday is during a pandemic. Boo hoo. Sad face.

Pity party over.

Here’s a quick story followed by a bunch of life lessons.

After bombing a math test in my first month of college, I overreacted so dramatically that I developed an obsessive and vague drive to “get my shit together” that continues to this day.

I turned things around in that class in a few library sessions, but that initial panic and taste of mediocrity launched me into a frantic passion for making as many high-quality decisions as early as possible in life.

I started reading books on success, productivity, and entrepreneurship.

I started journaling and reflecting on…

“If you accept conventional wisdom from conventional people living conventional lives how can you expect to be anything but conventional?” — MJ DeMarco

Every 16–24 year-old needs to hear Alex Banayan’s story.

But, before we get there, we need to answer one question.

What is the Third Door?

If life is a nightclub, most people will spend their entire lives in the mile-long line at the front door.

They’ll crawl ahead inch-by-inch for hours. If they’re lucky, they’ll be admitted by the bouncer before the night is over. This is door one.

Some people have money, fame, or privilege and can use the VIP line…