What do Stanford alums think of Richard Sherman?
I graduated from Stanford in 1999. Here's a picture I took with Sherman last year. Richard Sherman and I were on the same flight from Oakland to Seattle. This was just a few days after the Seahawks lost to the Falcons in the 2013 NFC Divisional playoffs.Honestly, I didn't recognize him. My wife saw that a group of passengers were mobbing him for pictures and autographs. I had to ask a stranger who he was, and he said, "That's Richard Sherman of the Seahawks."By the time I fished out my phone for a picture, I was literally the last guy, out of 30, to bother him. I found him lining up for the plane, and I tapped him on the shoulder. He took off his headphones, and I said, "Richard, can I get a photo?" He said, "Sure." After the photo, I was too starstruck to say anything meaningful. So I uttered, "That's a tough loss." And he offered a cool and restrained, "Yeah man, it sucked."I found Sherman genuine and approachable. And I was surprised he wasn't irritated by my picture request.When I see others judge him after the 2014 Erin Andrews interview, it bothers me. I don't understand how people can have Sherman "figured out" after a 30 second clip.I see the incident as a guy who showed emotion after making one of the biggest plays in his life. And I'm sure it was even sweeter given his rivalry with Crabtree.I don't have any kids. But if I did, I hope they are as gritty and accomplished as Sherman. And if they ever have an emotional outburst on national TV, I'd want them to apologize quickly, just like him. And if my kids became sports stars, I hope they, like Sherman, have the time and compassion to make their fans happy.
What important truth do very few people agree with you on?
This question consumed me for weeks after reading Peter Thiel's book. It's hard to answer because good answers don't "take a side on a familiar debate". Good answers also challenge common wisdom.The world is becoming safer and less violent over time. This is hard to swallow if you read the news every day. However, statistics on this don't lie. People are living longer, not killing each other as much, etc.It's more important to have the right thought process than to be right. Even a broken clock is right twice a day. Being right for the wrong reasons will not help you to be right in the future even if it feels good and seems to validate the original thought process.Good ideas are inevitable. Calculus was invented by two people completely independently. Many startups launch similar products at the same time. it's not uncommon. Relativity would be discovered by someone else if not Einstein. Even if it would have taken longer, good ideas are bound to be discovered when their time has come.Do what you love is bad advice. This should be obvious, but the "do what you love" mantra is repeated so much that it's easy to start believing it. It's more important to do something that creates value. It's also easier to love doing something if it helps others while paying the bills.Starting a Google is just as hard as starting a restaurant. You only have 24 hours in a day. You can spend that time in the rat race or by taking risk and doing something new. Both can be incredibly difficult.Too much choice is a bad thing. People's say they want choice, but don't prefer it in practice. Studies back this up, and so does the success of businesses like Apple. The best thing to do is give people as little choice as you can get away with.Stress is not bad. A negative view of stress is. This is backed by science. People who think stress is good for them live just as long as people who report having little stress. People who believe stress is bad live shorter lives.Happiness is more correlated with change in success than success itself. If you achieved all your wildest dreams today what would you do tomorrow? What would you do a year later? Don't focus on "making it". Focus on being better every day.
Tell me a really funny story. 10 pt.s!!!!?
call my aunt