01 - On loop
Quotes I read on loop
"Float like a Cadillac, sting like a Beemer."
"According to aerodynamic laws, the bumblebee cannot fly because its body weight is not in the right proportion to its wingspan. But ignoring these laws, the bee flies anyway."
"Act before you feel qualified enough to act."
02 - On rewatch
Movies I rewatch when I need them
→ Cars - Don't laugh. There's more wisdom in this movie about ambition, ego, and slowing down than in most business books. Lightning McQueen is the original founder arc. Fight me on this.
→ The Pursuit of Happyness - The movie I put on when I'm tired of grinding. Will Smith on that bone-density scanner cold-calling 200 times a day is the most accurate depiction of what real hustle actually looks like.
→ Whiplash - The movie I put on when I'm grinding too hard and need a reminder of where that road ends. "There are no two words in the English language more harmful than 'good job'" lives in my head rent-free.
03 - On the pitch
The team I'd defend in any room
Real Madrid.
Real Madrid is not a football club. It's a miracle factory that occasionally plays football.
If you want one reason: the 2021-22 Champions League.
→ Round of 16 vs PSG. Down 2-0 on aggregate. Mbappé scoring at will. Most people had already called it. Then Benzema dropped a 17-minute hat-trick at the Bernabéu and PSG's superteam (Messi, Neymar, Mbappé, Donnarumma, Ramos) went home.
→ Quarterfinal vs Chelsea (the reigning champions). Down 3-0 on aggregate in the second leg. Cooked. Done. Rodrygo scored in the 80th. Benzema headed home in extra time. Through.
→ Semifinal vs Manchester City. Down 5-3 on aggregate going into the 90th minute. Pep was already planning the final. Then Rodrygo scored twice in 90 seconds, Benzema buried the penalty in extra time, and the Bernabéu lost its mind. Madrid were 45-1 to come back. They came back.
→ Final vs Liverpool. Vinícius scored. Courtois had the game of his life. 15th European Cup. Nobody else has 7.
That season didn't teach me football. It taught me that the game isn't over until the people playing it decide it's over. Down 2-0, 3-0, 5-3, doesn't matter. You play the next minute. Then the next one. Then the one after that.
Everything I'm building, every cold email I send, every audit deadline I push through at 2am, somewhere in the back of my head is Rodrygo in the 90th minute against City.
Hala Madrid. Always.