The Roote Canon
Hello ambitious frontier person! 👋
Here’s a list of articles I wish I would’ve read earlier. I hope they help you spark your success spiral, speedrun the idea maze, and make a dent in the universe.
Hope it’s helpful! If you want to accelerate yourself further, apply to the Roote Fellowship, listen to classic podcast episodes, or sign up for our newsletter.
- Rhys ❤️
I. Building agency
Sparking your success spiral by Rhys Lindmark
You are allowed by Rhys Lindmark
General advice for young people
Advice by Patrick Collison
Advice for ambitious teenagers by Laura Deming
Advice by Tamara Winter
Principles by Nabeel Qureshi
It’s ok to be ambitious and work hard
The high-return activity of raising others’ aspirations by Tyler Cowen
What I Miss About Working at Stripe by Brie Wolfson
Things you're allowed to do by Milan Cvitkovic
School Is Not Enough by Simon Sarris
Don’t work harder. Instead… by Haseeb Qureshi
Stamina by Rhys Lindmark
Be an optimist
The Most Precious Resource is Agency by Simon Sarris
Young people feel like they have no future due to climate change; we need to change the narrative by Hannah Ritchie
The world is awful. The world is much better. The world can be much better. by Max Roser
Optimism by Packy McCormick
Rhys’s how-to’s
Tools for Learning by Rhys Lindmark
How To Beat Procrastination by Rhys Lindmark
How to Write Well by Rhys Lindmark
II. Building awareness
Develop self-awareness. Be yourself.
How to Build Self-Awareness by Rhys Lindmark
What is going on here, with this human? by Graham Duncan
Against Moral Nervousness by Tyler Cowen
How to Find Your Path by Rhys Lindmark
What should I do here, with this human? by Rhys Lindmark
Develop systems awareness
Idea Machines by Nadia Asparouhova
VGR’s maps by Venkatesh Rao
The List of My Lists by Sam Arbesman
Wisdom Age by Roote
5 Mindsets by Rhys Lindmark
Marriage Counseling with Capitalism by Rhys Lindmark
III. Building your network
Luck Surface Area by Emily Hill
Putting yourself out there increases the surface area for potential opportunities by Ali Abdaal
How to be More Agentic by Cate Hall
Seven Ways To Become Unstoppably Agentic by Evie Cottrell
10 Ways To Get Over Your Fears Of Posting Online by Austin Kleon
9 Tips to Network IRL by Rhys Lindmark
Reach out to people you admire; they’d be happy to chat
How to Email Early Stage Investors by Michael Siebel
How to write a forwardable introduction email by Alex Iskold
How to cold email or DM by Danielle Strachman
Email Introductions 101 by Hunter Walk
How to ask for help as an entrepreneur by Avichal Garg
On Being Efficient With Busy People by Punk6529
Invest in Lines, Not Dots by Mark Suster
Join Twitter
Why (and How) You Should Join Twitter Right Now by Alexey Guzey.
Get on Twitter, follow good folks from these Hive communities (more here) and subscribe to Guzey’s Best of Twitter newsletter
Become a friendly ambitious nerd and develop good reply game by @visakanv.
Use @kevinakwok’s model of Twitter: Tapping a tuning fork and seeing who resonates.
Be excited by Twitter, but remember that mostly you just need to build & be helpful (1, 2)
Start a Blog
Start a Substack. Start by posting on a cadence: every Monday or once a month. It can be scary to post your idea online. I’m happy to read 1st drafts—send them to me.
How To Write Well by Rhys Lindmark
The Ultimate Guide to Writing Online by Tawfiq Hamid
The Great Online Game: How to Win the Internet by Packy McCormick
Jobs
Find a job by mapping the problem space by Nan Ransohoff
New Grads: Midstage Startups Are Your Best First Job in Tech by Hunter Walk
IV. Maximizing your impact
How to run an org
KoolAidFactory by Brie Wolfson
Speed as a Habit by Dave Girouard
Optimism Shapes Reality by Alexandr Wang
One-way vs. two-way doors by Jeff Bezos
Startup Playbook by Sam Altman
Everything We Teach at YC in 10 Minutes by Michael Seibel
Grants spreadsheet from 1517 Fund
19 Books To Run Your Startup by Rhys Lindmark