I began reading Koch's works after listening to his recent discussion with Tim. I searched for "80/20 principle Tim Ferris" on Spotify and found a dialogue between Tim and Richard. A few weeks later, while driving to a wedding in Canada with my spouse, I stumbled upon a new episode featuring Tim and Richard. I had no idea how much their latest conversation would influence my thinking.
After the wedding, I purchased one of Richard's books from Amazon. Although I initially considered his 80/20 Principle book, I ultimately selected his more recent work, titled "Unreasonable Success and How to Achieve It."
Lately, I have found the practice of selecting titles like this to be cliché. However, there is a distinction between what can be conveyed in a sentence versus the substance of an entire book. Despite the title, I purchased it based on Koch's insights about toxic beliefs with Tim.
At the beginning of Koch's "Unreasonable Success", there is a map with various points marked as integral to achieving unreasonable success. One of the later points on the map involves driving your own vehicle. Koch positions these points based on what he declares steps that lead you to unreasonable success.
Richard discusses two types of vehicles. The latter is associated with achieving unreasonable success, but I want to focus on the vehicles that one starts with, vehicles one can jump into, in other words, borrowed from others.
After reading about the vehicle chapter, I realized I had recently encountered two vehicles - REPU and a Ph.D. program. While both led me to my current position, I ultimately veered away from them. The Ph.D. program initially set me on an intellectual path, but nowadays, switching from academia to practically any field is more flexible. Conversely, REPU, a volunteer organization, allowed me to collaborate with fantastic individuals and make a difference through service.
I used to love the Ph.D. and REPU, but lately, something has felt odd. After reading the chapter about vehicles in Koch's book, I realized it's because I chose to move away from these two vehicles. I'm now embarking on an exciting new adventure of looking inside myself, but this looking at myself requires patience and time.