Welcome to Issue #036 of Zen in the Art of Fighting

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Five Things Worth Sharing

1. Something I'm Writing: "Musk vs Zuck: Match of the Year?" (Substack)​

Over the last few weeks, I have spent an embarrassing amount of time thinking about Mark Zuckerberg's adventures in the world of BJJ and MMA, including his potential cage match with Elon Musk.

Instead of denying my fascination with the whole story or keeping my commentary about it strictly in text messages or mat-side conversions at the gym, I decided to lean into writing about it, full force.

The outcome? A longform piece that sits perfectly at the intersection of my interests in pop culture, tech, martial arts, and journalism. Some reader testimonials about the piece so far:

Whether you train BJJ or you just want to know who would win in a fight between Musk and Zuck, it's an entertaining, fast-moving piece with something for everyone. Check it out​ and ​become the most informed person about the brawling billionaires at your 4th of July BBQ.​

Last but not least: stars, stripes, and extra special thanks to E.$. for eyes and feedback on the early draft of this piece.

2. One Good Picture: My First Business Card

​I wrote about this picture on Linkedin earlier this week: it's from my last day of work as a Research Associate at Harvard Business School.

Almost ten years later, I feel so fortunate to have had a job where I was able to:

• Research a domain I was passionate about: the world of Chinese business and policy
• Publish pieces writing that people actually read--even if it was only 30 MBAs/year cramming case studies for their second-year electives)
• Have a boss who was equal parts brilliant and compassionate
• Meet some remarkable people that I've been fortunate to keep in my life and watch succeed.

When I worked at HBS, I secretly hoped that one day I might become interesting and successful enough to have a case study written about me. Many years later, I still think it would be badass to be the subject of a case study--HBS, my DMs are open--but in the meantime, I can always fall back on this case study I wrote about myself as a blog post in July 2014, a fitting conclusion to my two-years of working at the home of "The Case Method."

3. Something I'm Watching: Rio (2011)​

Bug recently decided that he wanted to expand his Brazilian Portuguese vocabulary beyond the usual starter pack of words that you typically pick up when training jiu-jitsu.

I don't know why he is doing this, short of trying to get a few extra laughs in the locker room at the gym, but I don't object to watching Rio as part of the exercise. The movie ages well, the music is great--if not better--in Portuguese (probably to be expected), and Rio is more PG than some of the other content he has decided to consume in efforts toward improving his comprehension of the language.

Aside: my guesses for what would be the top three words in a BJJ vocabulary starter pack: açai, combate, and oss even though oss isn't really a Portuguese word.

4. Something I'm Listening To: Founders Podcast Ep 301: Tiger Woods​

No idea how I discovered this podcast, but I love the premise: the host reads a biography of a successful individual and extracts the tidbits worth using in your everyday life. The target audience is entrepreneurs, but I think it has general appeal.

The episode I listened to was about Tiger Woods, but the part of the episode that stuck with me most was a tangent about Nike cofounder and legendary running coach of University of Oregon, Bill Bowerman.

This quotation from Bowerman was mentioned alongside discussion of Tiger's physical deterioration later in his career:

I love the simplicity of Bowerman's insight on training--but if only it were easy!

5. Something I'm Reading: Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Despite having both Daisy Jones and the Six or The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo on my "To Read" (and "To Watch") list, I prioritized reading a different book by Taylor Jenkins Reid: Carrie Soto is Back.​

Long before I cared about being good at jiu-jitsu, I cared about being good at tennis. I never had dreams of playing at the US Open, and my competitiveness never extended beyond the high school varsity team, but tennis was the first sport I ever practiced and watched with any degree of meaningful commitment.

Between my history with tennis and my recent experiences with jiu-jitsu, I was quickly sold by this one-liner endorsement: "An epic adventure about a female athlete perhaps past her prime, brought back to the tennis court for one last grand slam."

I'm about a third of the way through, and so far it's a great story of a character simultaneously rejecting and coming terms with various pieces of her life: her age, her career, her reputation, her relationship with her parents, and her place in life--all while giving her competitive ambitions one more do-or-die shot.

Also, the portrayal of Carrie's relationship with her father (who is also her coach) is tender, compelling, and believable.

Closing out: have a wonderful Fourth of July and see you next time,

EZ

PS: Sleep with one eye open so this hot dog doesn't steal your hot dogs at an Independence Day barbecue.