The inside story of NVIDIA

Tae Kim, author of The NVIDIA Way, recently described David Senra’s podcast recap of his book as a “tour de force.” I totally agree.

Senra’s Founders episode on Jensen Huang is a captivating dive into the journey from his humble beginnings — flipping burgers at a greasy Denny’s — to building one of the world’s most valuable companies.

To me, Jensen’s story embodies the uniquely American ideals of entrepreneurship: a blend of “excellence is the capacity to take pain,” relentless self-criticism, and an almost impossibly bold vision. If you want to understand how NVIDIA became the powerhouse it is today — and the mindset that fueled its rise — both the book and podcast are essential.

One of the standout quotes Senra highlights is a perfect window into Jensen’s mindset: “I have a very long-term horizon. I can be impatient about certain things but infinitely patient about others. I plug away.”

Key quote: “He says, ‘People with very high expectations have very low resilience. Resilience matters in success.’ Jensen said, ‘Greatness is not intelligence. Greatness comes from character.’ And in character, in Jensen’s view, it can only be gained and actually earned as a result of overcoming problems, setbacks, adversities, and refusing to quit. Perseverance is one of Jensen’s most valued traits, and it is also advice that he doles out.”

What investors can learn from ultra-marathoners

Here’s a pop quiz: What do Jensen Huang, ultramarathoners, and the world’s best investors have in common? One answer: an extraordinary capacity to endure — and manage — pain. Not just physical pain, but the mental and emotional strain of pushing beyond boundaries and staying committed in the face of adversity.

This week, in my Long Game column for Big Think, I shared one of my favorite stories about what runners call the “pain cave”: In 1983, a 61-year-old Australian potato farmer named Cliff Young showed up to an ultramarathon wearing overalls and work boots — and won.

His secret? While other competitors stopped to sleep, Young “shuffled” through the night — and just kept moving through the pain. “I reckon you have to keep your joints moving,” Young once said. “Absolutely. No matter what you do, you have to keep moving. If you don’t wear out, you rust out, and you rust out quicker than you wear out.”

Key quote: “Cliff not only finished the race — he won it. And not by a narrow margin. He beat the second-place runner by more than 10 hours. When reporters asked how he managed to pull off such an improbable victory, Cliff revealed that, as a sheep farmer, he had spent decades running across fields for days on end to round up livestock, often without rest. The endurance, born of necessity and grit, had prepared him for a challenge no one thought he could conquer.”

A few more links I enjoyed:

Inflection Points – Leaving the “Money Game” with Khe Hy and Lou Marchetti – via Michael Cordaro / Alliance Wealth Advisors

Key quote: “‍In this episode, Khe and Lou share how they each faced ‘identity earthquakes’ that forced them to reevaluate their lives and what was important to them. They talk about the challenges of leaving the ‘money game; in search of deeper fulfillment. Their stories highlight the pressures of maintaining an image, stepping away from the hamster wheel of chasing wealth without a purpose, and practical steps and questions they asked themselves as they work towards building more meaningful lives.”

Minimum Levels of Stress – via Morgan Housel

Key quote: “Imagine a fictional society that has unlimited wealth, unlimited health, and permanent peace. Would they be overflowing with joy? Probably not. I think their defining characteristic would be how trivial and absurd their grievances would be. They’d be enraged that their maid was 10 minutes late, stressed about whether their lawn was green enough, or despondent that their child didn’t get into Harvard.”

Is There a Problem with Passive Investing? – via Nick Maggiulli

Key quote: “While I agree that passive investing is likely distorting prices somewhere in the market, I doubt this is the case for the Magnificent 7 or the S&P 500 overall. So when Michael Green says that, ‘It’s not that people are really that blown away by Nvidia. It’s just that half the market doesn’t actually care and won’t sell you shares,’ I have to disagree.”

From the archives:

You Are Not Late – via Kevin Kelly (2014)

Key quote: “But, but … here is the thing. In terms of the internet, nothing has happened yet. The internet is still at the beginning of its beginning. If we could climb into a time machine and journey 30 years into the future, and from that vantage look back to today, we’d realize that most of the greatest products running the lives of citizens in 2044 were not invented until after 2014. People in the future will look at their holodecks, and wearable virtual reality contact lenses, and downloadable avatars, and AI interfaces, and say, oh, you didn’t really have the internet (or whatever they’ll call it) back then.”