Jonathan Swanson

When you are overwhelmed by life, when you have more than you can possibly handle, your ambition just narrows because you're trying to get through the next 24 hours.

But to the extent you take...

this cognitive load off, you share it with someone else, this partner or assistant, you now have the cognitive space to think about bigger goals, bigger aspirations.

And so as you unlock more leverage, your ambition actually grows.

I've seen this in my own life during times with my first company, Thumbtack, when

you know, we're just drowning with all the work and the challenges.

I was just focused on that thing.

And there was no space in my mind to consider new aspirations.

But to the extent I've gotten more and more leverage over time, you know, what do you want to do with it?

Oh, it's like, do I want to start another company?

Do I want to, yeah, do more cool things for my friends?

And that's how your ambition can really grow.

Exactly, yeah.

You got to do the urgent so you have the right and the opportunity to do the important and to the extent you can offload the urgent, you get more of the important and that's a beautiful trade.

Absolutely.

I mean, we also have a limited number, a little amount of willpower and work ethic, right?

It's like,

I always say I can work 10% more, 20% more, but I can't work 10 times more.

And I can't have 10 times more willpower.

It's just impossible.