#081 – The Mafia & The Tortoise

Good morning everyone,

Hope you’re having a great week!

Let’s jump in.

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read time 3 minutes 

#081 at a Glance:

• Quote: Why I love the mining industry.

• Podcast: Inside the Italian Mafia.

• Video: Kerry Packer’s mastery of critical debate.

• Short Story: The Tortoise, The Elephant, & The Hippopotamus.

• Tweet: Do The Thing.

Quote I’ve been thinking about:

Honestly, what more could you want?

Ticks all of the boxes.

Absolutely loving my time up here in Queensland.

Podcast I listened to:

The Diary Of A CEO with Steven Bartlett: Michael Franzese

Michael Franzese is an American former mafia member who served as a caporegime in the Colombo crime family.

In this conversation, Michael and Steven discuss:

• Why Michael threw away a career in medicine to join the mafia;

• The structure and operations of a mafia family;

• What happens at a ‘Mafia Sitdown’;

• How one becomes a ‘made guy’;

• How he ran the world’s biggest gas station scam;

• How he overcame the betrayal of his father; and

• His experience of 21 months and 7 days in solitary confinement.

Brutally captivating.

A real peek behind the curtain of mafia secrecy that I’ve always been curious to learn about.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.

[Podcast Length: 2 hours 8 minutes]

Video I watched:

Kerry Packer – House of Representatives Select Committee on Print Media 

4th of November 1991.

Kerry Packer’s entire 2-hour appearance in front of the House of Representatives Select Committee on Print Media.

An absolute masterclass in critical debate, human behaviour, and navigating power dynamics in business and politics.

You may have seen the iconic clip of Kerry Packer discussing taxes in Australia circulating on social media…

Well, this is the original video.

Incredibly fascinating.

Give it a watch. It’s worth the time.

Short Story that got me thinking:

The Tortoise, The Elephant, & The Hippopotamus

Came across this short story that got me reflecting on a number of concepts whilst reading The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene:

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One day, the tortoise met the elephant, who trumpeted, “Out of my way, you weakling – I might step on you!”

The tortoise was not afraid and stayed where he was, so the elephant stepped on him, but could not crush him.

“Do not boast, Mr Elephant, I am as strong as you are!” said the tortoise, but the elephant just laughed. So the tortoise asked him to come to his hill the next morning.

The next day, before sunrise, the tortoise ran down the hill to the river, where he met the hippopotamus, who was just on his way back into the water after his nocturnal feeding.

“Mr Hippo! Shall we have a tug-of-war? I bet I’m as strong as you are!” said the tortoise.

The hippopotamus laughed at this ridiculous idea, but agreed.

The tortoise produced a long rope and told the hippo to hold it in his mouth until the tortoise shouted “Hey!”

Then the tortoise ran back up the hill where he found the elephant, who was getting impatient.

He gave the elephant the other end of the rope and said, “When I say ‘Hey!"‘ pull, and you’ll see which of us is the strongest.

Then he ran halfway back down the hill to a place where he couldn’t be seen, and shouted, “Hey!”

The elephant and the hippopotamus pulled and pulled, but neither could budge the other – they were of equal strength.

They both agreed that the tortoise was as strong as they were.

– Zairean Fable

Tweet I liked:

Do The Thing.

Thanks for reading! Grateful for your support.

Stay hungry, stay humble, stay curious. ⚡

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