Vonnik’s Newsletter

Vonnik’s Newsletter delves into leveraging thought processes and insights across tech, historical contexts, and transformative ideas for personal and professional growth. It discusses first-principles thinking, fundraising tactics, biohacking, problem-solving strategies, combating distraction, the impact of AI in education, product development insights, sales approaches, and navigating societal issues.

Thought Processes Technology History Personal Growth Professional Development Health and Biohacking Education Product Development Sales and Marketing Societal Issues

The hottest Substack posts of Vonnik’s Newsletter

And their main takeaways

A Few Big Ideas That Made My Life Better

39 implied HN points • 15 Oct 24
🏥 Health & Wellness Mental health Self-Improvement Nutrition Physical Fitness Mindfulness
  1. Taking care of your body improves your mood and thoughts. Simple actions like exercising or breathing deeply can boost your energy and change how you see challenges.
  2. Making small changes in your habits is much easier than trying to change everything at once. Starting with tiny steps, like doing one pushup, helps build lasting habits.
  3. Being mindful of distractions and focusing your attention are key to reaching your goals. Managing your environment and your thoughts can help you stay on track.

How to Engage in "First-Principles Thinking"

19 implied HN points • 06 Feb 24
  1. First-principles thinking involves questioning assumptions and being ready for radical changes.
  2. Managers often misuse first-principles thinking by avoiding tradeoffs and prioritization.
  3. Success in first-principles thinking involves starting with a clear goal, asking why, and working backwards to reach that goal.

How to Raise an Early-Stage Round in 2024

19 implied HN points • 26 Jan 24
  1. Fund-raising is like event management - create excitement and line up investors
  2. Generate interest at volume through finding active investors and dedicated outreach
  3. Prioritize securing lead investors with aligned incentives for successful early-stage rounds

How to Extract Structure From the Mess of Life

19 implied HN points • 18 Jan 24
  1. Extracting structure from chaos is the first step to solving a problem.
  2. Problems like research and persuasion require extracting structure to be successful.
  3. Creating a persuasive argument involves establishing facts, values, and proposing solutions.

Energy Makes Time

19 implied HN points • 07 Sep 23
  1. Energy makes time - it's true and can change your life
  2. Biohacking involves making small health changes for big impacts
  3. Health can create a positive cycle of energy and focus
Get a weekly roundup of the best Substack posts, by hacker news affinity:

How to Fight Distraction (in a Crazy News Cycle)

1 HN point • 19 Oct 23
  1. The modern society and capitalism combine to manipulate our attention and create addiction, especially through news outlets and social media.
  2. Resisting addictive content involves sealing your mind from digital distractions and making valuable tasks more accessible.
  3. Fight behavioral addiction to online junk dopamine through tools like news feed eradicator, parental controls, black & white screen, focus time, roblocker, and more.

How to Be Lost

0 implied HN points • 23 Dec 23
  1. The best advice in life is often simple but hard to follow
  2. It's okay to be lost in the process of finding answers
  3. Successful searching involves living with uncertainty and doubting your hypotheses

You're Thinking About Product Wrong

0 implied HN points • 24 Oct 23
  1. Focus more on understanding users' needs and expectations when building a product.
  2. Talking to users directly is crucial for gaining insights and creating a successful product.
  3. Building a product is not just about features, but about how it serves the users' goals and fits into a larger system.

The Ghost of Vendors Past

0 implied HN points • 07 Nov 23
  1. Understanding how customers have been treated by other vendors is crucial in selling software.
  2. Founders must focus on building trust with potential customers to derisk adoption.
  3. Professionalism, customer-focus, and responsiveness are essential in the sales process.

Our Problems, Our Selves

0 implied HN points • 22 Sep 23
  1. Some people find part of their identity in the hard stuff they do.
  2. Accepting chronic pains can be easier than fighting against them every day.
  3. To solve a problem, individuals must believe that change is possible.

Iatrogenic Dynamics in Sales and Society

0 implied HN points • 07 Feb 24
  1. Iatrogenic harm in medicine can occur inadvertently due to various factors.
  2. Caregivers can create a demand for their services by causing the issues they claim to solve.
  3. Various industries, like software sales and activism, may maintain problems they offer solutions to.

ChatGPT and the New Abundance

0 implied HN points • 07 Feb 23
  1. Education is becoming more accessible and personalized through tools like ChatGPT.
  2. ChatGPT is expanding access to advice and insights, breaking down barriers to valuable conversations.
  3. Conversational AI like ChatGPT accelerates learning by providing unlimited domain expertise and personalized attention.

How to Be Less Dumb About Paraverbal Signals

0 implied HN points • 17 Apr 23
  1. Pay attention to paraverbal signals like tone, pace, and volume when communicating to adapt to the other party.
  2. Avoid being tone-deaf in communication by matching the communication style of the other party.
  3. In networking, use non-verbal signals like timing and lack of obligations to build relationships without being pushy.