I send one action packed email a week called a 1x1x1 covering crazy cool businesses I spot, updates on what we're building and buying, and lessons from the journey of an entrepreneur. Ā
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Ben's 1x1x1 - History for happiness - March 27, 2026 š
For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1. ā One thought from my week. One interesting find/tool from my week. One image from my life.
Let's dive in š
Thought from the week
History is undefeated.
I meet with a lot of founders and lately thereās a theme:
AI is coming for their lunch, the economy is weird, politics areā¦politics, and the world feels like itās held together with duct tape and vibes.
Theyāre walking around like a personal thunderstorm follows them everywhere.
Cloud. Lightning. Occasional internal monologue of doom.
When that happens, I try to get them to zoom out.
Likeā¦way out.
I love history, especially US history. ā I'm currently reading Undaunted Courage, a book all about Lewis and Clark trekking across the U.S. when āGoogle Mapsā was just a compass that may or may not work.
And let me tell youā¦things were spicy back then.
People openly hated each other (not just in comment sections)
Duels were a legitimate conflict resolution strategy
Corruption? Everywhere. Like glitter. Impossible to get rid of
Someone sneezes... half the town is gone in a week
If you made it to 40, Andrew Hubberman would be like āwow elite longevity protocolā
And this was only 200 years ago.
Not the Dark Ages. Not cavemen.
Your great-great-great-great-grandparents were out there raw dogging existence.
No antibiotics. No HVAC. No Uber Eats.
Just vibes, dysentery, and a dream.
Reading stuff like that is honestly thrilling.
But more than that itās grounding.
Because it smacks you in the face (in a good way) with this realization:
We are living in the greatest time in human history.
Is everything perfect?
Obviously not.
Weāve got problems. Big ones.
AI, geopolitics, economic cycles, Costco ran out of organic almond butter, all of it.
But hereās the thingā¦
We have always had problems.
And historically? They were way worse.
Like āmight die on a Tuesday because someone coughed near youā worse.
Some of the happiest people I know read history.
And I donāt think thatās random.
Because when you regularly zoom out across centuries, today looks less like chaosā¦
and more like a miracle with WiFi.
So if youāve got that little rain cloud hovering over you right now, try this:
Pick up a history book.
Throw on the Hard Core History podcast.
Watch something like Inca civilization on Nat Geo (my wife and I are halfway through the series and yes, Iām aware of how old that makes us sound).
Perspective is powerful.
And history is the fastest way I know to get it.
Plus, worst case scenario, you learn that no matter how stressful your week isā¦
ā¦at least no one challenged you to a duel at 6am.
Interesting Tool/Find
My buddy Jordan put me onto Mobbin and Iāve been going down a full-blown design rabbit hole ever since.
If youāre building anything, web, mobile, spaceship control panel, itās basically cheat codes for good taste.
And in a world where design matters more than ever (because attention spans are now measured in milliseconds), this thing is wildly useful.
Itās like:
āOh, you want a clean onboarding flow?ā
Here are 47 of them. All better than yours.
āOh, pricing page?ā
Boom. Take your pick. Donāt reinvent the wheel, just make your wheel slightly cooler.
Honestly feels like stealing⦠but legal.
One thing I did notice thoughā¦
Mobbin hasnāt reached out to feature Lunaās design yet.
Which is surprising.
But Iām sure the invite just got lost in the mail.
Image from my life
Last week I made the drive to Truckee to go ski with my 84 year old grandfather. He's still tearing it up!
I send one action packed email a week called a 1x1x1 covering crazy cool businesses I spot, updates on what we're building and buying, and lessons from the journey of an entrepreneur. Ā