Ben Sampson Headshot

Hey, I'm Ben!

I build, buy, and invest in businesses.

I've had 2 successful exits. Way more failures.

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 - When inspiration strikes, act on it. - December 5, 2025 šŸš€

For those of you that are new here, every week I send what I call a 1x1x1.
​
One thought from my week.
One interesting find/tool from my week.
One image from my life.

Let's dive in šŸ‘‡

Thought from the week

When inspiration strikes, act on it.

I don’t know about you, but I get these bizarre pockets throughout the year where my output goes straight into video-game cheat code mode.

Like something unlocks in my brain and suddenly I’m cranking out ideas and progress at a rate that feels completely unfair to past (and future) versions of myself.

And when those moments hit, I’ve learned one rule: move.

Don’t negotiate with it.

Don’t schedule it.

Don’t add it to Asana.

Just go.

This week I got a reminder of that while I was shaving.

Not meditating.

Not journaling.

Not on a nature walk.

I was shirtless, half-foamed up like Santa Claus, when an idea landed for how we could improve our AI modeling inside Luna.

So I did what any reasonable entrepreneur would do: I immediately abandoned all grooming duties, sprinted to my computer, and started building (still wearing shaving cream).

My wife just sat there laughing as I spent the next two hours glued to my screen.

And that ridiculous little moment?

It produced the biggest performance improvement we’ve seen in months.

Rick Rubin has this perfect line for moments like this:

ā€œWhen you have an impulse, honor it. Don’t wait. Don’t second-guess. Follow it.ā€

So that’s the message:

When inspiration hits you out of nowhere, follow it.

When you feel that surge of creative energy, follow it.

When your brain suddenly drops a million-dollar breakthrough while you’re in a deeply inconvenient, mildly embarrassing situation, definitely follow it.

Don’t let the ā€œnormal constraintsā€ of where you should be working block the magic.

Great ideas don’t care about timing, location, or your personal hygiene.

Seize the moment. Even if you’re half-shaved.

Interesting Tool/Find

My latest brain unlock has been the piano magic of Gibran Alcocer.

Something about his music flips the switch for me.

I go from mildly functioning dad-entrepreneur to ā€œlet’s build an empire before nap time.ā€

It’s wild how one artist can unlock a whole new mental gear.

Image from my life

We went to my hometown of Mt. Shasta for Thanksgiving weekend.

I’m biased, but I think it’s one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

If you disagree, that’s fine. You’re just wrong. #shastafarian

See you all next week!