Venkatesh Rao is a writer, consultant, and author. He has been writing about indie consulting for years and has recently published The Art of Gig, Volumes 1 & 2, which together take an in-depth look at the gig economy. Venkatesh joins the show to discuss tragic luck, becoming slightly nonsensical, the advantages of mediocrity, and a whole lot more! Important Links: - Venkatesh's Website https://venkateshrao.com/ - Venkatesh's Blog https://www.ribbonfarm.com/ - Venkatesh's Substack https://studio.ribbonfarm.com/ - Venkatesh's Twitter https://twitter.com/vgr - The Art of Gig: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2022/11/17/the-art-of-gig-books/ - The Art of Gig: our synthesis https://infiniteloops.substack.com/p/venkatesh-rao-the-art-of-gig - The Gervais Principle https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2009/10/07/the-gervais-principle-or-the-office-according-to-the-office/ Books Mentioned: - The Art of Gig: Volumes 1 & 2; by Venkatesh Rao - The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich; by Tim Ferriss - Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself; by Daniel H. Pink - The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life; by Paul Millerd - Tempo: timing, tactics and strategy in narrative-driven decision-making; by Venkatesh Rao - The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By; by Dan P. McAdams - Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life As Play and Possibility; by James Carse - Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity; by David Allen 00:00 Intro 01:04 Main Podcast 02:39 Origins of The Art of Gig 07:27 Paycheck People 13:34 Learning how to take risks 20:08 Is there a risk-taking gene? 30:53 The case for fixed-point futurism 38:36 Finding meaning 48:52 Personality types, narrative, and becoming a courageous thinker 59:45 Don’t get tragically lucky 01:11:42 Generational agency 01:19:56 Sparring, pressure and meaning making 01:27:36 Be slightly nonsensical 01:41:08 Teaching others to appreciate randomness 01:45:52 Towards infinite games; be mediocre 01:54:51 Understanding divergentism.