This edition is brought to you by The Last Invention

Good morning to all new and old readers! Here is your Wednesday edition of Faster Than Normal, exploring one short story about a person, a company, a high-performance tool, a trend I’m watching closely, and curated media to help you build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself. 

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Today’s edition:

Cheers,
Alex

P.S. Send me feedback on how we can improve. I respond to every email.

Stories of Excellence

Person: Mark Twain

Mark Twain, born Samuel Clemens in 1835, was a literary giant who shaped American humor and storytelling. He grew up in Missouri, worked as a riverboat pilot, and later found fame as a writer and lecturer. His experiences on the Mississippi River inspired classics like "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn". Twain's wit was sharp and his observations keen. "It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt," he once quipped. Despite financial troubles later in life, Twain's impact on literature endured. He died in 1910, leaving a legacy of humor, social commentary, and unforgettable characters.

Key Lessons from Mark Twain:

• On authenticity: "If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."

• On risk-taking: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."

• On self-belief: "All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure."

• On learning: "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Read More.

Company: Honeywell

Honeywell was founded in 1906 by Mark Honeywell as the Honeywell Heating Specialty Company in Wabash, Indiana. The company initially focused on hot water heating systems, leveraging Honeywell's invention of the mercury seal generator. In 1927, Honeywell merged with Minneapolis Heat Regulator Company, expanding into temperature controls. The company went public in 1927 and entered the aerospace industry in the 1940s. Through strategic acquisitions and innovations, Honeywell diversified into various sectors including automation, safety, and productivity solutions. By 2024, Honeywell had grown to a Fortune 100 company with over $35 billion in revenue and approximately 97,000 employees worldwide, operating in over 70 countries.

Key Lessons from Honeywell:

• On innovation: Sometimes, boring is beautiful. Honeywell's success often came from incremental improvements to unsexy products like thermostats. Not every innovation needs to be flashy.

• On talent: Hire the misfits. Honeywell's early success in aerospace came from hiring ex-military engineers who didn't fit in at other companies. These oddballs brought unique perspectives that drove innovation.

Read More.

The Next Chapter of Intelligence

We’re entering a moment where machines are beginning to think, create, and reason alongside us.

I wrote The Last Invention to explore what that really means—not through hype or fear, but with curiosity and clarity. How will intelligence reshape work, creativity, and meaning? What will remain distinctly human?

It’s a reflection on where technology is taking us and how we might navigate the transition with wisdom instead of worry.

If you’ve found value in my writing, please consider supporting my work by ordering the ebook on Gumroad or Amazon. I think you’ll genuinely enjoy it.

Read The Last Invention.

Accelerants

High-performance tool

⎯

Wait, What?

A method to avoid jumping to conclusions or making snap judgements.

When someone presents an idea, opinion, or a belief, ask "Wait, What?"

It reminds you to slow down.

To make sure you truly understand and can respond thoughtfully.

Insights

Tactical reads

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> When considering the economic value of priceless goods
The Economics of Pricelessness (Read it here)

> When balancing process vs. outcomes in goal pursuit
Staying With It: Design vs Marching, Lead vs Lag, Process vs Outcome, Trend Upwards vs HOHW (Read it here)

1 question

That’s all for today, folks. As always, please give me your feedback. Which section is your favourite? What do you want to see more or less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know.

Have a wonderful rest of week, all.

Recommendation Zone

⎯

Build Global Teams, Save Smart

Hiring remote talent has been one of the most impactful decisions I’ve made, supporting everything from marketing and customer support to operations and admin.

I’ve used Athyna, a global talent platform that helps companies quickly hire top professionals from talent-rich regions like Latin America, Southeast Asia, and Africa — often delivering up to 70% cost savings. They move fast (under 5 days), and cover roles across engineering, marketing, design, and ops.

Athyna sources talent from companies like Facebook, Uber, Zoom, and Salesforce, so you’re not sacrificing quality, just unlocking global efficiency. Highly recommend giving them a look.

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Alex Brogan

Find me on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok

Offshore Talent: Where to find the best offshore talent. Powered by Athyna.

Why Faster Than Normal? Our mission is to be a friend to the ambitious, a mentor to the becoming, and a partner to the bold. We achieve this by sharing the stories, ideas, and frameworks of the world's most prolific people and companies—and how you can apply them to build businesses, wealth, and the most important asset of all: yourself.

Faster Than Normal is a ‘state' of being’ rather than an outcome. Outlier performance requires continuous, compounded improvement. We’re your partner on this journey.

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