Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

PODCAST

Angela Duckworth: What/Who Brings Out The Best in Us?

Angela Duckworth changed the way millions of people think about achievement with her bestselling book Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance. Yet ten years later, she’s come to believe that grit and willpower are only part of the story.

In this conversation, Angela joins host Vivek Murthy to explore a powerful question: How much of who we become is shaped not just by what’s inside us, but by the people, places, and circumstances around us?

Drawing from her new book Situated: Find the People and Places That Bring Out Your Best, Angela shares what she’s learned about creating environments that bring out our best—from the objects within arm’s reach to the friends, mentors, workplaces, and communities we choose. She and Vivek also talk candidly about ambition, parenting, and the difference between pursuing something out of fear versus genuine purpose.

They also talk about why success and achievement can feel empty when we’re chasing it for the wrong reasons. Together, Angela and Vivek ask: What does it really mean to succeed? And how can we shape our lives around what matters most?

Watch the episode here.

QUOTE

INTERVIEW

Creative Entrepreneur / Kickstarter CEO Everette Taylor on The Importance Of Finding Inspiratio, Building Your Blueprint & Having Faith In Yourself

“I had no blueprint. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have any mentors—outside of my mom. There weren’t role models or anyone to teach me the ropes. I didn’t have a blueprint so I had to create my own, and I had to fail a lot, make a lot of mistakes. I feel very fortunate that even though there were times I messed up and made mistakes, I was able to keep pushing along.”

Read the full interview from 2023 here.

BOOK

Beautiful Particulars - How AI's attention to the smallest of differences is reshaping our biggest ideas by David Weinberger

A book I have added to ymy wishlist - out November.

Beautiful Particulars reframes artificial intelligence in terms of how it “sees” the world as the tiny differences among things

This changes everything, for the West has long taken sprawling universal truths and generalisations as the highest truths. From medicine to art, from science to everyday decisions, from morality to humour to the nature of reality, this book shows — in simple terms and good humor — how AI may be bringing our ideas closer to our actual experience.

Beautiful Particulars is set to change our current conversation about this incredible yet risky, new technology.

Pre-orders - Coming 3rd November 2026 from MIT Press.

WATCH

The Innovators Who Invented The World’s First Electronic Spreadsheet

Before Microsoft's Excel arrived on the scene, a Harvard MBA student and his former MIT classmate built the first spreadsheet software for the Apple II.

It was 1979 and Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston wanted to see their calculators come to life. They wanted to be able to change numbers in their calculations and update their final answers. By creating VisiCalc, the first electronic spreadsheet, that's exactly what they did.

Bricklin and Frankston would work at night because computer time was cheaper at night. They thought of it as a "visual calculator" and that is why they gave it the name VisiCalc. VisiCalc was such a crucial component of the Apple II that according to Frankston, "when Apple was going to go public, they couldn't go public until I found the last bug in the Apple II VisiCalc."

Watch the short feature here. NB This video was originally published on April 14th 2015.

Listen to my interview with Dan Bricklin here.

As always, thank you so much for reading the newsletter, and for listening to the podcast.

If you enjoy them both, please do feel free to like and share - my goal is for these stories to inspire and embolden as many as possible.

Danielle

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

PODCAST

You’re Living Through the Fastest Revolution in History | Tyler Cowen

Podcast host and author Michael Easter speaks with economist, writer and podcaster Tyler Cowen about how AI is changing our lives and what still matters for health, happiness, and ambition.

They discuss various questions including,

• Should we panic about the future?

• How AI makes you smarter vs stupider

• Why America stopped taking risks

• The case for free-range kids

• What hard travel teaches about happiness

• Why exercise is a great investment

• Why initiative now beats intelligence

• What Tyler Cowen will never hand over to AI
  

Tyler Cowen is a professor of economics at George Mason University and the economist and author of nearly 20 books, including The Complacent Class. He also hosts Conversations with Tyler.

Watch the great podcast episode here.

QUOTE

INTERVIEW

How Dyson Built a Global Empire on Failure & Creativity | Sir James Dyson

How many times are you willing to fail before you finally succeed?

In this episode of The Business of Creativity Series hosted by Sir John Hegarty, he talks with one of the greatest inventors and entrepreneurs of our time - Sir James Dyson.

Best known for revolutionising the vacuum cleaner and building a global technology empire, Sir James Dyson shares the brutal, brilliant, and often chaotic reality of the creative process. From making 5,127 failed prototypes of his first vacuum to managing a multi-billion dollar company, he opens up about why he values frustration over expertise, how to protect your creative vision, and the true business behind groundbreaking innovation.

Watch the full, fascinating interview here.

READ

I was sad to hear of Ben Rosen’s passing this week - a tech pioneer who helped shape Silicon Valley into the modern computing era.

“Rosen was widely recognised for his role in shaping our modern computer industry, first by investing in more than 100 technology start-ups, including Compaq (where he also served as founding chairman), Citrix Systems, Electronic Arts, Lotus Development, and Silicon Graphics. He also championed the movement toward an open PC architecture, which made hardware and software components from different manufacturers compatible, encouraging competition and making computers more accessible to the public.”

Read more from Caltech here.

Also, small mention of him in this great piece (from Morgan Stanley history) here via .

You may also like this piece I wrote on Marian Croak who was named in TIME’s top 100 people in AI, also this week. Marian Croak: The Architect of Modern Voice Communication - read here. As well as being an incredible inventor and innovator, she is currently VP, Responsible AI and Human Centered Technology, at Google

FILM

RAFA

RAFA - the new docu series on tennis ace Rafael Nadal is out on Netflix now.

Not everything behind a legend is visible on the court.

RAFA offers an unprecedented look into the life of one of sport’s all-time greats. Across four episodes, it follows his journey from childhood to his final ATP Tour season in 2024, featuring exclusive, never-before-seen footage and close access to his inner circle.

Beyond the trophies and victories, RAFA explores the human side of his career: the relentless effort, the physical and emotional strain, and the ongoing battle with his own limits. With contributions from figures such as Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and John McEnroe, as well as from his family and team, the series paints a distinctive portrait of his legacy both on and off the court.

Trailer here.

As always, thank you so much for reading the newsletter, and for listening to the podcast.

If you enjoy them both, please do feel free to like and share - my goal is for these stories to inspire and embolden as many as possible.

Danielle

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

PODCAST

He Built Apple’s First Computer - Steve Jobs Gave Him 0 Stock

Daniel Kottke met Steve Jobs at Reed College in 1972, travelled with him to India, and spent the summer of 1976 hand-assembling the very first Apple computers in the Jobs’ family garage in Cupertino, for $3 an hour.

He was among Apple's earliest employees, hand-wired the Macintosh prototypes, and left his signature cast inside every original Mac ever made. Apple is now worth $5 trillion.

In this podcast episode with host Derek Andersen, Daniel reveals what Steve Jobs was really like before Apple: the India trip, Steve's unexplained three-day disappearance in the Himalayas, and the private spiritual life behind the man. Daniel also walks through the Apple IPO stock option situation, why Steve, as head of the compensation committee, refused to discuss it, and how Steve Wozniak later quietly made it right.

The conversation goes deeper than Apple's mythology. Daniel reflects on what it means to be present at the birth of something historic and still leave without the rewards others received, and how a lifetime of curiosity became a richer kind of wealth than any stock certificate. "Luck often shows up wearing overalls, looking like hard work."

Watch the interview here.

QUOTE

“Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood.”

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

INTERVIEW

What's Beyond ChatGPT? The 'Godmother of AI' Has a Plan… with Dr Fei-Fei Li

Bloomberg’s Emily Chang meets with artificial intelligence pioneer and founder, Dr Fei-Fei Li to discuss her innovations in the field, her $1 billion startup - World Labs - and why she thinks the future of AI lies beyond chatbots.

Watch the interview here.

READ

Strange People … But Very Smart - What the people of New Jersey knew about Bell Labs that some of us had to learn from the inside by Roberto Pieraccini

I really enjoyed this piece on the interesting characters who worked at Bell Labs from a Bell Labs employee himself, Roberto Pieraccini.

“The reputation was not wrong, only imprecise. Most of the people at the Labs were not strange at all, only brilliant and a little unworldly, absorbed by their work to the point where convention simply fell away.”

Read the piece here. And if you enjoy it, you may like this from me - The Madness of Genius and The Tortured Souls Who Live With It.

WATCH

As kids return to school in the States and it was GCSE results this week, I found this talk from Professor Minhyong Kim - a South Korean mathematician - about his non-linear path fascinating, and a good reminder that kids can/will find their way, even if they don’t take the so-called “traditional” path.

Professor Minhyong Kim is a director and Edmund Whittaker professor at the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences in Edinburgh and holds a PhD from Yale University.

In this talk, he shares his highly atypical journey into mathematics, reflecting candidly on dropping out of school after primary school, not getting into physics, quitting philosophy after three weeks, and why his honest answer to what attracted him to mathematics might be "maybe nothing" — he views it primarily as an essential tool to understand the world rather than a subject he was ever drawn to for its own sake.

He also touches on growing up with literature professors for parents who let him do whatever he wanted, his teenage ambitions to become a composer and then a singer, the fifteen popular books he has written, and his current project, A Mathematician Reads Philosophy.

He offers a comforting perspective on dealing with poor concentration, drifting between interests, and why young people should remember that the world is ultimately a generous place.

Key Takeaways:
A Non-Linear Path: You don't need a rigid, traditional trajectory or early mathematical talent to make a career in science.

Mathematics as a tool: Maths is an indispensable key to unlocking physics, economics, and understanding the universe around us.

Compensating for Weaknesses: If you lack intense single-focus concentration, returning to concepts repeatedly over many years can yield deep understanding.

The World is Generous:
Despite setbacks, career pressure, or slow starts, life offers many pathways to thrive.

Watch the talk here.

As always, thank you so much for reading the newsletter, and for listening to the podcast.

If you enjoy them both, please do feel free to like and share - my goal is for these stories to inspire and embolden as many as possible.

Danielle

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

PODCAST

I re…

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

It always saddens me when I only discover the life of an extraordinary person after they have passed away.

That is one of the reasons I share so many stories of innovators, pioneers, and leaders throughout history. I want as many people as possible to be inspired and emboldened by their journeys—and I want those individuals to receive the recognition the…

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more

Welcome to The Art of The Impossible, the weekly newsletter where I unearth five pieces of content which I hope will both inspire and embolden you.

When I was in the depths of working in startups, I always wished I could find some respite and inspiration on my weekends, and this newsletter is the thing I wish existed so I do hope you enjoy it.

Read more