kadavy.net
type: channel
description: Get to know David Kadavy
date: 2026-06-05T21:19:09Z
update period: hourly
update frequency: 1
update base: 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00
generator agent: https://wordpress.org/
items: Why there’s too much to do (it’s YOUR birthday, too?)
items: Why the Curious Peak Late
items: Not finishing what you start is actually pretty smart
items: 3 new articles this week
items: 47 lessons from 47 years
items: 1st Quarter 2026 Income Report
items: Hours left, stretch goal reached (audiobook included!)
items: Finish What Matters Preview Edition (briefly) re-opened
items: The hidden cost of Shiny Object Syndrome
items: Stretch goal for Finish What Matters: audiobook for all

Why there’s too much to do (it’s YOUR birthday, too?)
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-06-05T21:16:31Z
subject: Creative Productivity
description: This article originally appeared on Maximum Reverie » Two questions that don’t seem related, but are: Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed, like there’s too much to do? How many people do you need before two have the same birthday? The birthday problem is a paradox because the solution is unbelievable. The way we get that
encoded: This article originally appeared on Maximum Reverie » Two questions that don’t seem related, but are: Do you sometimes feel overwhelmed, like there’s too much to do? How many people do you need before two have the same birthday? The birthday problem is a paradox because the solution is unbelievable. The way we get that solution shows us why you have more on your to-do list than you could ever hope to get done. To be sure of a birthday match, we’d need 366 in a room – one for each day of the year, and one additional person, whose birthday will be the same as at least one of the rest. The really surprising answer comes when we ask how many we need for a 50% chance of a shared birthday. Intuitively, we want to solve this problem linearly. So if we draw a line from zero people, with zero chance of a match, to 366 people, with a 100% chance of a match, it seems that for a 50% chance, we’d need half that – about 183 people. <img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11196" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03-01-birthday-intuitive-350x207.png" alt="" width="350" height="207" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03-01-birthday-intuitive-350x207.png 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03-01-birthday-intuitive-750x443.png 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03-01-birthday-intuitive-768x453.png 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03-01-birthday-intuitive.png 1088w" sizes="(max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> The actual path to the solution shows us why each thing we take on adds more to our to-do lists than we expect. Is it just “one more thing?” If we start with two people in a room, we have one potential for a match – represented below by a line connecting them. <img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11197" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/03-03-birthday-two-people-350x59.png" alt="" width="350" height="59" srcset="h…

Why the Curious Peak Late
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-05-21T22:49:05Z
subject: Creative Productivity
description: This article originally appeared on Maximum Reverie » In 1513, Raphael was making a fortune essentially as a more-reliable Leonardo. At thirty, Raphael had already done his best work. Leonardo, in his sixties, was just across the courtyard, still working on the Mona Lisa. Were it not for Michelangelo’s ceiling down the hallway, Raphael’s giant
encoded: This article originally appeared on Maximum Reverie » In 1513, Raphael was making a fortune essentially as a more-reliable Leonardo. At thirty, Raphael had already done his best work. Leonardo, in his sixties, was just across the courtyard, still working on the Mona Lisa. Were it not for Michelangelo’s ceiling down the hallway, Raphael’s giant murals in the pope’s apartment would have been the undisputed greatest accomplishment in Renaissance painting. While completing those, he had also been painting dozens of portraits for the pope and his closest friends. Raphael was incredibly prolific. Leonardo would only finish maybe a dozen paintings in his lifetime, and his most-famous Mona Lisa was only the size of a serving tray. Raphael had at this point been steadily employed for years at the Vatican. Leonardo had just arrived, and wouldn’t last long. He would soon leave all the noblemen and clergy in Italy that might have served as his patrons and make an arduous trek 700 miles over the Alps, to find work. He would never return. Perhaps there is a Raphael you compare yourself to. Someone who cranks out one thing after another, while you struggle to achieve a vague vision of a masterpiece. Someone younger and faster, who you watch achieve rapid success while you toil in obscurity. On the surface, it may seem they are more talented, disciplined, or focused. If you look closely, you may find you’re merely more curious. The economist David Galenson wondered, At what point in painters’ careers do they produce their best work? As you might expect from an economist, he started by tracking paintings’ values at auction. He then measured influence by tracking how often each piece was cited in art history books. Galenson expected to find a neat pattern, such as that more- or less-experienced painters did more valuable and influential work. Instead, he found two distinct trajectories: One group peaked early, the other peaked late. Two archetypal examples are Picasso and Cézanne. Pi…

Not finishing what you start is actually pretty smart
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-05-15T23:12:10Z
subject: Creativity
description: This article originally appeared on Maximum Reverie » The man who published 500 left 150 unfinished – and that’s just the beginning. His unique paper trail provides clues on how creative works get done (or don’t). When Niklas Luhmann1 began his professorship at the University of Bielefeld, he stated an ambitious plan: “My project: theory
encoded: This article originally appeared on Maximum Reverie » The man who published 500 left 150 unfinished – and that’s just the beginning. His unique paper trail provides clues on how creative works get done (or don’t). <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-11168" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/niklas-luhmann-298x350.png" alt="" width="298" height="350" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/niklas-luhmann-298x350.png 298w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/niklas-luhmann-750x880.png 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/niklas-luhmann-768x901.png 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/niklas-luhmann.png 960w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 298px) 100vw, 298px" /> When Niklas Luhmann1 began his professorship at the University of Bielefeld, he stated an ambitious plan: “My project: theory of society. Time to complete: thirty years.” He went on to publish a 1,200-page magnum opus. Its topic: theory of society. Time to publish: thirty years. That’s the kind of planning and foresight we imagine having when we take on creative projects. You begin dreaming about a seven-book epic fantasy series, or a chain of innovative learning centers strewn about the country. But somewhere around 10,000 words or page seven of the business plan, something happens. It looks like you just lose motivation, higher priorities get in the way, or life throws you a curveball. But what if it’s something simpler than all that? What if you don’t finish what you start because it makes perfect sense? Luhmann’s book, Theory of Society, covers in great detail every aspect of society, from law to commerce, from politics to love. On the surface, it’s incredible someone could state such an ambitious plan that spanned decades, then carry it out perfectly. But when we look closer it seems almost like what Bob Ross would have called “a happy accident.” More than a quarter century after Luhmann’s death, his writing and re…

3 new articles this week
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-05-07T22:01:30Z
subject: Miscellaneous
description: I published three new articles on Substack this week: Why the Curious Peak Late: When you’re curious it takes longer to build your foundation. Not finishing what you start is actually pretty smart: The unique paper trail of the man who published 500 – and left 150 unfinished – tells us a lot about how
encoded: I published three new articles on Substack this week: Why the Curious Peak Late: When you’re curious it takes longer to build your foundation. Not finishing what you start is actually pretty smart: The unique paper trail of the man who published 500 – and left 150 unfinished – tells us a lot about how creative work gets done (or doesn’t). 47 lessons from 47 years: self-explanatory. What’s up with the Substack? This flurry of Substack articles is part of what Finish What Matters Preview Edition readers will recognize as a period of “coming up for air.” After years of inductively writing a book, I’m deductively revisiting the concepts in various mediums – Substack articles being one of them. The goal is not only to iterate on the ideas so they come out more crisply, but also to get a feel for viable marketing channels for when the book launches. If it’s confusing to decide whether to stay subscribed here or subscribe on Substack, I apologize! I myself am a little confused where to put my work in this world of so many walled gardens, and Substack may be a promising channel to get my work in front of more people. If you’d like to help, I’d appreciate you subscribing to my Substack publication, Maximum Reverie. Perhaps these articles will all be syndicated here on the blog at some point, but for this moment Substack is the focus of my experimentation.

47 lessons from 47 years
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-05-04T21:59:44Z
subject: Miscellaneous
description: As of today, I have been alive for 47 years. Here is everything I’ve learned: (I’ve also published this over on Substack, where I’m doing a short (for now) publishing experiment you might want to subscribe and be a part of.) Whenever possible, act now. You’re worth so much more than your eyeballs. What you
encoded: As of today, I have been alive for 47 years. Here is everything I’ve learned: (I’ve also published this over on Substack, where I’m doing a short (for now) publishing experiment you might want to subscribe and be a part of.) Whenever possible, act now. You’re worth so much more than your eyeballs. What you think is “all in your head,” may actually be in your body. Find a good doctor. Trust your subconscious. It knows your path better than you do. Get therapy. You’re bombarded with mediocre opportunities. Thus, it’s your challenge to ignore mediocre opportunities. You’re bombarded with mediocre friendships and relationships. Thus, it’s your challenge to ignore mediocre friendships and relationships. Most people are dying to distract themselves from their own thoughts. There is a lot of money to be made in distracting people from their own thoughts. Thus, everything around you is built to help people distract themselves from their own thoughts. So, ignore most everything, and make space for your own thoughts. Nobody reads the whole article before commenting. Nearly everybody is “juicing.” They’re making themselves sick trying to catch up with one another. Thus, your challenge is to catch up with your self. You can only know so much. And, your brain is ruled by biases. Thus, you can hardly trust what you think you know. And, you can only know so much about a person. So, if you feel jealous when comparing yourself to someone else, you’re wrong. Take improv classes. It will get you out of your head, and into the moment. Take voice lessons. It really is possible to improve your singing. Only sing in a key that is comfortable for you. Take lessons in a social dance (Salsa, Swing, Tango, etc.) You’ll learn to cooperate, and you’ll have instant community anywhere you travel. Traveling sucks. It’s much better to live in different places for short bursts. What you think is a personality flaw may just be the bad influence of the place where you live. What you think sucks about …

1st Quarter 2026 Income Report
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-05-01T22:17:31Z
subject: Income Reports
description: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » Revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was: January: $6,269 February: $2,918 March: $1,967 Q1 Total: $11,155 Q4 2025’s revenue was $11,883. Q1 2026 profits were: January: $5,386 February: $2,217 March: $478 Q1 Total: $8,081 Q4 2025’s profit was $7,724. First quarterly
encoded: To listen to an audio version of this report, join the Patreon » Revenue for the first quarter of 2026 was: January: $6,269 February: $2,918 March: $1,967 Q1 Total: $11,155 Q4 2025’s revenue was $11,883. Q1 2026 profits were: January: $5,386 February: $2,217 March: $478 Q1 Total: $8,081 Q4 2025’s profit was $7,724. First quarterly income report I’ve talked in past reports about my doubts over how much time these reports take to compile, and whether the juice was worth the squeeze. As the months of 2026 went by, I decided to try a quarterly report. This compresses the time investment both in bookkeeping and report writing. Doing three months of books does not take thrice as much time as one, and writing a quarterly report doesn’t take much longer than a monthly one. For data consistency, however, I’m still recording each month’s numbers separately. There’s also the question of how big a ship I am steering. While the ship isn’t currently “big” in terms of revenue, it has certainly gotten bigger over the years in terms of complexity. More books to track means more complicated to collect data. Yet after years of writing these reports I have a better idea of what my business does and I feel I’ve improved my focus and decision-making. So it’s not as advantageous for me to think things over on a monthly basis as it once was. So maybe quarterly will suffice? Records In past months I’ve been breaking lots of record lows in revenue and profit. In fact, March marks a record-low twelve-month income, at $49,474. But, that record low was on a five-month streak which was briefly broken in January, at $52,221. However, profit has trended back up to $31,888 at the end of March, from the record-low of $25,771 in December. That’s because expenses have been lower. March marks the end of a four-month streak of record-low twelve-month ad spend, with $10,528. The streak started in December with $17,599, the lowest since December 2019, when it was $18,214. (If there was advertising that cl…

Hours left, stretch goal reached (audiobook included!)
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-04-02T18:51:46Z
subject: Books
description: Just a quick post to let you know that the stretch goal has been reached for the briefly re-opened Finish What Matters Preview Edition. This means that every Preview Edition customer will get the audiobook (when it comes out). I’ve been making arrangements to produce a top-notch audiobook (read by me) with The Block House (Tim Ferriss,
encoded: Just a quick post to let you know that the stretch goal has been reached for the briefly re-opened Finish What Matters Preview Edition. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11101" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IMG_F405B5AE6204-1-176x350.jpeg" alt="" width="176" height="350" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IMG_F405B5AE6204-1-176x350.jpeg 176w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IMG_F405B5AE6204-1-750x1489.jpeg 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IMG_F405B5AE6204-1-768x1524.jpeg 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IMG_F405B5AE6204-1-774x1536.jpeg 774w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IMG_F405B5AE6204-1-1032x2048.jpeg 1032w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/IMG_F405B5AE6204-1.jpeg 1125w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 176px) 100vw, 176px" /> This means that every Preview Edition customer will get the audiobook (when it comes out). I’ve been making arrangements to produce a top-notch audiobook (read by me) with The Block House (Tim Ferriss, Ryan Holiday, Paul Millerd), so I’m very excited we have reached this goal and I hope you are too! As I write this, there are about 5 hours left to join (closing 7 p.m. Central Time). Six of the ten chapters are available for reading right now. Join the Preview Edition now »

Finish What Matters Preview Edition (briefly) re-opened
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-03-24T22:43:42Z
subject: Books
description: After a couple months of extra-focused writing I’ve re-opened the Preview Edition of Finish What Matters. You can get instant access to most of the Preview Edition (6/10 chapters ~27,000 words) by joining right now. I’ve even re-instated the stretch goal, which you can see on the page. Notice that you can also gain access
encoded: After a couple months of extra-focused writing I’ve re-opened the Preview Edition of Finish What Matters. You can get instant access to most of the Preview Edition (6/10 chapters ~27,000 words) by joining right now. I’ve even re-instated the stretch goal, which you can see on the page. Notice that you can also gain access to the recordings of the series of classes I’ve delivered over previous weeks. The rest of the chapters will be delivered on the schedule, as listed, well before the first-edition release. I’m very excited to be even closer to finishing, with readers already benefiting from this book. I hope you will join, and be a part of making it a reality.

The hidden cost of Shiny Object Syndrome
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-02-01T13:09:50Z
subject: Creative Productivity
description: Just a few days left to join the Finish What Matters Preview Edition » What’s the harm in taking on one more project? We can get some idea by asking the question, How many people need to be in a room before two have the same birthday? The answer is counterintuitive, and sheds light on
encoded: Just a few days left to join the Finish What Matters Preview Edition » What’s the harm in taking on one more project? We can get some idea by asking the question, How many people need to be in a room before two have the same birthday? The answer is counterintuitive, and sheds light on the hidden complexity that holds us back from finishing what we start. To be totally sure at least two have the same birthday, you’d need 366 people in a room (assuming no leap birthdays), but it gets really interesting when we ask how many it takes to have a 50/50 chance. Using rough intuitive math, you might figure, There are 365 potential birthdays, so maybe about 180 people for a 50% chance two have the same? If you have two people in a room, you have one potential shared birthday. When you add just one more person to the room, the number of potential shared birthdays triples. When you go from three to four people, the potential shared birthdays jump from three to six. To have a 50% chance two people have the same birthday, you only need twenty three people. By that point, there are 253 potential shared birthdays. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11042" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/03-04-23-people-350x309.png" alt="" width="350" height="309" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/03-04-23-people-350x309.png 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/03-04-23-people-750x663.png 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/03-04-23-people-768x679.png 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/03-04-23-people-1536x1358.png 1536w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/03-04-23-people.png 1554w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> The birthday paradox is a paradox because it is hard for our brains to grasp this rapid rise in connections. Now try to apply this to your creative projects, and everything else in your life. Let’s say you have your day job, your home l…

Stretch goal for Finish What Matters: audiobook for all
type: item
creator: David Kadavy
date: 2026-01-29T01:29:15Z
subject: Books
description: I have now reached my initial funding goal for the Finish What Matters Preview Edition! I’ve cooked up a very cool stretch goal: Free audiobook for all (Preview Edition customers). I’ve already been in talks with The Block House in Austin about producing the audiobook – to be read by me (they do audio for Ryan
encoded: I have now reached my initial funding goal for the Finish What Matters Preview Edition! <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11034" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-preview-goal-reached-350x212.png" alt="" width="350" height="212" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-preview-goal-reached-350x212.png 350w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-preview-goal-reached-750x455.png 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-preview-goal-reached-768x466.png 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-preview-goal-reached.png 970w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px" /> I’ve cooked up a very cool stretch goal: Free audiobook for all (Preview Edition customers). I’ve already been in talks with The Block House in Austin about producing the audiobook – to be read by me (they do audio for Ryan Holiday, Tim Ferriss, and Paul Millerd). If I can reach $5,500 total proceeds from the Preview Edition, I will give the audiobook to all Preview Edition customers, at all levels. <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-11035" src="http://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-audiobook-bookfunnel-mockups-334x350.jpg" alt="" width="334" height="350" srcset="https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-audiobook-bookfunnel-mockups-334x350.jpg 334w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-audiobook-bookfunnel-mockups-750x785.jpg 750w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-audiobook-bookfunnel-mockups-768x804.jpg 768w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-audiobook-bookfunnel-mockups-1467x1536.jpg 1467w, https://kadavy.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/fwm-audiobook-bookfunnel-mockups.jpg 1674w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 334px) 100vw, 334px" /> The audiobook will be delivered in the BookFunnel app, available on your favorite device, and available for download on MP3 – estimated delivery: Sept…