Mr. Beast on obsession, Quentin Tarantino on making for yourself, and Nike's company-building principles

Welcome back to the Z Fellows newsletter! Every Monday we share 3 ideas - to help you build companies, ship products, and create your life's work.

1: Mr. Beast on obsession

“Obsession, in the MrBeast world, is a prerequisite—not a quirk. It’s the fire behind every viral video, the invisible engine that pushes someone to study YouTube algorithms for 20 hours straight or solve a week-long problem in 30 minutes.

An ‘A-Player’ isn’t just good—they’re obsessed. They don’t clock in and clock out; they live and breathe YouTube, constantly learning, adapting, and solving problems before they even happen.

Obsession means you don’t make excuses. You track your bottlenecks daily, check in with contractors twice a day if needed, and protect your video’s critical components like your life depends on it.

It’s a mindset where even failure is fuel. If you aren’t obsessed, the work will outgrow you. And if you are? You become irreplaceable.”

Source: How to Succeed in Mr. Beast Production

2: Quentin Tarantino on making for yourself

“People ask me from time to time, do you make a movie with an audience in mind?

Yes, my answer is yes, I do.

But the audience I have in mind isn’t some faceless blob I’m trying to second-guess. It’s me. Not some focus group. It’s me.

I’m the audience. I’m the guy who goes out and pays $7 or $8 in New York to see a movie. If I’m excited about a movie, I see it on opening day.

I was betting — and I was a little surprised at how many there were — but I was betting that there are other people like me out there.

Now, I make specific films. And if you make a specific film, it’s not going to be everything for everybody. You’re going to turn some people off.

But you’re going to turn some people on too.”

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTM5_tTvd4I

3: Nike’s company-building principles

Best of The Week

See you next Monday,

- The Z Fellows Team

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