Space Week – Mo Islam (My Favorite Books, Tools, Habits and More)

20 Minute Playbook: Tactics, Routines, and Habits of World-Class Performers

We’re joined by Mo Islam, Payload’s Co-Founder. We cover lessons we can learn from the Apollo space era, why killing them with kindness is the best option, and why founders should stay focused on what they love.

“Hubris kills startups and humility saves them. No matter what your success level is or may not be, it's really important to always be humble about what you're building and what you're doing because it can change at the drop of a hat.” – Mo Islam

EPISODE GUIDE (LINKS, QUOTES, NOTES, AND BOOKS MENTIONED)

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/mo-islam-playbook

FULL TEXT TRANSCRIPT

https://www.danielscrivner.com/notes/mo-islam-playbook-transcript

CHAPTERS

In this episode, we deconstruct Mo Islam’s peak performance playbook—from their favorite book to the tiny habit that's had the biggest impact on their life. In it we cover:

• (00:00:00) – Introduction
• (00:01:40) – Clearing up misconceptions about space
• (00:03:06) – Kill them with kindness, embrace the boredom
• (00:05:30) – Learning from Phillippe Laffont and Engines That Move Markets
• (00:07:33) – Hubris kills startups; humility saves them
• (00:09:18) – Focus on what you love
• (00:12:02) – Learning from the Apollo era
• (00:13:15) – Relying on to-do lists and the Notes app
• (00:15:53) – Do what matters, change people’s lives for the better

ABOUT MO ISLAM

Mo Islam is co-founder of Payload, which is building a media empire dedicated to covering the business and policy of space, as in outer space. We discovered Payload and immediately subscribed to their daily newsletter after it was recommended by Delian Asparouhov, co-founder of Varda Space Industries, in Episode 71. We asked Delian what newsletters and websites he used to stay on top of everything going on in space, and he had only one answer: Payload Space.

Mo Islam has a fascinating background in finance, having worked at J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank before co-founding Payload. In this episode, Mo shares why hubris kills startups and humility saves them, what he's learned from incredible investors like Philippe Laffont at Coatue, and why he loves the book Engines That Move Markets, which we had never heard of but immediately ordered after recording this episode with him.

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ABOUT OUTLIER ACADEMY

Learn timeless lessons on work and life from iconic founders, world-renown investors, and bestselling authors. Outlier Academy is the forever school for those chasing greatness. Past guests include Gokul Rajaram of DoorDash, Scott Belsky of Benchmark and Adobe, Joey Krug of Pantera Capital, Mark Sisson of Primal Kitchen, Luke Gromen of The Forest for the Trees, and Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Website: https://www.outlieracademy.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/outlieracademy

ABOUT DANIEL SCRIVNER

Outlier Academy is hosted by Daniel Scrivner. Over the last 15 years, Daniel has led design teams at Square and Apple, turned around a $3M+ ARR SaaS business, and invested in more than 100 companies. He launched Outlier Academy in 2020 to learn from the world’s best founders, investors, authors, and peak performance experts.

Website: https://www.danielscrivner.com

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/danielscrivner

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