Hezbollah is here
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Hezbollah is here
Learning how to learn
Introduction
Alice goes to Zurich to investigate the Hezbollah money trail and gets into a gun fight.
Bob and Alice escape to Rome and Alice has a dream.
10 things about learning how to learn.
Zurich
Thursday afternoon at 2PM she arrives in Zurich. It’s raining and cool at 65 C in Zurich. It’s a welcome relief after the overpowering 95 F heat in Karachi.
Alice wants to stay away from cabs, so she decides to take the train from ZRH to her hotel, the Baur au Lac. The hotel is on the edge of Lake Zurich. The CIA is keeping her in her ex-oligarch wife persona and she’s been booked into a suite.
The doorman opens the door to the hotel for her. She tips him 100 francs and checks in as Alice Kuznetzov. The suite is amazing. She decides that she has everything she needs in the hotel.
Her phone rings, it’s Ed, her case officer.
Ed, “Alice, how did it go with Iqbal?”
Alice, “He was hiding something. The embassy driver says that he’s dirty”.
Ed, “I’m not surprised. It’s billion dollar stakes and he’s probably getting a cut to keep the bad guys out of the headlights. Listen, you must be very careful from now on and keep your phone on and next to you. It’s game time for you, Mrs. Kuznetzova”.
Alice changes into a chic and upscale look before she goes down for supper. She opts for a Theory blouse and Frame jeans. She likes the fit and cut of the premium denim that makes a casual look sophisticated. Pairs the jeans with her Jimmy Choos.
As long as the CIA is paying for her outfits, why not enjoy?
She plays back her babushka’s Russian accented English in her head as she goes down the elevator.
On the way to the dining room, Alice goes over to the front desk. The girl at the front desk has a name tag, “Marina”, so Alice decides to speak to her in Russian.
Alice, “Can you arrange a private driver and bodyguard for me for tomorrow morning? I have a meeting and some shopping. I have a late checkout. He must take me to ZRH”.
Marina, “Not a problem, Mrs Kuznetzova. We can put it on your card. When do you need him to pick you up tomorrow morning?”
Alice, “I need to be at Lacuna Wealth Management at 10:30”.
Marina, “The driver will pick you up at 945 outside the hotel”.
Alice sleeps well, has a light breakfast and gets into her role of 40-year-old ex-wife of a Russian oligarch coming to a business meeting with a private Swiss bank.
She chooses a gray Chanel suit, Cartier watch and Tiffany & Co necklace and completes the look with a Hermès printed scarf and Christian Louboutin high heels. For the chilly weather, she puts on a Burberry coat.
Last look at herself in the mirror - “I’m definitely an oligarch ex-wife”.
She leaves her suitcase at the hotel and throws her MacBook Air into her D&G Large Tote Bag.
The next morning at 945, a black Mercedes is waiting outside the hotel entrance. The doorman opens the door.
The driver is standing by the car. 30-something. Strong build, well-fitted suit and overcoat to conceal a gun. Alice is thinking that he must be an ex-Spetsnaz soldier working for the Russian Mafia in Zurich.
The driver turns to her in Russian, “I am Ievgenii. You must be Kuznetzova”.
Alice replies in her St. Petersburg-accented Russian, “Yes”.
Ievgenii, “Where are we going?”.
Alice, “Lacuna Wealth Management”.
Ievgenii, “No problem. 35’. I will wait for you during your meeting. Here is my number”.
A 20-something male assistant in an expensive suit met Alice in the lobby and took her to the meeting with Julian Weber, the Head of Private Clients at Lacuna Wealth Management.
Her blonde hair, attitude, and look convince Julian of her oligarchic connections.
Julian, “Welcome to Lacuna. I am Julian Weber, Managing Director and Head of Private Clients”.
Alice, “Alice Kuznetzova”.
Alice, Can I offer you something, tea or espresso?”
Alice, in fluent but lightly-Russian-accented English, “A short espresso would be nice, thank you”.
Julian, “How can I help you Mrs. Kuznetzov?”
Alice, “I have some money after my divorce and I would like to make that money work for me”.
Julian, “We can do that. How much do you want us to manage?”
Alice, “It could be about 10 million dollars”.
Julian, “And when?”
Alice, “Perhaps as early as next week, depending on the paperwork”.
Julian, “We can do it today”.
Alice, “I have some other meetings today and I’m flying back to LA in a few hours”.
Julian, “Not a problem, we have a representative in Century City, JP Private Banking Services. Mr Joon Park can manage your portfolio for you”.
Alice, “I think I might have heard that name in the past. I have some wonderful photographs in my living room in Bel Air taken by JS Edwards”.
Julian, “I cannot provide any details, but yes Mr. Edwards is a private client. A client of Mr. Edwards, would be a welcome client for us”.
Alice texts Ievgenii. He brings the black Mercedes around to the front of the building.
1130
Ievgenii, “Where do you want to go?”
Alice, “I want to go shopping - what do you recommend?”
Ievgenii, “Bahnhofstrasse”.
Alice, “How long?”
Ievgenii, “20’ from here”.
1140
Her phone rings, it’s Ed.
Ed, “Keep me off speaker and stay in your persona. Where are you?”.
Alice kept her Russian-accented English, “In car with private driver. Just out of meeting. What’s happening?”
Ed, “We intercepted a call from Iqbal. He contacted Iranian Department 18. They suspect you. Get out now”.
1142
Bob texts her, “Hey, where are you?”
Alice texts back, “On my way to Bahnhofstrasse”.
Bob, “I’ll meet you there in 10”.
Alice, “K”.
1144
Two black-helmeted, black-shielded motorcyclists pull up on each side of the car.
The motorcyclist next to the driver side motions Ievgenii to pull over.
Ievgenii, “Friends of yours?”
Alice responds, "No. They’re trouble. We need to get out of here."
Ievgenii glances at the glove compartment, then back at Alice, "Do you know how to use a Glock?"
Alice nods, "Yes."
Ievgenii makes an OK gesture to the left-hand rider, slows down, and slides gently right as if planning to pull over. He reaches into the glove compartment and tosses Alice a Glock 26. "I'll handle the left. You take the right."
Alice rolls down the passenger side window and aims at the right-hand rider. She shoots him in the kneecap. A few seconds later, Ievgenii shoots the left-hand rider in the thigh. The two riders go down, creating a huge traffic jam behind them.
1148
Alice pulls 500 Euro out of her wallet and pushes the bills at Ievgenii, “I have to go now. This is all I have”.
Ievgenii, “No problem. You shoot well. I am out of here”. He drives off, and Alice jumps out of the car.
Alice sees Bob at the entrance to Zurich Hauptbahnhof. Eye contact. She runs over to him.
Alice, “We have to leave Zurich now. Don’t ask questions.”.
Bob, “Follow me. We need to run. Stay with me”.
Alice, “I can’t run in these heels and I need a hat”.
The train station is full of people and shops. Alice throws her heels in the big DG tote bag and runs barefoot with Bob through the station. They run into the first shoe store they see, Alice asks the sales lady for size 36 sneakers, Bob pays at the cash register and at the next store over, they snag a NY Yankees baseball cap for Alice to cover the blonde hair.
Bob is checking train times and sees that there is a EuroCity leaving for Rome in another 10’. Bob finds a cashier and in fluent German buys 2 tickets. They run and make the train with 3’ to spare.
10 hours later with a stop in Milan, they are in Rome Termini.
Bob, “I didn’t know you speak Russian”.
Alice, “I didn’t know you speak fluent German”.
They both laugh.
Rome - Escape to Romance
As the Swiss countryside blurred past, the tension of the attack melted away.
Rome greeted Bob and Alice with open arms and sunlit piazzas.
That night Alice dreamed.
She wakes up Bob, the dream still vivid in her mind.
“Imagine a strange little town, small, Russian, mysterious…The light gray sky is hanging very low, and the horizon is very close. The dust in the streets is also gray, smooth, calm. Not a single sound can be heard, not a single person can be seen. And suddenly, I feel like I’m walking down side streets I don’t know past quiet little wooden houses. I wander into blind alleys, then I find my way into the streets again, but I can only see ten paces ahead, and I keep walking on and on. Somewhere in front of me is a light cloud of whirling dust. I approach it and see wedding carriages. Mikhail and his bride are in one of them. His bride is wearing a veil, and her face is happy. I walk up to the carriages, I seem to be taller than everyone else, and my heart aches a little. Then they all notice me. The carriages stop. Then they all notice me. The carriages stop. Mikail comes up to me, takes me by the arm, and slowly leads me into a side street. “Alla, my friend”, he says in a flat voice, “ All this is very sad I know. But there’s nothing I can do because I don’t love you”. I walk next to him, my heart shudders and more gray streets keep opening up before us”.
Mamma, Rimma and Allah, Isaac Babel
Bob, “Who is Alla?”
Alice, “Alla is my mother’s helper. She’s a high school senior. Alla picks up the kids every morning and takes them to school. She’s very sweet. I suppose all the Russian and the excitement created this dream”.
Bob, “Does she have a younger sister called Rimma?”
Alice, “Why yes. Why should you ask?”
10 things about learning how to learn
Talk to me at my most hungry moment.
Life, love and tech require constant learning, yet we are often happy with what we already know or overloaded by the work we already have.
This pattern was inspired by my friends on X. My thanks to you all for making this essay possible.
Posts on branding won’t make you a market leader
Posts on training won’t make you healthy
Posts on strategy won’t make you a leader
Posts by business experts won’t make you wealthy
Copy-paste from @OpenAI won’t make you a programmer.
You need to learn how.
10 things you should learn about learning
Your memory is not digital
Fetching a memory strengthens and modifies that memory.
When you try to remember something, activation energy spreads to all the connected pathways in your brain, like heat from a fire.
Some of the activation energy leaves related pathways primed for more activation for hours.Your memory is made of chunks
Long-term memory is limitless, like a disk with an infinite amount of storage.
Working memory serves general intelligence. It’s limited and can be trained like professional musicians who practice 10 hours/day.
The brain works on information in chunks.
Reduce your cognitive load by getting rid of irrelevant data and by organizing it in an easy-to-use format - like a table instead of wordy content.
When you learn new things, you can improve your performance by chunking and reorganizing the task.
This is really important when you’re new to a field - like selling on TikTok ShopsExperts recognize, beginners reason
Experts have seen it all before.
They recognize and remember the patterns that helped them succeed in the past and the anti-patterns that led them to failure.
This happens in less than a second.
Experts can figure things out because they memorized the pattern from experience.
This pattern-matching gives you superpowers in your field of expertise - be it code, marketing or whatever.
Beginners need to see examples and figure things out.
It’s a process that can take hours or days and beginners usually get it wrong.When you learn something new, the brain flips back and forth from concrete to abstract
Experts rely on generic and abstract patterns, and don’t need to worry about details.
Beginners get stuck in details and have trouble connecting to the big wealth|health|joy picture.
When you learn a new concept (like marketing with TikTok Shops), your brain switches between an abstract idea (shopping online) with concrete examples (4-5 successful TikTok shops and how they did it).
The more examples, the better. Mistakes are good. This process in the brain is called unpacking.
You learn better when you flip back to examples from the abstract pattern. This is called repacking.
The more you learn abstract patterns, the more concrete they become for you.Spacing and repetition matters
To learn something new and get really good at it (like making big money in TikTok Shops), you learn how to do it in a loop with breaks between each learning session. You cannot “just do it”. You are not Nike nor MJ
Each little learning session, test run and debrief with TikTok Shops helps you get better.
Cramming for the test never worked in school and doesn’t work for any learning objective.AI does not obsolete learning
We learn by making connections between stuff in our brain.
This creates a deep understanding of what stuff means and how to use it.
Once memorized, you can retrieve a problem and the solution in a milli-second.
With AI, you need to write a prompt, try it out a few times and then modify it for your needs.
You won’t remember the solution because you didn’t learn it yourself; you copied and pasted.
And it’s much slower than your brainProblem-solving is not a generic skill
Almost all of our generic skills are far worse than domain-specific problem solving.
Our generic understanding of selling something is almost irrelevant for a specific domain like TikTok Shops.Experts can sell you stuff but they can’t jack into your mind
It is almost impossible for an expert to jack into your mental model if you are a beginner.
You will probably fail if you buy a course online from a large account on social media.
Predictors of success in any given discipline are bad
Success of learning a new discipline like copy-writing is a mix of your aptitude and your learning process.
Some people believe that a natural gift is enough.
Others say that practice and systems are enough.
Both groups are wrong.
It’s impossible to predict who will be a good programmer|copy-writer|marketer | salesman | manager.
Smart people are not always good programmers. Good programmers are not always the smartest.Your mindset matters to your success but not like you think
There are people who believe in a growth mindset. Practice long enough and believe in your success and success, wealth and happiness will come.
Other people believe in a fixed mindset and aptitude. If you struggle with success in selling on TikTok shops, it means that you are not cut out for it.
Both groups are wrong.
For example - anyone can learn some basic physics but only 1 person/year out of 7.8 BN people gets the Nobel Prize in Physics.
Rewarding a growth mindset for effort doesn’t work either
People are not stupid - they know when they are working hard and not getting results.
Rewards should be focused on achieving goals.
Free cash flow counts. Not Loom videos you watched from some big account costing $5K.
Summary
• Improve your learning skill all the time. Work with a person who keeps you accountable.
• There are no fixed rules about who is good at something; programming, marketing, sales, leadership.
• Read a lot of code to be a better programmer. Read a lot of copy to be a better copy-writer
• Experts are bad at training beginners
• Spending time away from a problem can help solve it.
• Using AI does not make you an expert. You still need to learn and develop the deep memories and patterns in your brain.
• Seeking to succeed is better than seeking to avoid failure.
• Believe in your ability to change your abilities
On a park bench in Venice CA
Bob and Mark sitting on the park bench.
The tall bald man remained silent as they sat on the park bench.
In front of them there was the green calm of the park in front of the Venice boardwalk.
A man hungry for answers, must stock up on patience.
A man in possession of analytical skills needs to listen.
That is why Mark remained silent.
Mark listened carefully to Bob.
Mark, “So what did we learn from the adventures of Bob and Alice?”
Bob, “That we need to learn how to learn. Not having that skill must be the ultimate anti-pattern of all”.