The Profile: The fading hip-hop mogul & the doctor who made the best short call of 2023

This edition of The Profile features Sean “Diddy” Combs, Joanna Goddard, and more.

Good morning, friends!

When I interviewed investor Graham Weaver, I asked him for book recommendations around making a big life change.

One of the books he mentioned was, “What Should I Do With My Life,” by Po Bronson. So I ordered it on the spot.

I started reading it this week, and I can’t put it down. If you’ve been with The Profile for a while, you know that I often feature stories of reinvention. I love interviewing people who have bet on themselves, taken a risk, and transformed their life in some way.

Bronson’s book is full of true stories of ordinary people who have found the most meaningful answers to the question, “What should I do with my life?”

One of the stories in the book is about a woman named Marcela who was a successful sales director selling modems during the Dot Com boom. (The book was published in 2002). But she felt an increasing interest in her hobby outside of her day job —  an alternative medicine method called ‘bodywork.’

The hobby turned into a passion that she was curious about doing full-time. But was she really about to quit her stable job and go into … bodywork? She kept delaying the decision to quit — until fate intervened. The company she worked for went under, and she was laid off.

This was her chance, and she began drawing up business plans and raising capital for a studio. At this point in her journey, the author asks her, “Do you ever feel isolated working alone?”

She says, “I get a far more powerful and genuine connection to people now.” And then the following exchange takes place between Bronson and Marcela:

Po Bronson: “I guess what I really meant was, you kind of dropped out of the traditional status framework. Most people need the context of a company and an industry and a title and a salary level and regular performance reviews to provide a measure if self-worth. How does one forgo that, and dare to go alone? I’m sure every hour you have clients that really appreciate what you do for them. But on the macro scale, where do you get your sense of importance?”

Marcela: “I used to need that. I was proud of being the top salesperson and I got satisfaction from succeeding. But when I could see that need was actually hurting me, leading me toward depression, it was no longer so important to be successful in that highly visible and external way.”

As someone who has left their full-time job to pursue their passion, her statement resonated with me. It reminds me of what Anna Quindlen said: “If your success is not on your own terms, if it looks good to the world but does not feel good in your heart, it is not success at all.”

— Polina

PROFILES.

— The fading hip-hop mogul trying to save his empire [**HIGHLY RECOMMEND**]
— The doctor who made the best short call of 2023
— The OG lifestyle blogger starting over
— The Olympic champion searching for a new identity
— The founders who made tinned fish 'hot girl food’

PEOPLE TO KNOW.

The fading hip-hop mogul trying to save his empire: After months in court, Sean “Diddy” Combs withdrew his racially charged lawsuit against Diageo. This profile delves into the battle that reveals the failed attempt of a fading hip-hop mogul—who’s been buffeted by charges of sexual assault—to salvage a crumbling business empire. (Bloomberg; if you can’t access the article, try this link.)

“I will fight for my name, my family and for the truth.”

The doctor who made the best short call of 2023: The best short call of 2023 wasn’t made by a ruthless hedge fund, a well-known activist firm, or any of the liveliest voices on the sell side. It was made by a first-year medical resident running a blog named after a SpongeBob SquarePants character. James Block is a physician at one of America’s top hospitals, but between shifts he moonlights as an amateur financial sleuth and writer. He published a damning critique of Signature Bank on his blog two months before the lender shut down, becoming at the time the third-largest bank failure in US history. (Bloomberg; if you can’t access the article, try this link.)

The OG lifestyle blogger starting over: Joanna Goddard is a lifestyle blogger who built a successful brand around her idyllic Brooklyn life with Cup of Jo, the site she launched in 2007. Her posts chronicled falling in love, building a family and navigating everyday challenges. And her readers—most of them women—were on that journey with her. Then, last February, she announced that she and her husband of 13 years were getting divorced. “WOW, Gut Punch!!” read one of the blog post’s 1,400 comments. Now, she’s launching a new media venture—a Substack newsletter where she’ll be sharing the details of her freshly single life. (The New York Times; if you can’t access the article, try this link.)

The Olympic champion searching for a new identity: Carissa Moore, 31, is ****a five-time world champion and current defender of an Olympic gold medal. Now, she wants to start a family with her husband, Luke Untermann. She wants to redefine success on her own terms and in her own mind. As she prepares to step away from surfing, Carissa Moore confronts a question that many people face when they make a change in life: Who am I if I don’t do this anymore? (New York Times; if you can’t access the article, try this link.)

The founders who made tinned fish 'hot girl food:’ Fishwife, a company that sells whimsically illustrated tins of smoked salmon, sardines, and albacore tuna, was a hit with media elite and online influencers from almost the moment it launched in December 2020. The buzz culminated with Fishwife appearing on Shark Tank's latest episode, where the brand hooked two investors in a deal valuing the company at $5 million. And then things turned sour when co-founders Becca Millstein and Caroline Goldfarb had a falling-out. (Business Insider)

“We are unapologetically flipping the entire seafood industry on its tail in a bold, beautiful, and brazen way.”

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