Venkatesh Rao — The Art of Gig (EP.152)

Venkatesh Rao is a writer, consultant, and author. He has been writing about indie consulting for years and has recently published The Art of Gig, Volumes 1 & 2, which together take an in-depth look at the gig economy. Venkatesh joins the show to discuss tragic luck, becoming slightly nonsensical, the advantages of mediocrity, and a whole lot more! Important Links:

- Venkatesh's Website

- Venkatesh's Blog

- Venkatesh's Substack

- Venkatesh's Twitter

- The Art of Gig

- The Art of Gig: our synthesis

- The Gervais Principle

Show Notes:

- Origins of The Art of Gig

- Paycheck People

- Learning how to take risks

- Is there a risk-taking gene?

- The case for fixed-point futurism

- Finding meaning

- Personality types, narrative, and becoming a courageous thinker

- Don’t get tragically lucky

- Generational agency

- Sparring, pressure and meaning-making

- Be slightly nonsensical

- Teaching others to appreciate randomness

- Towards infinite games; be mediocre

- Understanding divergentism

- MUCH more!

Books Mentioned:

- The Art of Gig: Volumes 1 & 2; by Venkatesh Rao

- The 4-Hour Work Week: Escape the 9-5, Live Anywhere and Join the New Rich; by Tim Feriss

- Free Agent Nation: The Future of Working for Yourself; by Daniel H. Pink

- The Pathless Path: Imagining a New Story For Work and Life; by Paul Millerd

- Tempo: timing, tactics and strategy in narrative-driven decision-making; by Venkatesh Rao

- The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By; by Dan P. McAdams

- Finite and Infinite Games: A Vision of Life As Play and Possibility; by James Carse

- Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-free Productivity; by David Allen