What I Read This Week (4/27/25)
Roosevelt's Man in the Area, A New Type of Nuclear Technology, Earning Season & Google's Resilience, A Game-Changing Two Weeks: First Time Speaking at a Conference & Stepping Into a New Stage of Life
Every week, I like to share what caught my attention. This is from 4/13/25 to 4/26/25.
Again, I skipped another week, but this week was monumental in my life, and I’m glad I took the time to focus on what was important.
Timeless Idea💡
Man In The Arena
"It is not the critic who counts... The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood..." - Theodore Roosevelt
It's easy to sit on the sidelines. It's easy to point fingers, to judge, to say how things should be done.
It’s a lot harder to actually stand up and do the thing yourself.
Life rewards the people who step into the arena.
Not the ones who stay safe in the stands.
The arena is messy.
We will get bruised.
We will get tired.
We will fail, and people will see us fail.
But if we want a life that matters, we have to be willing to get dirty.
We have to be willing to be seen trying.
The truth is:
If we are doing anything worthwhile, we will be criticized.
Sometimes by strangers.
Sometimes by people you love.
Sometimes by the voice inside our own head.
But the critics don’t matter.
The cowards don’t matter.
The only thing that matters is that we had the courage to show up.
I had to keep this in the forefront of my mind the last few weeks.
New Idea 🌟
China’s Thorium Breakthrough
China had made a significant leap forward with a new type of nuclear technology: thorium molten salt reactors (MSRs). (My chemistry students should know how exciting this is to me.)
Thorium is a metal that’s three to four times more common than uranium. By itself, thorium can't power a reactor. But when it absorbs a neutron, it transforms into a special kind of uranium (uranium-233) that can.
This process could make nuclear energy cheaper, safer, and cleaner.
Why thorium matters:
Abundant and Cheaper: There’s way more thorium than uranium on Earth. Plus, thorium doesn’t need to be enriched like uranium, making it less expensive.
Safer Design: MSRs use molten salt instead of water. They run at low pressure, can shut down safely without human help, and won’t blow up like old-school reactors.
Less Waste: Thorium reactors produce dangerous waste for hundreds of years instead of thousands. They also create very little material that can be turned into nuclear weapons. This is not ideal, but it is much better than uranium.
China’s Big Win:
In 2023, China’s experimental reactor in Wuwei reached criticality (meaning it worked). By late 2024, they did something no one had done before: they refueled the reactor while it was still running.
They're also building bigger reactors in the Gobi Desert that could produce clean electricity and even hydrogen fuel by 2029.
How did China get ahead?
They studied U.S. research from the 1960s that was later abandoned when America decided to focus on uranium reactors (mostly for making nuclear weapons). China's government poured hundreds of millions into reviving and improving the technology, while America's strict regulations slowed progress at home.
What’s the catch?
Building thorium MSRs is still expensive.
The tech faces hurdles like corrosion from the molten salts.
Thorium reactors aren’t fully ready for mass use yet. Even in China, they’re still experimental.
But if it works, thorium reactors could power remote areas, reduce carbon emissions, and offer a safer path to nuclear energy.
China is leading the charge, but the U.S. could catch up with the right changes.
If you have been reading my newsletter for a while, you know that I’m extremely excited about the future of nuclear energy. This is another step in that direction. There are many vectors where we could achieve nearly limitless clean energy in our lifetimes, which could dramatically change the standard of living for billions of people.
What I See In Markets 📈
Earnings Season, baby!
It might just save the market, at least for a little while.
But yikes...
Fed Chair Powell recently warned that the federal debt is on an unsustainable path, and we’re running crisis-level deficits even with full employment. Not exactly a small problem. I want to mention that he said we are on an unsustainable path, not that where we are is unsustainable…so there is some hope in this regard.
Still, the market feels so bearish right now that it’s flashing opportunities everywhere.
I’m seeing big names like Amazon, Meta, Google, and Amex trading at surprisingly low P/E ratios, especially when we factor in their strong business models and growth rates.
Google has my attention the most:
They just announced stock buybacks.
Growth in search still outweighs any losses.
They own Waymo (autonomous driving) and the market gives them zero credit for it despite making incredible progress over the last year.
They also have a hefty stake in SpaceX, again, barely reflected in the stock price.
Gemini doesn’t have the best UI, but I think they have the superior AI product on the market right now.
People dramatically underestimate Google’s resilience.
And then there’s the rally we just had...
Fueled by Trump slowing down the tariff threats.
Another day, another headline.
That’s why I keep buying.
There’s always drama.
There’s always noise.
I consistently stick to fundamentals, play the long game, and buy.
Personal Update 💙
A Game-Changing Two Weeks
The last two weeks have been some of the biggest for me personally.
I pitched my first product to a school district and hired my first intern.
Leverage is incredible.
I always knew it in theory, but experiencing it firsthand is a total game-changer. Watching myself pitch something I built gave me a new kind of confidence. It confirmed something deeper: I can shape my future.
I also spoke at my first conference, and it was more successful than I anticipated.
I booked a consulting gig, got five more leads from people who want me to consult with their districts, and met student speakers who reminded me why I started all of this.
I am really excited to enter the world of educational consulting and hope to make a genuinely positive impact on more students (and educators). It’s no secret that education is broken, but I believe we can create a fantastic future with effort and integrity.
The speakers and presenters at this conference?
Some of the best I’ve ever seen. I walked away with ideas not just for my own classroom, but for BrightStar Education, too
The keynote speaker had the same title as my workshop, but despite the redundancies, I had a full room, and people were thoroughly engaged! I was nervous, but it all worked out.
Some of the biggest lessons I’m carrying with me are these:
I’m not on the ground floor anymore. I’m much further along in my journey than I thought.
It’s time to drop the impostor syndrome.
It’s time to stop fearing the “what ifs.”
The faith my family and friends have in me is incredible and irreplaceable, and I am so lucky to have that kind of unwavering support.
I’ve always believed that everything around us was made up by people who were not more intelligent than me and that I could make things up, too. But now I’m seeing it happen in real time, and that is very different from knowing that in theory.
I’m finally living the part of my life where my love for sharing ideas and years of work in education are turning into something that matters.
I can see that this is what happens when I mix talent with hard work, integrity, and consistency.
Some of the most powerful moments were meeting students who reminded me of myself:
One student battled PTSD and bullying and is now using her story to be a more compassionate educator. I had a similar story.
Another was a brilliant young woman who tied her entire identity to achievement, something I used to struggle with but had forgotten over time.
Those conversations will shape how I work with my students from now on.
We don’t always need to learn new things.
Sometimes we just need to be reminded.
On a lighter note...
I gambled for the first time…what a ride!
Won some, lost everything, but had a blast.
My wife and I went on a date to a winery, got free drinks, and even though our kids ended up crashing the party, it made it even better. There was live music, and we all danced to Earth, Wind, and Fire covers. It was amazing to see my oldest daughter see a live band for the first time! She loves music as much as I do.
I also got to spend time with my parents and sister, and nothing filled my heart like that.
It’s been a wild, beautiful couple of weeks.
And somehow, I know it's just the beginning.