The heights we have scaled
The tallest home on the planet
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For a long time, the lighthouse of Alexandria was the tallest building that people could climb and see the world from. It was around 100 meters tall – unimpressive by today’s standards, but a huge building in the ancient world. Then the Lincoln Cathedral replaced it as the tallest building in the world from about 1311 to 1548, but it was still a novelty in a world where resources were scarce and constructing huge buildings took time and intensive labor. Cathedrals could take lifetimes to build, with generations of builders working on the same project over hundreds of years – the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona is still unfinished after 140 years!
But the conquest of building tall structures was truly perfected in America – and the skyscrapers that defined the city skyline were what made the United States stand out in the 19th century. The skyscraper was invented in Chicago in 1884, and for the next 100 years, the tallest building in the world was always in the United States. This iconic photograph taken in 1932 of workers building the RCA building in Manhattan makes my head spin – it was daring men like these who built the world we live in today.
Now, the tallest building in the world is the Burj Khalifa, at over 800 meters, but the tallest residential building in the world is still in New York. It’s in Central Park Tower. It’s also the most expensive listing in the world, overlooking Central Park on one side and Times Square on the other, decked with amenities ranging from an exclusive restaurant to swimming pools to a basketball court and a terrace where even a spot of city noise doesn’t enter – and guess what, I got a chance to film it for you!
Ryan Serhant, who deals with some of the most exclusive luxury properties on the planet was gracious enough to give me a tour of the building, and I took the chance to give you an exclusive peek into the most premium real estate on the planet.
I got into real estate because of my love of amazing buildings and fascination with the work that people put into creating such monuments from scratch – and I’m sure you’ll love it as well. Speaking of which, I got to meet someone who also shares my passion for real estate, someone you’ve surely seen on TV…
Pitching a business without a plan
Barbara Corcoran’s rise from being a waitress with a gift for sales to one of the most resourceful real estate personalities of our time is inspiring. You might know her from the hit show “Shark Tank”. I got to meet he and ask her questions about many things – the qualities that she looks for in aspiring entrepreneurs, why she sticks to her strong suit of real estate, and how her childhood shaped her growth as a businesswoman. Along the way, I sprung my own business plan on her, complete with facts, figures, and projections – but no product. Did she buy it? Take a look to find out!
This video was just a glimpse of my conversation with Barbara, and if you found this interesting, then you’re sure to love the full conversation on my other channel, The Graham Stephan Show. Stay tuned for conversations with other Sharks!
Unemployment – The Next Great Reset
There’s no escaping the elephant in the room: No matter where you turn, there’s news about layoffs, restructuring, and massive firing in the corporate world. There have been more tech layoffs in the last few months than in the entire 2020 pandemic – More than 100,000 people lost their jobs in January alone! But the scary part is that this isn’t restricted to tech. In this video, you’ll find out which jobs are most at risk, what you need to do to make sure that you’re in a safe position, and how you can make the most money in this period of turmoil. These ten minutes could save you a lot of stress down the line, so be sure to watch it!
Other highlights
In a poll on Twitter earlier this week, I asked all of you about your thoughts on remote work and whether it’s here to stay: Only 10% of people want to return to office full-time.
But today’s news is that Amazon is mandating at least three days in office per week for employees across the world.
Is remote work here to stay? What do you think? Let me know in the comments below.
I also came across Kelly Wakasa’s day-in-the-life video where he tracks how much he spends in a day in New York City. I just had to react to it! It’s a fun video and I’m sure you’ll like it.
I had a great bunch of guests on the Iced Coffee Hour podcast last week. We had the amazing Alex Hormozi and Tom Bilyeu on the show, and for a change, we didn’t just talk about money – we talked about relationships and life. Jack and I also met the $250 million CEO of Teachable and dove deep into his journey – from scratch to millions! There are a ton of insights there on how to make your first dollar on the internet and scale it, so if you’re a budding businessman, you’ll love this one.
So that’s it for my Sunday round-up. For the new folks here, in this newsletter, I give a quick recap of whatever you may have missed over the week on Sunday, and on Wednesday, I will be doing my deep-dive article on one of these topics.
See you next week with another bunch of exciting videos!
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Graham, cool place on the top of the world there --- you've obviously have built up a lot of respect and recognition to get a private tour like that - keep up the good work!