#176 Linus Torvalds (Creator of Linux)

**David Senra** (0:00)
I want to tell you about a one-time only limited event that I don't think you're going to want to miss. I am doing a live show with Patrick O'Shaughnessy from the Invest Like the Best podcast in New York City on October 19th. Patrick has interviewed over 300 of the world's best investors and founders for his podcast. I've read over 300 biographies of history's greatest entrepreneurs for my podcast. We'll be talking about what we learned from seven years of podcasting, sharing our favorite ideas and stories, and doing a live Q&A. There will also be special event-only swag. If you live in New York City, I think it's a no-brainer. But if not, I think it's a great excuse to fly in. I've already heard from a bunch of people that bought tickets, they're flying in from other cities. Some people are flying in from other countries. That's setting the bar really high, so I will have at least four shots of espresso or four energy drinks before or during the show so we can make it a night that you'll never forget. If you're interested in attending this unique live event, I will leave a link down below. I highly recommend you get your tickets today, and I hope I get to see you in New York on October 19th. During the euphoria of the final years of the 20th century, a revolution was happening among all other revolutions.
Seemingly overnight, the Linux operating system caught the world's attention. It had exploded from the small bedroom of its creator, Linus Torvalds, to attract a cultish following of near-militant geeks.
Suddenly, it was infuriating the corporate powerhouses controlling the planet. From a party of one, it now counted millions of users on every continent, including Antarctica, and even outer space if you count NASA outposts.
Not only was it the most common operating system running server computers dishing out all the content on the World Wide Web, but its very development model, an intricate web of its own, encompassing hundreds of thousands of volunteer computer programmers, had grown to become the largest collaborative project in the history of the world.
People wanted to learn more about the kid, who, if he did not start at all, at least jumpstarted it and was in effect its leader.
The trouble was, the more successful Linux and open source became, the less he wanted to talk about it.
The accidental revolutionary started Linux because playing on a computer was fun.
Revolutionaries aren't born. Revolutions can't be planned. Revolutions can't be managed. Revolutions happen. And sometimes revolutionaries just get stuck with it.
That was an excerpt from the book that I'm gonna talk to you about today, which is Just for Fun, The Story of an Accidental Revolutionary. And it was written by Linus Torvalds and David Diamond. I'm gonna read part of the back cover because I think when I read this paragraph, this podcast, like the format of this podcast is gonna make a lot more sense because this book is written in a very unique way. Before I read that paragraph, though, I gotta tell you how I got the idea to do this podcast, or to read this book, rather. This was another example of a listener recommending a book that I wasn't even aware of. And this book is really interesting, really easy to read. So it says, Now in a narrative that zips along with the speed of an email, Torvalds gives a history of his renegade software while candidly revealing the quirky mind of a genius. The result is an engrossing portrayal of a man with a revolutionary vision who challenges our values and may change our world. Okay, and one of the things that makes this book unique is not only is it extremely readable because they have like these short little chapters. So the idea that it zips along like an email is a good description, but it breaks the fourth wall. They talk, David and Linus, in the book, they talk about writing the book. So at the very beginning, we see an email from Linus saying, okay, he's sending it to David. He's like, all right, I hesitated to write a book, but he has an idea. Like he'll submit to the process of writing a book on one condition. And it's the title of the book. And also what I would say is like his North Star, his guiding light on how he approaches life. And he says, if you think we can make a fun book, and more importantly, if you think we can have fun making it, let's go for it. And the constant use of the word fun is intentional. That is his, like I would say his, what he feels is the meaning of life and his personal life philosophy. So I'm gonna go into that because he talks about, he begins the book on the meaning of life and ends the book on what he feels is the meaning of life. And this is another example of them breaking the fourth wall, they're having a conversation in the car, taking a road trip, and they're going back and forth. And David asks them, like, what's the meaning of life? What's the answer to that first question? And this is what Linus says. He says, basically, it's short and sweet. It won't give your life any meaning, but it tells you what's gonna happen. There are three things that have meaning for life. They are the motivational factors for everything in your life, and for anything that you do or any other living thing does. The first is survival. The second is social order. The third is entertainment.