# A Lesson From a Mentor I'll Never Forget

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/curiosity-chronicle-3997065/a-lesson-from-a-mentor-i-ll-never-forget
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/curiosity-chronicle-3997065/a-lesson-from-a-mentor-i-ll-never-forget.md
Podcast: [Curiosity Chronicle](https://stenobird.com/podcast/curiosity-chronicle-3997065)
Published: 2026-09-04T03:55:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/27525466
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/27525466/50b725d2.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/curiosity-chronicle-3997065/episodes/a-lesson-from-a-mentor-i-ll-never-forget
Duration seconds: 356

## Resource

I first met Tim Cook in 2014. I was just starting my career in finance and had signed up for a local gym that opened at 5:00am. I started arriving at 4:45am so I could get to the office by 6:30. Each morning, there was a small handful of others who would congregate outside the doors at that time. Tim happened to be one of the people in that group. For the first six months, I talked to him almost every day and had exactly zero idea who he was. As our friendship grew and I came to consider him a mentor, I realized something deeper was going on. A few years later, he was still there. Doing the exact same thing. Every single day. He became the best example I've seen of an old Zen saying: What do you do before enlightenment? Chop wood, carry water. What do you do after enlightenment? Chop wood, carry water. In this piece, I talk about the lesson I learned from seeing it up close: The outcomes may change. The titles may change. The scale may change. But the work doesn't... ••• This episode brought to you by: DeleteMe - DeleteMe makes it quick, easy, and safe to remove your personal data online. Origin Financial - Your personal AI Financial Advisor. Track your spending, investments, and net worth—all in one place. Innerbody Labs - A Higher Standard. After reviewing thousands of health products, we built formulas we wished existed. Lemon - The Al agent that turns your voice instructions into finished tasks.

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/curiosity-chronicle-3997065/episodes/a-lesson-from-a-mentor-i-ll-never-forget/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/curiosity-chronicle-3997065/a-lesson-from-a-mentor-i-ll-never-forget.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.