How to Live an Asymmetric Life: 5 Rules from a Private Equity Investor

Have you ever wondered if you’re playing life too small? Maybe you’ve been so focused on protecting the downside that you’ve forgotten to even glance at the upside.

Graham Weaver’s thought-provoking lecture, “How to Live an Asymmetric Life,” might just jolt you out of your comfort zone. Weaver’s follow up 2024 lecture “How to Live your Life at Full Power” is equally as good).

The Investability team loved these lectures and decided to provide you, dear reader, a recap of Weaver’s key principles.

Rule One: Don’t Play Not to Lose – Play to Win

Weaver’s story begins in a swanky conference room, where he had to tell a major investor he’d lost half their money. Not exactly an inspiring start. But that moment of failure taught him a valuable lesson: Playing small doesn’t protect you from losing; it just ensures you never win big.

Investing, like life, comes with inevitable downsides. The secret? Focus on the upside potential—the massive, logarithmic, life-changing upside. Stop dating with one foot out the door to avoid heartbreak. Stop buying “discounted” opportunities with no real growth prospects. Instead, go all in on opportunities with asymmetric potential.

Rule Two: Do Hard Things

Here’s the truth bomb: Comfort doesn’t breed happiness; it breeds mediocrity. Whether you’re rowing a brutal 2,000 meters or starting a difficult conversation, the pain of discomfort is where progress happens.

Weaver reminds us that every worthwhile change gets worse before it gets better. Want a better career, relationship, or habit? Brace yourself for the dip. Life’s magic lies on the other side of “worse first.”

Rule Three: Do Your Thing

Weaver hilariously recounts a dinner where his competitor, Dave, was ecstatic about debt covenants and EBITDA adjustments—things that made Weaver want to snooze. The lesson? You can’t win chasing someone else’s dream.

Instead, double down on what lights your fire. Even if it’s a niche label business (yes, that’s a thing), passion trumps practicality every time. Life’s too short to settle for lukewarm dreams.

Rule Four: Play the Long Game

Everyone’s seen the “get rich quick” promoters promising overnight returns for zero work (aside from buying their online course). But Weaver makes it clear: True greatness isn’t built on quick wins. It’s built over decades of compounding effort.

Think of yourself as a long-term project. Each year, aim to grow just a little. By year 23, you’ll be unstoppable. The equation is simple: excitement sustained over time equals unstoppable momentum.

Rule Five: Write Your Own Story

The most inspiring part of Weaver’s lecture is his belief in the power of storytelling—not just any story, but your story. Imagine your life five years from now. Don’t worry about the “how.” Just dream big. As Weaver’s executive coach told him, “The how is the killer of all great dreams.”

Once you’ve written the story, make it happen. It’s not just the universe responding to your goals; it’s you aligning every action, every relationship, and every decision with your vision. That’s the real magic.

Final Thoughts

As Weaver tells it, living an asymmetric life isn’t just about investing; it’s about every aspect of existence. Do hard things. Chase your dreams. Play the long game. And above all, embrace the power of your own story. After all, you didn’t come this far to play small. Now is the time to move the world.

If you want a growth-orientated investor relations partner who will help you achieve your big audacious goals, get in touch with Investability today.

How to Live an Asymmetric Life: 5 Rules from a Private Equity Investor