Darin Oliver
EN
en

The four perspectives

Source

Reality. Truth. Learning. Seeing clearly.

I start with the real world and work forward. I examine assumptions, demand evidence, and return to first principles when the view gets cloudy.

See the world before deciding what it means.

Source is the discipline of looking past comforting stories and beginning with reality.

Truth

Seek what is true, not what is convenient.

Questions like:
  • What is actually happening?
  • What evidence exists?
  • What would change my mind?

Perception

Notice how we see the world—and where we get it wrong.

Questions like:
  • What am I assuming?
  • What am I not seeing?
  • Whose view is missing?

First Principles

Strip away assumptions and rebuild from what is undeniable.

Questions like:
  • What must be true?
  • What is the root cause?
  • What remains if I start again?

Clarity

Separate signal from noise before acting.

Questions like:
  • What is essential here?
  • What is only distraction?
  • What deserves attention now?

Source essays

View all Source essays →
A crowded dark financial system beside an open, sunlit doorway representing an overlooked opportunity.

The Opportunity I Couldn’t See

While I was consumed with buying Madoff’s market-making business, one of the best opportunities of my career called me directly. I told him I did not have time.

◷ 8 min listen
A solitary figure looking across a blue dawn horizon, suggesting reflection and clear perception

The World May Be Teaching You Something

The facts of an experience and the meaning we assign to it are not the same thing.

◷ 8 min listen
An amber evidence path reaching a clear strategic decision point

Do Not Pivot Before You Understand the Business

Before pivoting, founders should distinguish weak execution from a failed business hypothesis. Learn how to use evidence to decide whether to persevere or change direction.

◷ 5 min listen
A solitary figure at a fork in a coastal path, looking toward a distant city at dawn.

The Path I Did Not Take

A reflection on Boston, San Francisco, responsibility, and the difference between a successful path and an aligned one.

◷ 8 min listen
A glowing wheel of connected people radiating from a central light at sunset.

The Spokes of the Wheel

A philosophy of spiritual connection: how faith, action, and other people become the channels through which life changes.

◷ 9 min listen