Welcome to The Nightcrawler—a weekly collection of essays and interviews about technology, science, investing, and the art of long-term thinking. Written by Eric Markowitz, Managing Partner at Nightview Capital—and the forthcoming author of OUTLAST. Follow him on X.
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In this evening’s email…
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Why I’m writing OUTLAST—a book about resilience (and hope)
Longtime readers of The Nightcrawler may have noticed something shift in me about a year ago.
What began as a newsletter on long-term investing in the midst of the pandemic became something else… a deeper search into meaning. A quiet obsession with resilience. A fascination with real quality. Not just about investing and compounding, but how to live long enough to see the exponential fruits of compounding itself.
The cause of this shift was deeply personal—and painful. A near-death experience cracked open my sense of time, space, and wonder.
Surviving my ordeal made me ask altogether new questions I couldn’t seem to ignore: what endures? What survives chaos? What lasts in a world that has become relentlessly focused the short-term?
That search continues—and it will soon be taking me around the world. To ancient forests. To thousand-year-old inns. To family businesses still thriving after 1,000 years. To conversations with craftsmen, CEOs, monks, and biologists.
I’m writing a book. It’s called OUTLAST. It’s a field guide to resilience: to building a life, a business, an investment strategy that can lead to exponential outcomes over time. It’s both a love letter to my daughters—and a plea to my readers to be more optimistic. To think long-term. To build things that last.
In April, I signed a book deal with Scribner, the flagship imprint of Simon & Schuster—home to legends like F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Anthony Doerr. Translations will be published across Europe, Asia, and Central and South America.
It’s the project of a lifetime—and you’re already part of the journey. Though the book will be out in 2027, I’ll be sharing insights and field reports exclusively to The Nightcrawler readers as I go.
If you know someone who’d benefit from this message, feel free to forward this email—friends, family, colleagues, clients, whoever comes to mind. They can subscribe at www.OutlastBook.com.
And for behind-the-scenes updates, follow along on Instagram and Twitter.
If you’d like to read a bit more, I wrote a short essay about why I’m writing the book—link here.
Thank you all for joining me on this journey to explore what it truly means to think long term—in business, in investing, and in life.
- Key quote: “Out of that darkness came something unexpected: a deep sense of optimism. After I became well enough to sit up and type again, I returned to the letter. I needed to finish it. For my daughter—both of them. We had another girl in August 2024. This isn’t a book about fear or decline. It’s about renewal. Resilience. And the extraordinary capacity we all have to build things that last—even in a world designed to distract and discard… But over time, I noticed something quieter, yet far more powerful: beneath the chaos, the systems that endure all around us follow a different tempo—one rooted in patience, resilience, and ancient wisdom. OUTLAST is my attempt to reclaim that rhythm—to learn from the enduring, and to pass along their wisdom. Yes, it’s a book—a “business book,” technically—but it’s also a mission, a lens, a way of seeing the world. At its heart, it’s a practical philosophy for anyone trying to build things that last in an age obsessed with what’s fleeting.”
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PS: Thanks to everyone who came out to The Nightcrawler meetup in Omaha last week! I’ll be doing more of these over the next several months around the country. Stay tuned.
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OUTLAST dispatch #1:
Here’s what the former CEO of a French family-run company—founded in 1796 and now a global leader in fish hooks—told me about the quiet secret to their innovation.
“The genius of our business was not a manager with a degree, but a worker who was born among oil, wire, and noise.”
A few more links I enjoyed:
How Nearly a Century of Happiness Research Led to One Big Finding – via Susan Dominus
- Key quote: “Talking to strangers — on trains, in a coffee shop, at the playground, on line at the D.M.V., in the waiting room at the doctor’s office — could be dismissed as an exercise that simply makes the time pass. But it could also be seen as a moving reflection of how eager we all are, every day, to connect with other humans whose interiority would otherwise be a mystery, individuals in whose faces we might otherwise read threat, judgment, boredom or diffidence. Talking to strangers guarantees novelty, possibly even learning. It holds the promise, each time, of unexpected insight.”
How AI could usher in The New Enlightenment – via Peter Leyden
- Key quote: “Artificial intelligence will give humans super-tools that dramatically expand what we currently know about ourselves, the world, the planet, and the universe. Human minds augmented with artificial minds will be able to see and understand things that we had absolutely no idea about until now. AI will accelerate the development and use of other world-historic technologies, such as clean energy and bioengineering, that will impact us on a civilization scale, too. Being able to engineer all living things, from viruses to animals to ourselves, will set us apart from every other civilization in world history. The ability to take advantage of vast amounts of clean energy will also make us unique.”
A few short stories – via Morgan Housel
- Key quote: “Your competitors can probably innovate and execute as well as you can. So every time you uncover a new talent you’re proud of, temper your thrill with the acceptance that other people who want to win as badly as you probably aren’t far behind.”
From the archives:
What I Do When I Feel Like Giving Up – via James Clear
- Key quote: “Relative to the time in your normal day or week, nearly any habit you perform is over quickly. Your workout will be finished in an hour or two. Your report will be typed to completion by tomorrow morning. This article will be finished in just a moment. Life is easier now than it has ever been. 300 years ago, if you didn’t kill your own food and build your own house, you would die. Today, we whine about forgetting our iPhone charger. Maintain perspective. Your life is good and your discomfort is temporary. Step into this moment of discomfort and let it strengthen you.”
Click here to learn more about Nightview Capital, the long-term investment firm where I am Managing Partner and Director of Research.
This information should not be considered a recommendation to purchase or sell any particular security. It should not be assumed that any of the investments or strategies referenced were or will be profitable, or that investment recommendations or decisions we make in the future will be profitable. This article contains links to 3rd party websites and is used for informational purposes only. This does not constitute as an endorsement of any kind. While Nightview uses sources it considers to be reliable, no guarantee is made regarding the accuracy of information or data provided by third-party sources. Nightview Capital Management, LLC (Nightview Capital) is an independent investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. More information about Nightview Capital including our investment strategies and objectives can be found in our ADV Part 2, which is available upon request.
