đź’Ž Scarcity vs. Tenacity: The Great Debate

When It Comes to Influence, Is It Better to Be Rare or Resilient? Plus, Nike Earnings On Deck and Berkshire Hathaway's March Madness Payout Is Nuts

Author

Katie Perry
March 20, 2025

Welcome to Tuesday Thursday Saturday! I share a snapshot of trending stories across business, tech, and culture three times a week. Subscribe and tell me what you want to hear about next! - KP

The Big Story: Is It Better to Rare, or Resilient?

If you tell me I can't do something, I will figure out how to do it. It may not be pretty or graceful, but I'm going to gut my way through it.

At my very first job, in my very first performance review, one of the first pieces of feedback I got was that I'm very tenacious. Compliment? Insult? Both?!

Tenacity is one of those traits we’re told is essential for success. Push harder. Follow up. “Walk it off,” if we’re talking sports. And it works. Being willing to grind can take you far. But then there’s the psychology of scarcity. Research shows that if you make yourself a little harder to reach, a little less available, then people value you way more. 

So, is success about being the most relentless person in the room, or is it about being the rarest? I asked some folks on X, then tried to figure it out for myself.

The Power of Scarcity: Why Being Harder to Get Works

Scarcity is one of the strongest psychological drivers of human behavior. Robert Cialdini, a leading expert in persuasion, found that people inherently assign more value to things that are limited, exclusive, or hard to obtain. This is why luxury brands manufacture artificial scarcity. As humans, we want what others cannot have.

The same principle applies to people. In relationships, playing hard to get can increase attraction (although this can also backfire). In business, professionals who are highly in demand command more respect, higher fees, and better opportunities. If you’re always available, people subconsciously assume your time isn’t all that valuable.

Making yourself scarce — whether it’s not responding immediately, not over-explaining, or simply saying “no” — can be a power move. It forces people to work harder to earn your attention. Congratulations. Your stock just went up!

The Case for Tenacity: The Power of Not Quitting

While scarcity makes you more desirable, studies show that grit is one of the biggest predictors of success, even more so than intelligence or God-given talent. Those who keep pushing, refining, and improving are more likely to succeed than those who are gifted but inconsistent.

The thing with tenacious people is that the more you push back on them, the stronger their tenacity becomes. Their stubbornness is a superpower.

We see this play out all the time. The salesperson who lands the deal on the seventh follow-up. The founder who bombs 100 VC meetings before landing one investor. Being resilient, relentless, and willing to do the work is often what separates success from failure.

But — and this is a big “but” — there’s a fine line between being persistent and being too available. If you’re always chasing other people and other opportunities, then who or what is chasing you? 

Spoiler Alert: It’s a Balance

Think of it like a rubber band and you and the other party — or forces at play — are holding opposite ends. If one side pulls hard (tenacity), the other might instinctively pull back. If one gives up slack (scarcity), the other has to compensate with effort. As people, we’re constantly in a state of pulling and releasing.

Here’s how to play it, according to experts:

  • If you’re not getting traction, push harder. Follow up, refine, and don’t quit at the first “no.” But know when to let go.

  • If you feel undervalued, pull back. Some situations call for persistence; others require scarcity. The key is emotional intelligence.

  • Confidence matters in both. Whether pushing forward or stepping back, act from strength—not fear.

Winning isn’t about scarcity or tenacity — it’s about timing.

Daily Rip Live Recap: Can Nike Recapture the Magic? Plus, My One-on-One with Affirm’s CFO

Every weekday, Shay Boloor and I run down the biggest market news and events LIVE on Stocktwits’ morning show, The Daily Rip Live. Here’s what we recently covered on the show.

  • Nike reports earnings today after market close, amid a rough patch for consumer discretionary. The iconic company and newish CEO Elliott Hill will provide updates on the biz — I am specifically looking forward to seeing how their big brand marketing bets and high-profile collab with SKIMS are progressing. | CLIP $NKE ( â–˛ 1.9% )  

  • Jensen Huang and his sick moto jacket did what they needed to do at the NVIDIA keynote, but expectations are so high at this point that the stock still dipped. He reinforced that agentic AI is going to need a whole lotta computing power, citing a strong demand forecast. $NVDA ( â–˛ 3.62% )  

  • I interviewed Affirm CFO Rob O’Hare amid what has been an eventful week in the BNPL space. Rival Klarna filed its S-1 and will trade under the ticker $KLAR ( 0.0% ) . There was a lot of chatter about Klarna “stealing” Affirm’s partnership with Walmart, but there’s more to the story. Affirm is dominant “up market” — of the 7.5% of U.S. e-commerce transactions facilitated by BNPL, Affirm sees half of these based on revenue. | Watch the full interview. $AFRM ( â–˛ 2.9% )  

  • The crypto crowd is celebrating a couple of wins in what has been a bit of a downbeat for that space. The SEC dropped its case against Ripple $XRP.X ( â–˛ 0.48% ) — following similar moves with other cryptos and fintech exchanges. $ETH ( â–Ľ 1.36% ) is also spiking, up 4% and back over the $2k threshold. $HOOD ( â–˛ 7.82% )  $COIN ( â–˛ 4.66% )  

Hear Shay and I yap about the markets every weekday at 9 a.m. ET on X (@stocktwits), YouTube, LinkedIn, or in your Stocktwits app. Follow me there — I’m @stocktwitsKP!

Now Here’s a Chart

Earlier this week on The Daily Rip, we talked about how Millennials and Gen Z-ers are working against forces that just weren’t there for previous generations. One of our biggest gripes: making a decent living just isn’t enough to own a home.

The annual income needed to buy an average home in the U.S. has hit a record high of $124,200. That’s $45,000 MORE than the median household income. Just four years ago, the median income was slightly higher than what was needed to afford a home, but the gap has since grown faster than before the 2006 housing bubble. — via The Kobeissi Letter

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Tuesday Thursday Saturday is written by Katie Perry, owner of Ursa Major Media, which provides fractional marketing services and strategy in software, tech, consumer products, professional services, and other industries. She is also the co-host of Stocktwits’ Daily Rip Live show.

Disclaimer: The contents here reflect recaps and summaries of pre-reported or published data, news, and trends. I have cited sources and context for the information provided to the best of my ability. The purpose of the newsletter is to inform and educate on larger trends shaping business and culture — this is NOT investment advice. As an investor, you should always do your own research before making any decisions about your money or your portfolio.