Money Decisions, Choosing Heroes & Taking Advice is a Risk [WFI #3, TMP #22]
Wisdom From The Internet - May Edition (WFI #3)
Happy new month fellas!
And a happy holiday to my Muslim friends :)
May 2nd, obvs, it’s the third release of the monthly series, Wisdom From The Internet!
(Check out the March and April editions.)
Wisdom From The Internet is a monthly curation of quotes, poems, essays, lyrics and other tidbits of wisdom to set a mental framework for the month.
At a glance:
On the rational absurdity of money decisions
On choosing your heroes
Take advice at your own risk
Bonus
Okay, let’s go 🚀
Cover art:
On the rational absurdity of money decisions
Here’s the thing: People from different generations, raised by different parents who earned different incomes and held different values, in different parts of the world, born into different economies, experiencing different incentives and different degrees of luck1, learn very different things.
Source: The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel
So the next time you see (or hear of) someone doing something ‘bat shit crazy’ with their money, and you cannot fathom just how anyone can make such a decision, remember those words and judge less.
People do some crazy things with money. But no one is crazy.
On choosing your heroes
“Here’s the thing about your heroes: You have to know about them to look up to them. The candidate pool is 100% limited by your exposure. That’s why so many kids look up to athletes, I think. They haven’t been exposed to enough other people to look up to them.
Source: Barrett Brooks
I can be an industrial chemist because I know it’s a real job that exists.
I can be a professional basketballer because I know it’s a real job that exists.
I can be a Tiktok influencer because I know it’s a real job that exists.
The point is that we limit ourselves because we do not know. This month, spread your wings [of research], friend :)
Take advice at your own risk
1.
‘I ask you though, in listening to what I say, to remember that all advice can only be a product of the man who gives it. What is truth to one may be disaster to another. I do not see life through your eyes, nor you through mine. If I were to attempt to give you specific advice, it would be too much like the blind leading the blind.’
Source: Hunter S. Thompson’s Letter on Finding Your Purpose and Living a Meaningful Life
2.
Benjamin Graham is known as one of the greatest inventors of all time, the father of value investing and the early mentor of Warren Buffet. But the majority of Benjamin Graham’s investing success was due to owning an enormous chunk of GEICO stock which, by his own admission, broke nearly every diversification rule that Graham himself laid out in his famous texts.
Source: The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed, and happiness by Morgan Housel
By all means, study broad patterns, ask questions and study specific cases too because they will guide you. But take decisions knowing that ‘every man is a sum total of his reactions to experience and our experiences and conditions differ’.
One man’s meat is another man’s poison.
Bonus: How to Speak
How to Speak - A video by MIT Professor Patrick Winston
It’s 1 hour+ but it’s definitely worth it :)
Until later in the week,
Dayo
I happen to find lesser reasons to believe in luck and chance. Luck is a term we use to describe a fortunate accident; something good that happens without our control or at least with minimal effort. I believe, in contrast, that this ‘fortunate accident’ can be traced to a definite and intentional effort. I believe in God.