Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
I’ve written at length about LeBron’s unpleasant summer, but to be fair, I do want to point out a reason to admire LeBron. Here’s an excerpt from an interview with a GQ reporter who followed LeBron around during “The Decision” process: “[LeBron James] thrives, he’s happiest, he does his best when he is surrounded by … Continue reading Why Admire LeBron? For Pursuing Happiness.
Every once in a while, I come across a blog post that suddenly crystallizes something I’ve always known but never consciously realized. This week, it was this post by Sasha Pasulka, drawing the analogy between the issues some women have with body image with the issues men have with wallet image: “I know how it … Continue reading The Dangers of Unrealistic Wallet Image
I struggle all the time with the contrast between public perception and private reality. On the one hand, we see others who seem so together, so comfortable in their skins, and who always seem to know the right thing to say. On the other hand, we know how we ourselves feel–sweaty, nervous, with the faint … Continue reading Let Them See You Sweat
When entrepreneurs come to me, I always point out the following: 1) The chances of a venture-backed startup being a hit and returning meaningful wealth are about 1 in 10. 2) You’re likely to have about 20-25 years in your career where you can found a company. 3) Each time you found a company, you’re … Continue reading Entrepreneurship is about happiness, not wealth
The thought of the day, triggered by this Ben Casnocha post that quotes a book review by Eric Falkenstein: He states that the key factor in one’s happiness–not experiential happiness, but ‘remembered happiness’ that is more correlated with ‘life satisfaction’, see Kahneman on the difference–is ‘perceived earned success’. This is the willingness and ability to … Continue reading Happiness Cannot Be Given, It Must Be Earned
So many are obsessed with wealth, but how many know how to spend it? For years, I’ve given a simple three word answer to the question, “What would you do if you became a billionaire?” My response? “Take more naps.” A bit flippant perhaps, but telling. The true value of wealth is freedom. It’s up … Continue reading How To Live Like A Billionaire
“If a genie asks a guy to make three wishes that she will make come true, what would the guy say? “I want $1 billion dollars, a swimsuit model wife and the chance to play golf every day.” Tiger had all that and apparently it wasn’t enough to make him happy. Now I’m just depressed.”(Letter … Continue reading Paragraph of the Day: Three Wishes
We all simplify the world around us. We have to–given the amount of information each of us is exposed to daily, the alternative to dumbing down is overload-induced catatonia. One of the main ways we simplify is by categorizing things. By attaching a simple name to a rough set of associated characteristics, we can reduce … Continue reading Categories vs. Experiences
I thought this New York Times article from Tim Kreider was one of the best (funniest, insightful) things I’ve read this week. Kreider discusses a phenomenon that strikes many of us as we get along in years: The tendency to evaluate the lives of our friends to ponder paths not taken. Some money quotes: * … Continue reading “The Referendum”: Great Essay On Mid-Life Angst
Robin Hanson at Overcoming Bias poses this provocative question in his latest post: Many people say they favor redistribution from the rich to the poor because they feel sorry for the poor. The poor suffer from having too little money, and it doesn’t take much money to help them a lot. In contrast, the rich … Continue reading If we redistribute wealth, why not beauty?