Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Dave Winer is a true technology legend. He founded his first company in 1981, and became a high-tech millionaire in 1987 when he sold it to Symantec…and that was all before he created blogging, RSS, OPML, and podcasting. He’s uniquely positioned to comment on the impact of monetary “success” in Silicon Valley: http://bit.ly/12ABJmx “A few … Continue reading Success isn’t about Money, it’s about Time
First off, I wouldn’t mind being a world-famous billionaire. I know a couple of world-famous billionaires, and their lives are pretty darn cool. But such a goal is easier set than achieved. Until that time, my happy and optimistic brain has tackled the easier task of finding the good side of not being a billionaire. … Continue reading The Upside Of Not Being A Billionaire
The realization struck me as I was listening to Darryl “DMC” McDaniels of Run-DMC tell the story of when he sat in his hotel room while on tour and thought about killing himself. McDaniels thought back over his life and his runaway success and realized that he still wasn’t happy. Many of us go through … Continue reading The Reason The Rich & Famous Commit Suicide
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
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
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?
(image credit: darkmatter)Being a cheap-ass bastard, I’ve never understood conspicuous consumption. But what would you expect from someone who graduated from HBS, then bought a Toyota Corolla Value Edition (no power windows, no power locks, no trunk light, no hubcaps)? According to the latest research, however, conspicuous consumption is more common among the poor. And … Continue reading Wealth, Race, and Conspicuous Consumption
Sometimes I read an article, and I think to myself, “This is a blatant and cynical attempt to use our ugly fascination with wealth and celebrity as linkbait.” But when the subject is as ripe as this one, I can’t resist. The New York Times, in its ongoing attempts to paint the past dozen years … Continue reading Whaddya Know–You *Can’t* Buy Happiness
My buddy Ben wrote recently: “Last night, at my favorite cafe in San Francisco, I said to a friend that Obama’s speech at Wesleyan kind of made me squirm.” He felt that Obama’s words implied a collectivist (read: socialist) mindset that subordinated the individual to the group, and indicated a disdain for the invisible hand … Continue reading Individualism and Collectivism Aren’t Polar Opposites
New research shows that the old saw that money can’t buy happiness has an important exception–you can buy happiness *IF* you spend it on someone else. “Spending as little as $5 a day on someone else could significantly boost happiness, the team at the University of British Columbia and Harvard Business School found.Their experiments on … Continue reading Money Can Buy Happiness