Timeless investing wisdom for a happier life
Simplicity is the key to the most important things, from creating passive income to leading a happier, more fulfilled life.
We are constantly pulled this way and that: by our impulses as investors, as humans.
It is often exhausting just keeping the show on the road and getting out of bed every morning.
That’s why I want to share with you this timeless wisdom. Not just for investing, wealth and money. But of philosophy, science, art and humanity.
In the hope it provides you with the tools you need to make the best of your situation.
And maybe be a little kinder to yourself.
The TL;DR
If you only want the highlights of the highlights, here they are.
Nothing always becomes something with intent, and time
Ignoring 99% of what you read on the internet will probably make you richer
Today’s economy is not as important as you think
If you want a shot at getting wiser, keep reading.
Nothing always becomes something with intent, and time
Starting with nothing is depressing. It makes us feel like we have failed before we have even begun.
I’m thinking of a friend who is in his 40s, like me, and has no savings or investments.
Like most good people, he just wants a better life for his kids, and for his partner.
I have tried to instil in him a single idea.
Just making a start: to create something from nothing, is good enough.
Intent kickstarts the process.
Repeating small, achievable habits creates value out of thin air.
And time takes care of the rest.
The English writer Will Durant, interpreting the Greek giant Aristotle, wrote this in 1926 in The Story of Philosophy.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”
Ursula K Le Guin, perhaps our greatest science fiction writer, took this idea and expanded on it beautifully in 1968’s A Wizard of Earthsea.
“Each deed you do, each act, binds you to itself and makes you act again and yet again.
“Then, very seldom, do you come upon a space, a time like this, between act and act, when you may stop and simply be. Or wonder who, after all, you are.”
Good habits, whether in investing or the rest of life, are hard to stick to. They seem to do nothing for an annoyingly long time, until one day you turn around and find that they were working for you — like passive income — all along.
Compound interest works because it multiples upon itself. When you save money, you earn interest. But you also earn interest on the interest.
Compound interest may not make you more interesting, but it will probably make you wealthier.
And passive income allows you the time to pause, breathe and look around you once in a while.
Deliberate action is required to get started. But stopping a moment to watch the flowers grow will never hurt you.
And what we “repeatedly do” can save us in the end.
Ignoring 99% of what you read on the internet will probably make you richer
Not all writers come at you, armed with information, with your best interests at heart. Some just want to get paid.
Some are willing to forgo passing on valuable information to sell you something you don’t need, and may regret.
There is a good reason why people still write hundreds of thousands of words in the laughably-archaic technology of paper books, when all the world’s knowledge is available for free to anyone with an internet connection.
But we can add a distinct and unshakable sense of unease to the written word that is shared on phones, tablets and computer screens.
In the age of AI and ChatGPT it can be difficult to tell whether there is a real human behind the words you are reading.
I refuse to use it as a writing aid. It feels like I’d be cheating myself, and cheating you.
Some do. Some find it tremendously useful for sketching out the borders and boundaries of articles.
It can be a massive timesaver if your intention is to simply write as much as possible, as fast as possible, to meet a quota of Fine But Not Brilliant articles.
Ask anyone who writes for a living and there will be stuff in the back catalogue they’re not particularly proud of.
But the best books manage to distil the learnings of decades or hundreds of years into practical, simple, actionable wisdom.
So, when you read, try to let the words wash over you. Let them sit with you. Give ideas time to percolate. Nothing is quite as urgent as the brain makes it seem.
You will not die in a ditch, covered in petrol, on fire, if you don’t take advantage of this life-changing opportunity, immediately now-now-now.
And this is our other cross to bear. More information, more data, does not necessarily make you better informed.
“As intelligence goes up, happiness goes down. See, I made a chart. I make a lot of charts.”
— Lisa Simpson, “HOMЯ”, Season 12, Episode 9, written by Al Jean, 2001
Our most scarce resource is not money, or attention. It is lifespan.
So, being selective about who and what you read is probably the greatest investment you can make.
Today’s economy is not as important as you think
“Man shall not live on bread alone
So sayeth Deuteronomy
Could be optimistic
In light of the economy”
— Pam Ayres, You Made Me Late Again, 2015
Reading that the global economy is in the toilet today, or that a stock market crash is just around the corner — this can be a debilitating idea that stops us starting what we need to do to get going.
It’s not easy. You will have to sacrifice something today for the unknowable future. Whether that’s upfront cash, or the shiny trinkets that satisfy a craving but weaken your ability to use your time as you please. God knows I’ve been there myself.
No matter the state of GDP, or consumer price inflation, or how much you’re managing to save each month (if any). You can begin now, if you choose to.
Maurice Block, the great German statistician, notably said that, if we can, we “tend to obtain the greatest possible result with the least effort”.
And passive income is an inherently hopeful, optimistic idea. Setting something in motion, now, that will pay off tenfold down the road. And it has worked more often than it has not.
So that’s it. Three lessons. A handful of great, pithy writers. Timeless wisdom. I hope it helps, in some way.
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You made it all the way to the End Credits. Good job. I dub you one of the End Creditors.
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Thanks,
Tom