Some of my best, most enjoyable days have been when I’m disconnected from the internet. I think it’s a healthy practice, to walk away from it. It’s a great reminder how noisy it all is.
But when I think back to the times I’ve taken long internet breaks I was always anxious to get reconnected.
Like I’d travel to Ghana or Nicaragua or wherever for a month. My phone wouldn’t work so I’d just leave it off. I’d...
When someone claims to have amazing long-term stock gains you know what else they have? Losses.
But investors hate losses!
Actually, it’s a common human trait. It’s been said the pain of loss is two times as powerful as the joy of gain.
In other words, a stock you bought that quickly rises 50% feels wonderful. You walk down the street with your chest puffed out. Your friends ask for investing tips. Your spouse thinks you’re brilliant.
But staring at a stock you...
Nothing kills young companies faster than wasting money.
You see it all the time in Silicon Valley. Entrepreneurs who burn through their cash. They rent office space with exposed brick walls. Buy expensive nut bars drizzled with dark chocolate.
Meanwhile, their scrappy counterparts move across the bay to Oakland. The rent is cheaper and they know every dollar they waste is stealing a dollar from building whatever needs to be built. Dollars are precious.
I once worked...
One approach to investing is timing the market.
You sell your investments when the market is at a peak and then wait for the next correction or recession to buy them back cheaper.
In practice, this might mean selling 10 shares of company stock at $50 per share and then, when the market crashes and the share price falls to $25 or so, buying back 20 shares with the proceeds. When the price recovers to $50 you’ve juiced your returns by 100%.
Smart, right?
But to...
Holbox is a tiny island in the Gulf of Mexico.
I was there on holiday in 2009 and liked it so much I returned ten years later, but discovered the sleepy fishing village had transformed into a packed tourist trap.
At dinner one night I overheard a guy complaining how congested the island had become. “This is our second time here, but last year there weren’t many tourists. It’s completely changed!”
That got me thinking about perspective....
