In 1956 Warren Buffett was managing about half a million dollars. He was working from a tiny study that could only be entered by passing through his bedroom.

He handled everything personally: typing letters on an IBM typewriter, filing paperwork, doing taxes. And nowadays he’s one of the wealthiest people in the world.

This got me thinking about what it means to be resourceful. That if being resourceful can put you on the path to riches, why aren’t more people resourceful?

You probably hear people...

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By Chris Reining / 0 Comments

A scorpion asks a frog to carry it across a river.

The frog hesitates, afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so, they would both drown.

Considering this, the frog agrees, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both.

While drowning, the frog cries, “But why?!”

Replies the scorpion, “It’s in my nature.”

Just like the scorpion, it’s in our nature to do what humans do. For...

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By Chris Reining / 8 Comments

Writing is mostly staring out the window. Spend enough time sitting there, staring at a blank page, and you get bored enough to start pecking away at the keyboard.

And the most gratifying aspect of stringing words together is the potential to change someone’s life. Think about that. You can probably rattle off some books that caused some profound change in the way you look at life.

That’s why my inbox is the lottery. I never know if an unread email is a winning...

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By Chris Reining / 0 Comments

Markets crash. On average, the market falls 10% once a year, about 20% every four or five years, about 30% every decade, and 50% a few times during your lifetime.

I used to think weathering market downturns should be easy. The market always recovers and reaches new highs. As Charlie Munger puts it:

“You can argue that if you’re not willing to react with equanimity to a market price decline of 50% two or three times a century, you’re not fit...

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By Chris Reining / 3 Comments

I used to think to be a millionaire all you had to do was make a lot of money. Then I realized most people earning six figures don’t have two nickels to rub together.

What’s the secret then? Living below your means so you can save, and then investing those savings.

And it took me a long time to realize there’s only so many expenses you can cut, so why not focus on...

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By Chris Reining / 1 Comment