On Thriving in Volatility, Lessons on the Game of Life, and a Journey Around the World
Books that changed my life
Hello all!
Here is your weekly dose of books that changed my life.
1. Decision making
Optionality: How to Survive and Thrive in a Volatile World
Summary
This is one of the most useful books that you probably never heard of. I loved it. Our life is mostly defined by our decisions, yet so many of those decisions are based on false narratives. Moreover, there are few opportunities to learn how to make a good decision. I never thought about optionality until I read this book and now I can’t stop thinking about it.
Insight: Optionality gives you room to breathe. You can take it easy. Wait, wait, wait, and then swing for the fat pitches.
Insight: Bottomless pits display asymmetry in the wrong direction: the upside is fixed and the downside is unbounded - classic example is Russian roulette. Others, motorcycles, addictive drugs, cyber security, moonlighting for Uber (any side hustle requiring more hours), buying stocks, watching TV. While the treasure chests: scalable side-hustles, venture capital-style bets, reading books, messaging strangers.
Quote: You can have anything you want, but you can’t have everything you want. -Richard Meadows
Quote: A single cockroach will completely wreck the appeal of a bowl of cherries, but a cherry will do nothing at all for a bowl of cockroaches. -Richard Meadows
Currencies of life:
Time
Health
Money
Mental bandwidth
Energy
Social status
Hedonic pleasure
Meaning
Author: Richard Meadows
Themes: Decision making, Human psychology, Philosophy, Personal development
My personal notes from the book
2. Memoir
Coach: Lessons on the Game of Life
Summary
Anything Michael Lewis writes is worth reading. This is a little known book by Lewis that explores the impact a childhood baseball coach had on his life. I’ve taken this to heart and experimented by forming and coaching a youth baseball team. These are the results.
Insight: There are teachers with a rare ability to enter a child’s mind; it’s as if their ability to get there at all gives them the right to stay forever.
Insight: My goal in life is not for my son to play college ball. Fitz has made my kid a better person, not just a better athlete. He's taught him that if he works at it, anything he wants, it's there for him.
Quote: What is to give light must endure burning -Viktor Frankl
Author: Michael Lewis
Themes: Memoir, Personal development, Living a full life
My personal notes from the book
3. Investing
Investment Biker: Around the World with Jim Rogers
Summary
Jim Rogers is one of the people I turn to for his financial and life philosophy. Investment Biker includes his musings (economic, historical, philosophical) from traveling around the world on a motorcycle. It is insightful in so many ways.
Principle: They will always tell you that this time is different, but it is never different, It is just a different situation. Trees don't grow to the sky, stock markets don't go up forever, and high prices cut back demand. No one has ever repealed the law of supply and demand and no one ever will.
Insight: One of the biggest mistakes most investors make is believing they've always got to be doing something, investing their idle cash. In fact, the worst thing that happens to many investors is to make big money on an investment. They are so flushed, excited, and triumphant that they say to themselves, ok, now let me find another one. They should simply put their money in the bank and wait patiently for the next sure thing. The trick in investing is not to lose money. The loses will kill you. They ruin your compounding rate, and compounding is the magic to investing.
Quote: If you've got a dream, you have to try it; you must get it out of your system. You will never get another chance. If you want to change your life, do it. -Jim Rogers
Author: Jim Rogers
Themes: Investing, Wealth creation, Personal finance, Economics, Travel
My personal notes from the book
That’s a wrap. Thanks for reading!
Please continue to share with me the books that changed your life!
Best,
Adam
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