Economists are smart.
They optimize their decisions to get maximum benefit with minimum effort.
Most people buy similar products from similar brands in similar places.
Most people practice meh economics, not max economics.
Richard Thaler understood this and wrote a book that raised the quality of life for entire nations.
Some ideas in there could raise the quality of your life too.
Inspiration without action is entertainment.
Knowledge without purpose is information.
Are you wasting time or enjoying time?
Trust, invented in the medieval times to offer a peace of mind to those who might not return from the battlefield. A soldier give authority of their assets to carry their intentions.
As times changed, trusts evolved. It can avoid hefty inheritance tax, bypass processes and protect assets.
These are financial tools are worth understanding. More than using them, you might learn if someone is worth your trust depending on how they are using these tools.
Why am I so energy and time-poor?
As I reflected on the question, I was surprise by how many reasons emerges.
This got me thinking about advice. How can I possibly offer the right advice without knowing the nuance?
How can I ask the right question to know the problem?
I learned two new words this week that I really like, reductive and provocative.
Sometimes I hear an explanation, “We are just atom, vibrating”., “We are just energy”.
It is technically true, but something is missing. That’s reductive.
Reductive doesn’t mean untrue. It means cutting away too much truth.
Is business just about making money? Is love the answer? Is that just trauma?
Provocative, it sounds exactly like what it means.
It explain why it’s okay to exaggerate (emotions, stories or our clothes) to get it across and land in our head.
Picture the world’s attention as onebig squishy pile of apathy. To cut through, our idea, music or business, has to be both true and provocative.
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is reductive and provocative.
Warnings prevent unhappy screaming customers.
People want to do the right things, if you care enough to inform them.
Who would miss me if I’m gone?
Did I earn the benefit of the doubt from people I respect?
When I’m home to my family, am I a better person?
Did I leave a footprint that I’m proud of?
Did I do my best today?
What feels like a day well-spent?
It’s short-term capitalism.
Capitalism, together with industrialism and technology, has given pencils, books and air conditioning. It got us through COVID with record-low harm (the Spanish flu killed 50 million people).
It continues to gift us new innovations that we rely on every day.
Short-term capitalism, however, tries hard to create lock-in, inflate prices, reduce competition, and innovation. It treats humans as a cog and seeks to maximise profits without creating value.
Capitalism is an extraordinary engine. Like any vehicle, we need guardrails (policies to prevent monopolies), a diagnostic system (to call out the bad actors), and effective steering (policies) to guide it in the right direction.
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