Smart Things I've Read Recently

Here are some quotes I’ve collected on life, wisdom, money, philosophy, and psychology. I hope you find them as profound as I do.

“A happy life is not a life without struggle, it's a life with manageable struggle.” - Mark Manson

“Depriving yourself of present adventures by throwing every penny into index funds is just as dangerous as blowing every last dollar on cheap, frivolous thrills.” - Jack Raines

“I think a lot of people wish they wanted to make more money than they thought they actually did or they wanted status more or it was important to them where they live or what clothes they wear or whatever. And I think a lot of people don't actually want those things that much, but they feel like they should or they're very scared of the consequences of acting like someone who doesn't, and then they really get into this mess.” - Jeremy Giffon

“Anytime you get a truth that humanity doesn’t understand, that’s a huge competitive advantage.” - William Green

“The mind is infinite in wisdom. The brain is a stupid, little dog that is easily trained. Do not confuse the mind with the brain. The brain is so easy to master. You just have to confine it. You confine it. And it’s done through repetition and systematization.” - Jerry Seinfeld

“Is it worse to be in a bad place with people you like, or in a beautiful place all alone?” - Anthony Bourdain

“If conventional thinking makes your mission impossible, then unconventional thinking is necessary.” - Elon Musk

“The smartest minds of our generation are either buying or selling stocks or predicting if you’ll click an ad this is the tragedy of our generation.” - Sam Bankman Fried (don’t like the guy but he was spot on here - I’d also throw in professional logo arrangers of which I count myself one)

“A wealthy man is one who earns $100 a year more than his wife's sister's husband.'” - H.L. Mencken

“Your preparedness shouldn’t make sense in a world where the biggest historical events all would have sounded absurd before they happened.” - Morgan Housel

“People love to argue minor points, partially because they feel it absolves them from actually having to do anything.” - Ramit Sethi

“The stories get passed on and the truth gets passed over.” - Cormac McCarthy

“Greed for money - for the sake of money alone, rather than its attendant status - requires years of patience to learn.” - Michael Lewis

“In trying it, you must use real money. Making “mind bets” won’t do. Like all of life’s richest emotional experiences, the full flavor of losing important money cannot be conveyed by literature.” - Fred Schwed

“Your average wall streeter, faced with nothing profitable to do, does nothing for only a brief time. Then, suddenly and hysterically, he does something which turns out to be extremely unprofitable. He is not a lazy man.” - Fred Schwed

“We’ve got great flexibility and a certain discipline in terms of not doing some foolish thing just to be active - discipline in avoiding just doing any damn thing just because you can’t stand inactivity.” - Charlie Munger

“A sad soul can kill you quicker, far quicker, than a germ.” - John Steinbeck

“The biggest determinant of an individual’s savings rate is their level of income.” - Nick Maggiulli

“All you need in this life are ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.” - Mark Twain

“Happiness is reality less expectations. When you control your budget you control your expectations.” - Vitaliy Katsenelson

“I just feel like if you spend too much time mastering the nuances of ethics then you are probably becoming less ethical? The nuances are the least ethical parts of ethics. If you find yourself saying “actually subparagraph (j) of Section 173 of the rules qualifies the rule in Section 124,” or whatever, are you arguing to do something more ethical, or less ethical?” - Matt Levine

“Anyone looks like a genius when they’re in a good position, and even the smartest person looks like an idiot when they’re in a bad one.” - Shane Parrish

“The records of people and companies that are outliers are always a mix of a reasonable amount of intelligence, hard work and a lot of luck.” - Charlie Munger

“Inherited wealth is a real handicap to happiness. It is as certain death to ambition as cocaine is to morality.” - William Vanderbilt

“Your habits are modern solutions to ancient desires.” - James Clear

Thanks for reading.