Category: Everything else

High yield savings accounts

A simple and useful piece of personal finance reminder I received recently was to move saved cash from an ordinary savings account to a high yield savings account. Where I am, that instantly changes the interest rate from ~0% interest to ~1.9%.

Of course, a “high yield savings account” is just a fancy name for an account that ensures your money keeps up with inflation. But, if you maintain an emergency fund in your savings account, for example, it is worth finding a savings account that at least ensures you don’t lose money to inflation every year.

Over time, that is worth a lot – literally. :-)

Gifts of the internet

I’ve been re-reading “The Pyramid Principle” by Barbara Minto over the past few days. It is the go-to book on learning to present your thinking in writing. I’d first read the book in 2011 and I remember feeling the book didn’t resonate. My only explanations for walking away with that feeling are i) inexperience and ii) (relative) stupidity – as my second read has been eye opening. This post isn’t about my synthesis – more on that in the next few days.

As I was working through the book last night, I decided to take a break by checking out Barbara Minto’s website. I found a contact form and wrote out a quick, short thank you to her for the book. And, voila, I woke up this morning to find a note from her in my inbox expressing her gratitude for the thank you and offering to help if I had further questions.

We’ve had a lot of conversations about the downsides of technology – excessive click bait, fake news, etc., etc. These conversations are important as every tool has its downsides. But, it is also tempting to become cynical about technology’s potential for positive impact and change. The internet’s ability to remove boundaries and enable us to connect with people we admire halfway around the world is second to none. When used with thought and generosity, it can be an incredible gift.

It is up to us to use it well.

4 shows that resonated

As I looked back at books I read in the first 6 months yesterday, I thought I’d do the same with 4 shows that resonated/are resonating.

  1. Planet Earth II (Netflix)- narrated by David Attenborough. When you are #1 and #3 on the list of the top rated TV shows of all time – in an age when you are competing with the likes of Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and Sherlock – you know you’re onto something special. Planet Earth II is awe inspiring, educational, and thought provoking all at once. It reminds us that being on this planet is a privilege and of the fact that privilege comes with responsibility. I’m incredibly grateful to BBC and David Attenborough for their work.
  2. Parenthood (Netflix). Parenthood is a hidden gem. It is the story of a family of 4 siblings and their kids and the complex web of relationships between them. The show takes the time to develop characters and feels real – a kid with Aspergers, a multi-racial family, marriage troubles, old age health issues, and so on. I think being a parent made me appreciate the show more.
  3. Hunters and the Hunted (Netflix) – narrated by David Attenborough. We are still in the midst of watching this. Captivating.
  4. Goliath (Amazon Prime)- starring Billy Bob Thornton. The word I’ll use to describe Goliath and the performance of the cast in season 1 is “riveting.” The first season of Goliath comprised 8 episodes where BBT, a down-and-out lawyer, takes up a case that pits him against a massive oil company and the firm he co-founded. Season 2 sees him spring into action following a murder of a friend. We’re still watching season 2 – so, here’s hoping it lives up. (Update: Season 2 doesn’t live up as the original writer left. :-()

Happy weekend!

The Art of Learning and other great books

I’ve updated my book reviews blog with reviews and notes from 8 books from the first half of the year. Of these, “The Art of Learning” was my absolute favorite. There were many lessons that stuck chords deep within.

But, “The Art of Learning” may not be the book you are seeking right now. And, if that’s the case, there are 226 other non fiction books that have been reviewed and categorized. I’ve attempted to provide a quick overview of the theme of the book, share my top takeaways, and in many cases, also shared notes I took along the way. These notes aren’t intended to be a sharing of learning – notes and summaries can’t do that as they are notes based on what resonated for the note taker. They’re simply intended to provide more color into what the book is about.

Great book experiences only become so when we are ready to soak the learning in them. Hopefully, this resource helps you find a book that you’re seeking right now.

Somewhere in there is a book that will likely change your life… I hope you find it.

Spasibo

It is one thing to deal with the disappointment of becoming the first team in ~50 years to lose a World Cup knockout game after going two goals up. It is quite another to follow that up with a spotless dressing room and a thank you note written in your host nation’s language (“Spasibo”).

Of course, the Japanese soccer team were not alone in doing this. Their fans (along with the Senegalese fans) had endeared themselves to the hosts by cleaning up stadiums after their games. I had two reflections from Team Japan’s behavior.

First, I’ve thought about the line “leave everything a little better than you found it.” That is very hard to do consistently. But, what if we at least held ourselves to the standard of “leave everything at least as well as you found it?” Would we waste less, recycle, and compost more?

Second, the behavior exhibited by the Japanese isn’t a result of inspiration leadership and great strategy. It is simply a cultural norm – “this is what people like us do in such situations.” It speaks to the power of setting cultural norms for ourselves, our families, and our teams. Culture is both strategy and leadership in the long run.

What if it were easier?

There’s no dearth of interesting “what if it were easier” questions. For example –

  • What if getting our projects resourced was easier?
  • What if good health/relationships were easier to maintain?
  • What if our teams/executives easily understood our thought process and the value we were adding?
  • What if our immigration problems just vanished? :-)

While occasionally interesting as thought experiments, the fallacy here is an implicit assumption that easier is better. If you have been so fortunate as to get things after having worked hard or after many failed attempts, you know that that isn’t the case.

So, when we face our challenges, it might just be worth replacing the “what if it were easier question” with “what would it take for me to be better?”

Easier isn’t better. Better is better.

Doing the thoughtful thing

The trouble with aiming to always do the right thing is that it doesn’t apply to a majority of situations we encounter everyday.

Every once a while, we may encounter a situation where we know exactly what the right thing is. But, more often than not, it is unclear what we ought to optimize for and for what time frame.

A better approach, then, is to aim to do the thoughtful thing. It is a great approach to minimize regret and maximize peace as it means we’ve done the best with what we know. When we know better, we will do better.

And, besides, it turns out that the right thing is just the cumulative result of one thoughtful decision after another.

When you are ready

We were scouring blogs on “potty” training for kids recently. A common question around potty training is about the right time to do it. There’s plenty of advice on timing and the recommended range is between 2 and 3 years.

But, one of the wiser pieces of advice we read was from a blogger who said – a parent’s readiness is as important (if not more) than the readiness of her child.

We’ve found this to be true every time we’ve tried to make a significant change as parents (moving baby to her own room for example). Her readiness generally follows our own.

It strikes me that this is applicable for most changes we try to make in our lives. It is easy to look around for the best time to do so.

But, there isn’t a best time. The best time is when we are ready…

Not a race

Every once a while, it is worth reminding ourselves that it is not a race. It is also not zero sum. We aren’t in a competition in any aspect of our lives. The game doesn’t end in 90 minutes or a quarter or a year.

While our default state assumes all of that, it couldn’t be further away from the truth. We’re playing an infinite game. The objective of the game is whatever we decide it should be. And, our only real competitor for comparison is our past self.