One of the greatest observations, and most empowering truths, ever penned, uttered, conceived by the human mind came into being when Alice Koller had the strength of character to admit to herself: I’ve arrived at this outermost edge of my life by my own actions. Where I am is thoroughly unacceptable. Therefore, I must stop…
With the holidays concluded, too many Thanksgiving, Christmas, and reunion dinners to count, endless nights with family and friends, and the bulk of the busy season behind us in the businesses, we spent today in our pajamas as the snow fell outside, cooking a pot roast and working on some projects we wanted to finish. (Technically, we still have one Christmas celebration left, which was postponed until later this week.)
There is a new interactive quiz at The New York Times that lets you see how your speech choices match up with various geographic regions in the nation. It’s fairly quick and can provide some interesting results. Here’s a look at mine. I’m most verbally at home in Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky, though, interestingly, I have a…
Jeremy wanted to know what I thought of a specific business but I think it’s more important to talk about how I think about businesses in general. Here’s a rundown of what I see when a company’s annual report lands on my desk.
I’ve been thinking about you this Christmas season. This audience is unique. Demographically, you represent a collection of men and women with far above average talents, connections, and resources. The power you have to change lives in your own communities is huge. A small amount of output, when you set your mind to it, can have a disproportionately large benefit…
One of you, writing under the name Emma, posed a question in the comments section of another post. You asked me whether or not I thought a firm like Coca-Cola could repeat its historical performance. Rather than answer the question directly, I realized this would be a great opportunity to explain the variables that drive…
Visiting Aunt Donna, Mexican Coke, Race Cars, and Putting Together a Retirement Plan Our afternoon was spent in Independence, Missouri taking advantage of the secret rebate Costco is giving its members on imported Mexican Coca-Cola. At Amazon, a 24 pack of 12 ounce Mexican Coke is $44.95. Costco normally sells them for $19.92 if you have…
You can tell what I’m studying because I become completely, totally, hopelessly obsessed with it; the recent posts about the structure of the bottlers, the biographies of past executives, the SEC disclosures, the look inside the factories, the custodial trusts for the nieces and nephews and the DRIP for my sister, the discussion of deferred taxes as a way to leverage investment returns without debt, and now, even the Christmas tree. It’s always Coca-Cola.
In the late 19th century, a man named Benjamin Franklin Thomas decided he wanted to be rich. He became obsessed with business, investing, and finding a single opportunity that would set him up for life, allowing him to live off his capital. According to Constance L. Hays in her book The Real Thing: Truth and Power…
For the past hour, my mind has been on the power of some businesses to capture annuity streams that pay dividends for years, even decades or generations, with very little additional work. When you can get one of these in your portfolio, they pump out wealth as long as you update them every once in a while. They are the closest thing to geese laying golden eggs that exist outside of fairy tales.