Mental Model: The Drunkard’s Search The Drunkard’s Search: The tendency for people to search in the easiest places, rather than the ones that are the most likely to yield results. The name comes from the idea of a drunkard seeking his car keys under a street lamp because the light is better instead of where…
I mentioned yesterday in the article on Dairy Queen franchise owners that after graduating from college, Aaron and I had looked into putting capital to work by opening several franchises in the town where we grew up.
Satisficing is a psychological and economic phenomenon that results from consumers choosing a product that meets criteria at an adequate level, rather than expending a great deal more time to find a fully optimal solution.
A few weeks ago, I was reading a political message board where some commentators espoused their sincere belief that all of humanity’s problems will be solved when they succeed in implementing dominion theology. Intrigued, I began to research the concept. What I found was frightening.
A week or two ago, I wrote an article called Understanding Stock Repurchase Plans for About.com, a division of The New York Times, which discussed Sonic Restaurant and the massive stock buy back program that had taken place over the past few years. In it, I walked the readers through a lot of the math and explained that I had purchased a couple hundred shares to watch and monitor the stock through one of my companies, Mount Olympus Awards, LLC. (I’ve since increased it to about 500 shares to continue watching and waiting to see how events unfold).
Early in life, I developed a theory that there were five levels of building wealth that most self-made men (and women) go through to reach financial independence. The theory began due to my love for Carl Barks Scrooge McDuck comics.
I believe one of the signs of a life well lived is the fact that you wake up every morning and jump out of bed because you can’t wait to spend your time focusing on something that makes every part of you – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – satisfied. This is going to be different for everyone.
We are in the process of rolling out some pricing changes for our letterman jacket business (we’re going to get aggressive on certain discounts for certain products). As we were updating the website, a beautiful, huge snowstorm hit. It’s really peaceful working here right now.
I was reading a site called Student Loan Justice as well as a piece at the Huffington Post where people are talking about their “overwhelming” student loan debt that is – wait for it – $15,000 or $30,000. Basically, less than the value of a car. Or tobacco costs for a couple, both of whom smoke a pack of cigarettes each day for five to ten years. Or 4 to 8 months of pre-tax income for the average American household.
Everyone focuses on the stuff the rich people collect. Yet, the biggest secret is that the rich are really collectors of rents, royalties, dividends, and interest. Whether song rights, hotel ownership, businesses, sales commissions, stocks, timberland, or patents, these are the things they truly amass.