The world is full of hard businesses like steel mills. As a general rule, it is best to avoid them if you want to make a lot of money given that they tend to involve more risk due to lower returns on capital, weaker balance sheets, higher indebtedness, and a host of other factors.
DetailsShortly after high school and during college, I found myself having to travel often. A family member who had experienced almost every airline, large and small, traveling as part of a successful medical career, recommended a small regional carrier called Midwest Airlines. Not only did they offer fewer passengers per flight by having two leather…
DetailsI have been hearing a lot of grumbling lately from friends and fellow gamers about the cost of video games. The economist in me cringes when an otherwise rational person jumps into a diatribe on the state of video game pricing and the various console wars because it reminds me of those people who insist that gas is at an all-time high, even when the inflation-adjusted cost of traveling one mile is less than it was in the 1950s. Listening to it makes me realize how thoroughly our education system has failed at producing rational, informed citizens capable of competing in the information age where knowledge is power.
DetailsHow Many People Earn More than $1,000,000 Per Year In the United States? This mail bag question deals with a sub-specialty of the top 1%; those earning more than $1,000,000 per year, or $83,333 per month, often in the form of dividends, interest, and rents. How many people earn more than $1 million a year…
DetailsThis is one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever seen … there are people who can’t recognize faces; even their own, or their children. They think as many as 1 in 50 people suffer from it, but just like color blindness, it never occurs to them that they are different unless they have to…
DetailsAs I’ve explained in my two bucket theory, time is one of the most important, if not the most important, commodity you have. To a large extent, your life represents how you’ve invested your time thus far. Whether you are rich or poor, in shape or overweight, successful or a failure, well put together or a…
DetailsEach of us has a brain chemistry baseline that is part of our genetics. Some people are naturally content most of the time. Others are miserable no matter how well their life is going. No one ever tells the people in the latter category how to function.
DetailsAfter writing We All See, Smell, Hear, Taste, and Feel the World Differently, I have been running different exercises and simulations in my life to add to my knowledge of other people’s perspectives; how they go through the world and how those input filters influence cognition. One of the tools has been image filters to see…
DetailsI left work and went to Lowe’s to pick up a few things for the home renovation project. As I’m walking and conversing with Aaron, with whom I was speaking at the time, I see pickaxes out of the side of my eye. I think in the back of my mind, “Oh, I need that to…
DetailsTo the fragrance aficionados writing me, yes, I realize I haven’t written a fragrance review or update in six months, since responding to the Mail Bag question asking to look inside my fragrance cabinet. Sorry. I’ve been busy with other things. I’ll try to be better. And thank you for sharing your recommendations and suggestions for new…
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