Here is your Seven-Bullet Monday
1. A quote I am pondering:
"Plans are nothing; planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
You may have heard the saying that the best-laid plans come to nought. Yes, plans A, B, and C may all fail, but the good planners will still be able to figure out another plan that will work. This quote from Dwight Eisenhower tells us that the power comes from the process of planning, not the plans. That's because those doing the planning develop the inherent flexibility and ability to respond to numerous variables.
2. A question I am asking myself:
How do I ask simple, elegant, and insightful questions that cannot be answered easily?
I still do far too much talking and not enough listening, but I am determined to address that by learning to ask much better questions, listen carefully to the answers, and then ask great follow up questions like "Why is that important to you?", "What's the hardest thing about that? "or "What's the best thing about that?".
3. A book I am reading:
The Psychology of Money: Timeless lessons on wealth, greed and happiness – Morgan Housel
In The Psychology of Money, Morgan Housel gives excellent practical advice, encompassing some 20 short stories exploring the strange ways people think about money. Investing is typically taught as largely math-based. What Housel shows in this book is that emotions are hugely influential on investment decisions and that we should take careful account of emotions both in market analysis and testing our own decision making.
4. My favourite podcast this week:
Ted Talks – How wind energy could power Earth … 18 times over – Dan Jorgensen
Did you know that the tallest wind turbines are now twice the height of the Statue of Liberty? This Ted Talk is a great little episode from Denmark, where they are now building massive offshore wind turbine farms that can power hydrogen manufacture through electrolysis. Hydrogen has the potential to one-day power planes and ships. If this can be made from cheap wind power, it does present a viable alternative to batteries, where long durations or weight are critical limitations.
5. Hugh-Tips
Work on growing your income surplus over your expenses
There is much wisdom in the saying, "If your outgo exceeds your income, your upkeep becomes your downfall." The most foundational rule of building wealth is that it must consistently exceed your expenses no matter your income level. And the more significant the excess earnings you can sustain, the more you can invest them in growing your net worth. This, over time, will create multiple and increasing streams of income that will turbocharge your journey to financial freedom. So, my challenge is to look at your monthly financials and explore opportunities to reduce expenses to increase that surplus reasonably. Likewise, is there anything you can do to increase your income? By working both sides of the equation and being disciplined with consistently investing that surplus, you create a much better future for yourself and your loved ones. A little bit of discipline and want-deferral now will create the wealth where your future self will one day be thanking your current self.
6. My highlight this last week
Seeing our first Sustainability Report starting to take shape
We will publish the first Conuma Resources Sustainability Report next month. This week I received some of the first drafts back from different graphic designers I have engaged worldwide on Upwork, at incredibly cheap rates by Canadian standards. I was pleased with the quality of the drafts that came back, in some cases exceeding my expectations.
7. My challenge to you for this week
Recap on the best books you have read
We all have notable books that we have read or listened to in the past. However, when we try to recall what the books taught us, our memories can sometimes let us down. That's why I encourage you to find recaps on the books and use those to refresh your learnings. There are bountiful options out there, such as blinklist.com, summaries.com, getAbstract.com, and some free ones, where you can grab a short-form PDF or audio summary of the book, providing easy recollection. I now have around 70 book summaries stored on my Evernote. I have found this method to be a tremendous resource for book recaps, making sure I continue to apply the lessons and principles they provide.
Have a wonderful week
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