Here is your Seven-Bullet Monday
1. A quote I am pondering:
"Every pro starts off as an amateur. There's not one top artist, athlete, writer, scientist, architect, entrepreneur, programmer, musician, or potter who enters the field at the top of her game. To begin anything new or learn anything new means you will be a neophyte. You must go from outsider to insider. Respect that. Embrace it. Be willing to suck.” ― Marie Forleo
From the author of Everything is Figuouratable comes this quote. Often when we are trying a new sport, a workout class, yoga, or a musical instrument, we feel embarrassed at our seeming ineptitude, and we feel that the seemingly accomplished practitioners there are looking down on us. The opposite is more likely to be true – they might be willing us on because they were in the same position not so long ago.
2. A question I am asking myself:
How can I grow my net worth in this down-market?
Like most other people, my investments have been on a downward slide this year, and May was particularly brutal. I could feel down about it or, like Buffet, be pleased that I can now buy more quality companies at lower prices. It takes courage to be a buyer when the market is in sell-down mode, and global economic prospects look their bleakest in years. So, the question is, what should I be buying right now that I can look back in years to come and say, that was a great decision to invest right then.
3. A book I am reading:
Renewable Energy: A Short Introduction - Nick Jelley
I found this book very informative as Nick Jelley explains renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, and biomass, as well as less-developed ones, like geothermal, tidal, and wave. He also details the challenges of integrating renewables into electricity grids, the need for energy storage and promising technologies unfolding in this field.
4. My favourite podcast this week:
The Great Speech Podcast – Ep 28 – Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech
Most people don't know that this speech wouldn't have been memorialized if Martin Luther King hadn't stopped reading his written speech and spoken from the heart after someone in the crowd yelled out for him to do so. It shows that genuine, heartfelt communication is much more impactful than the best professionally written speeches.
5. Hugh-Tips
Charlie Munger's quote this week:
"Certain virtues are common in all of Berkshire's subsidiaries. We don't create them – we select companies that have them already."
This quote caught my eye because of the part that said, "We don't create them". Buffet's and Munger's core investing principle has been to watch companies perform for many years and then purchase a significant shareholding at an opportune time. Contrast this with the vast number of IPOs offered (almost one a day in 2021), with sponsors enticing investors to buy into the latest unicorn to go public. I heard about one dodgy sponsor telling someone he would short the stock soon after it went public – how is that for integrity? Stick with the principle of buying great existing companies with a minimum ten-year track record, not overpaying for that company, and then doing nothing.
6. The most meaningful event this last week
Attending the Funeral Service for one of Tumbler Ridge's finest
As the verse goes, there is a time to be a born and a time to die. This last week our business, community and local families said farewell to one of their most respected and loved members. The service on Saturday was very moving, with tributes flowing in from far and wide and a final radio call from the Tumbler Ridge Fire & Rescue Team as they signed out the long-serving Doug for the last time. It is times like this that remind us how suddenly our lives can end, and it encourages us to live every hour of every day to the maximum and make sure that when our time comes, we leave with lots of memories, not just plans.
7. My challenge to you for this week
Write down ten ideas on a subject every day
I started doing this last week, and it is both challenging and fun. Our brain is a muscle that needs exercise, and the more we exercise it, the stronger it becomes. So, by pushing ourselves to write down ten ideas on different topics daily, we stretch our thinking and become more creative. The ideas can be anything from holiday plans to writing a book, spending less time in meetings, making new friends, or designing a cleaning robot. You won't regret it! Just give it a go!
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