Quotes
“The key to investing is not assessing how much an industry is going to affect society, or how much it will grow, but rather determining the competitive advantage of any given company and, above all, the durability of that advantage. The products or services that have wide, sustainable moats around them are the ones that deliver rewards to investors.”
-Warren Buffett
Indie Kids
Like many words these days, “indie” has become a buzzword.
But to me, “indie” carries a lot of meaning. To me, pure “indie” culture is socially easy-going and friendly. But don’t mistake that for laziness, because indies are passionate people at heart. They get really excited by something — the unrestricted exploration process, discovery, and experience — of some particular field — maybe it’s music, science, social work, technology, fashion, food, or the outdoors. (Though some, perhaps many, may not have found their field yet.)
Indies don’t like to boast about their own accomplishments within their field. Whatever it is they love to do, nothing tops doing it, nothing tops the experience, nothing is better than discovering something new. Sure there may be a playful competition amongst close friends, which helps to stimulate constant progress. But that’s not why they do it.
For indies, true happiness comes from being able to engage in their field — to do what they do.
This pure sense of happiness can’t be faked. When you see someone in this state — someone who lives like this — it just brings a smile to your face. Like kids do; especially when they’re playing.
Indies are easy-going. But at their core, they’re also obsessive. What motivates them is the exploration process and discovery of new knowledge and experience. Stuff they can share with others to progress their field, in order to keep playing in their playground.
Indies are just older kids.
One Read
1. Inside The Secret World Of Trader Joe’s (money.cnn.com)
“Apple’s retail stores aren’t the only place where lines form these days. It’s 7:30 on a July morning, and already a crowd has gathered for the opening of Trader Joe’s newest outpost, in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. The waiting shoppers chat about their favorite Trader Joe’s foods, and a woman in line launches into a monologue comparing the retailer’s West Coast and East Coast locations. Another customer suggests that the chain will be good for Chelsea, even though the area is already brimming with places to buy groceries, including Whole Foods and several upscale food boutiques.”
Taste For Makers
Selected parts (I’ve taken what I think is most important) from Paul Graham’s “Taste For Makers”:
Good design is simple. When you’re forced to be simple, you’re forced to face the real problem. When you can’t deliver ornament, you have to deliver substance.
Good design is timeless. Aiming at timelessness is also a way to evade the grip of fashion. Fashions almost by definition change with time, so if you can make something that will still look good far into the future, then its appeal must derive more from merit and less from fashion.
Good design solves the right problem. The typical stove has four burners arranged in a square, and a dial to control each. How do you arrange the dials? The simplest answer is to put them in a row. But this is a simple answer to the wrong question. The dials are for humans to use, and if you put them in a row, the unlucky human will have to stop and think each time about which dial matches which burner. Better to arrange the dials in a square like the burners.
Look Ahead
I’ve never been much interested in the past (which I think is different than “history”).
Regardless of whether your past was good or bad, if you live in it, you’ll most certainly become unhappy. Either unhappy because it was terrible, or unhappy because it was so great, and presumably, your life now doesn’t live up to that.
If your past was terrible, you should look ahead to the future.
If your past was great, you should look ahead to the future.
But I do think you can learn valuable lessons from your past which enables you to look ahead more effectively.
Just don’t live there.
Marriage Proposal
This will be hard to top.
About Me
To know me is to move with me.