Live Truly

The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

The Black Swan by Nassim Nicholas Taleb is one of those books that can completely change the way you see the world. It talks about the unknown unknown, the black swan, the highly improbable unpredictable event that changes the world and which we will we later try to explain away.

You believe all swans are white. Each time you see a white swan, it’s just confirmation of your belief. People can see millions of white swans, but it only takes one black swan to prove everything wrong.

I first heard of this book on Talk of the Nation’s Interview with Taleb, it stayed in my mind throughout my adventures in Thailand, and upon my return I finally got my hands on a copy and fell in love with it.

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The 4-Hour Workweek

I found out about The 4-Hour Workweek while reading a random Men’s Journal article. So far it has been fantastic. It has Q&A (Questions and Actions and expands on many concepts from Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

I especially appreciate the sheets you can download from his website (fourhourworkweek.com) and high speed push toward efficiency and figuring out what you really want… ie. not a sum of money… but what you’d actually do with it. It was really surprising when I asked quite a few people what they would do if they had all the money and time they wanted that they really had no clue. They never thought beyond the money/time part. What Timothy Ferriss does is make you ask the right questions and take the necessary steps before it’s too late. Lifestyle design should be a required subject.

You Can Be A Stock Market Genius Even If You’re Not Too Smart

You Can Be a Stock Market Genius Even if You’re Not Too Smart: Uncover the Secret Hiding Places of Stock Market Profits is another common sense meets sophisticated investing book by Greenblatt. I love this guy. This book looks at certain situations where an individual investor has an advantage (if he does his research… or her research). He goes over the basics and then gives some case studies. This book is from the mid-90’s, but I think, as far as investing goes it’s really the most educational one I’ve read. Graham’s Security Analysis might have more details, but its very dense reading, very worthwhile but slow to sink in–at least for me. This book on the other hand reads faster than a motivational tape! It’s written in the same funny, no-nonesense, down-to-earth style as his little one. A major concept in this book is the win-to-loss ratio, ie. how much can you win vs. how much can you lose on an investment. He also goes through acquisitions, mergers, and all sorts of other situations that may at first be intimidating, but become fascinating after his hold-your-hand, pat-your-back walkthrough. I wish I could take some of his classes… maybe in a few years. By the way, the portfolio I started based on his website is in the double digits, even after the latest crash. Too bad it’s only a play one.

Freakonomics

Freakonomics is one crazy eye-opening book. I recently got it as a present from my old roommate. I really can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from reading this book. It’s a potent mix of history, policy, economics, and some statistics and how they all interact in very surprising ways. Told in an approachable, fresh, fun to read (or listen to) voice.

The part on glamor professions really hits a point. Thousands of people in lower positions competing for a very few spots. Those that make it, do very well, those are the ones seen, but most people don’t make it. If instead people went for a different goal, they could significantly increase their chances for success, or at the very least increase their standard of living while they try to achieve it. I also like how many events could be equally well or better “explained” by influences completely different than those that come to mind. Crime rate drops in a city with new police policies. Everyone cheers the mayor. Crime drops across the nation, regardless of policies. Was it because of the new policies? Was it due to some other event? Interesting question is how can we test these explanations.

Man’s Search For Meaning

Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is about finding your reason to live. Sometimes its not what you want from life, but what life demands from you. Frankl is a psychoanalyst who survived four concentration camps. Although it describes life in the camps in a very direct way, the book is more about finding the reason to keep going. It’s really direct and to the point and some passages of it flow like poetry. The book will have a different impact on every person. The edition I read had a long preface and a second part about logotherapy (logos = meaning). I found the original book and the last few pages the most powerful, although the whole thing is worth reading. This is the type of book that you could over and over and get more from it each time.

Who Moved My Cheese?

Just read Who Moved My Cheese? by Dr. Spencer Johnson. It really illustrates the need to adapt, change, and not get lazy and start feeling entitled. Basically it’s about two mice and two mini-people that find a giant warehouse of cheese. The cheese is everything they want and they’re super happy (security, healthy relationships, money, power, etc). One day the cheese disappears. The mice hunt for another place but the people that got used to the place just get sad. One of the people eventually gets tired of waiting for the cheese to come back and goes hunting again… and finds greater treasures. A real metaphor for ife. The only catch I see is sometimes it does take a little persistence for something to develop, but I can see this as part of the hunt too. You got to get out and get violent (and persistent) to find the cheese. Who Moved My Cheese? is a really simple story with huge lessons. Definitely worth a read.

The book has a website too: whomovedmycheese.com