Breakfast Notes #40 (Blogging, FIRE, Attention)
Good morning friends.
Here is what I want to share this week.
- Working Wednesday Reads 2. Every Wednesday, I take a 45-minute bus ride to the office. I share with you links worth your time. From next week on, I will publish them weekly. A few of you told me- the links were a gift. Thus, I shall continue this endeavour.
- Quote of the Week. 'You do not want to win an argument. You want to win.' - Nassim Taleb. A personal reminder for future conflicts with Mrs.
Here is the 40th serving of the Breakfast Notes.
Blogging for Your Birthdays
Matt Mullenweg, the founder of Automattic Inc, has an annual tradition of writing a birthday blog post.
He has been doing it since he was 19. He turned 38 this year.
Here are my impressions after reading all twenty blogposts.
- You can read his evolution as a person. Twenty posts show how he grew from a fumbling teenager into a much more mature man.
- The beginning of WordPress was as humble.
- Blogging on your birthday will make you 10x more inquisitive.
- In his 20s, his focus was on his goals. In his 30s, his focus became himself.
I might be late to the game, but I might start blogging on my birthdays.
Visualization Of The Day
People believe drinking lattes = throwing money down the drain.
The answer is No. Watch how fast home prices have run away from wage-growth.
FIRE's Lessons
Financial Independence, Retire Early (FIRE) is a movement of people devoted to a program of extreme frugality that aims to allow them to retire early.
I'm afraid I have to disagree with it because I think it tends to warp our relationship with money.
But, here is what I learned from the FIRE community.
FIRE taught me to focus on long-term thinking. The best thing about FIRE is that it is getting young workers to think about retirement the moment we receive our first paycheck. This means that young workers are now making prudent saving and wise investing a priority. We will undoubtedly reap the benefits of compounding in the many years to come.
FIRE also taught me the value of financial discipline. FIRE can help us live within our budget and control our spending. This transforms our orientation toward consumption - from an impulsive attitude to a conscious one. If we have the discipline to slash unnecessary expenses out of our budget, we know the extra money we can invest/save will help us make serious progress toward our long-term goals.
Lastly, FIRE taught me to appreciate the externalities of financial independence. If everyone saves prudently and invests wisely, the next generations of citizens will become more financially independent. This independence will generate positive externalities for tomorrow's governments because they would not be as dependent on the government for the provision of social goods. This gives the government latitude to be more strategic in their social spending.
How To Grab Attention (Without being Cringe)
Sean D Souza, this blogger and maestro behind Psycho-tactics, distils three headlines that will help you catch the eye of even the most Tik-Tok-addicted teen.
The methods in a nutshell.
- Method 1: Headlines with AND
- Method 2: Headlines with EVEN
- Method 3: Headlines with WITHOUT
You have to see how the magic is done here. I promise you; that it will not waste your time.
I will add three more that I found particularly convincing.
- Method 4: Headlines with DON'T (Work with Us vs Don't Work with Us!)
- Method 5: Headlines with DEFINITIVE ( A Guide to Fishing vs A Definitive Guide to Fishing)
- Method 6: Headlines with TOP (10 Things A Writer Must know vs TOP 10 Things a Writer Must Know)
I will try this out on my bosses. I will let you know if I survive.
Thank you for reading this, and truly, may the sun shine upon your face,
Keith