Greetings from LA and Oahu!
This week we’re giving you an update on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, sharing an awesome YouTube Channel for history buffs, and listing some unusual investing advice.
Enjoy!
Russia Invades Ukraine
Russia attacked Ukraine last week from three sides, plummeting Europe and its own country into warfare most of the world hasn’t seen since WWII.
This unprovoked attack has ramifications for the rest of the world as well — it re-opens the cold-war can of worms between Moscow and Washington, and has caused the U.S., Europe, and the U.K. to impose “severe sanctions” on Russia in order to cripple its economy and deter further military action.
Here’s some further information from BBC:
Russian forces have launched a major assault on Ukraine, firing missiles on cities and military targets.
The invasion by land, air and sea began after a pre-dawn TV address where Russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that Ukraine’s military lay down its arms.
Initial reports of casualties included Ukrainian civilians and soldiers, and Russian troops.
Ukraine’s leader said his country “won’t give up its freedom”.
“Russia has embarked on a path of evil, but Ukraine is defending itself,” President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted.
Ukraine has declared martial law and severed all diplomatic relations with Russia. It says weapons will be given to anyone who wants them.
Here are some more resources to stay updated on what’s happening.
History Dose
Fancy yourself a history buff?
Even if you’re not, you’ll probably delight in the storytelling on History Dose, a YouTube Channel with a “passion for making cleanly edited history documentaries.”
We recently discovered the channel and have been enjoying a lot of its history lessons.
Here are a few of our favorites…
- What a Medieval Duel Really Looked Like — 6 Minutes
- The Mongol Destruction of the Khwarazmian Empire — 13 Minutes
- The Terrifying Collapse of the Plains Indians — 23 Minutes
Short Investing Beliefs
It’s from 2019, but the lessons from Morgan Housel’s Short Investing Beliefs article are as true today as they were a few years ago.
At the very least, these bite-sized lessons will make you rethink your current mindset around investing (and life in general).
Here they are…
Expecting crazy > expecting average, because the important part of “reversion to the mean” is the reversion, not the mean.
History > forecasts, because most investing history is how people reacted to forecasts and things that weren’t forecasted.
Luck > risk, because they’re the same thing in opposite directions but luck is harder to identify, making it worthy of more reflection.
Endurance > time horizon, because the amount of time left in the game doesn’t matter if you’re forced out of the game.
Optimism > pessimism because more people wake up every morning aiming to make the world more efficient than wishing to screw things up.
Personal finance > investing, at all income levels, because a good saver who doesn’t invest will be fine but a great investor mired in debt and overspending can be wiped out.
Skeptical > wooed, because big data leads to big cherry-picking.
Simple > complex, because good ideas need so much room for error that they shouldn’t need lots of data to be persuasive.
Guidelines > rules, because the world changes faster than textbooks.
Reasonable > rational, because you’re a human, not a machine.
Cash flow > reported earnings, because accountants can be science fiction writers masquerading as statisticians.
Culture > strategy, because the former catches up with the latter.
Accepting risk > outsmarting risk, because risk is a genius and a devil.
Conversating > solitude, because there are more lessons to learn vicariously than there are books and blog posts.
Exploring > siloed, because insight doesn’t care what industry or style you specialize in.
Extra Stuff
Here is some other random stuff we found interesting this last week!
- The love story story by Barbara Rosenwein
- This House Is Still Haunted: An Essay In Seven Gables by Adam Fales
- The curse of sliced bread by Mary Harrington
This Week’s Photo
“A freediver swims near a large jellyfish off the coast of Lebanon’s northern city.” via The Guardian
This Week’s Riddle
Here’s this week’s riddle — the answer is at the bottom of the email!
What has only two words, but thousands of letters?
This Week’s Question
Answer this question — either privately or by replying to this email. If your answer inspires us, then we’ll ask for permission to include it in a future email!
What’s your favorite period of history to study?
This Week’s Challenge
Enjoy the fruits of your labor. Go out to a nice dinner. Buy yourself something you’ve wanted for a while. Take a vacation. It’s easy to get busy and forget to relax and have fun. But it’s good to step back and enjoy life for what it’s worth.
Until next week,
Mike & Alec
Riddle Answer: Post Office.