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Decisions
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"a never-ending process of adaptation"

Whenever I feel a shortage of ideas for the newsletter approaching, I bump into perspective-changing resources in the most unexpected of places. 

Today it’s finance


As a 31-year old, I’m becoming increasingly aware that I need to step up my knowledge and ability to manage my finances. I'm talking about diving deeper and understanding how I can increase my productivity and balance my income and expenses while also balancing the risks and rewards involved. 

We’re fortunate to live in an era where generous people share their knowledge and experience for free. The choice is ours if we know how to see these insights, filter them and act on them.   

While seeking to gain perspective on current issues surrounding economy and finance, I bumped into a video by Ray Dalio, a famous billionaire investor.

My great friend Cristina has been talking about his book - "Principles: Life and Work" - for all the right reasons. She also wrote a compelling article that makes the case for reading it: 

"Now I understand why it’s so praised by everyone who read it. I devoured it. It’s THE manual on how to make better decisions in your life and how to think more efficiently. This book will become a classic must-read for everyone – and not just entrepreneurs or folks who are interested in Ray Dalio’s area of expertise."

As if Cristina's praise weren't enough (the books she vets are consistently great), this video makes another great case for making this a must-read ASAP!

Ray Dalio - Principles for success

One of the fundamental shifts in Ray's life, as you'll see in the video, was to acknowledge that he needed to deeply understand his own nature.

By figuring out his behavioral patterns (strengths, weaknesses) and those who drive other people's actions, Ray Dalio cultivated a set of principles to guide his actions and used them to build a life that suits his nature.

He sought feedback from people who challenge his opinions in a thoughtful manner. He reflected on it and connected the dots, using lessons learned to find new solutions.  

“Every time you confront something painful, you are at a potentially important juncture in your life - you have the opportunity to choose healthy and painful truth or unhealthy but comfortable delusion.” 

What struck me the most about the video is the clarity and coherence that connect all of Dalio's ideas. 

He's not the first to have said this but maybe it serves as a timely reminder that strong principles can help us:  

  • Cultivate independent, long-term thinking (for example, acknowledge how saying "yes" is borrowing energy and other resources from our future selves)
  • Strengthen our discipline 
  • Understand how to see the big picture and expand our perspective
  • Help us tackle adversity in complex and confusing contexts 
  • Encourage us to ask for and use feedback to uncover our blind spots and let go of our ego as a prerequisite.

None of this is easy, you and I know this already. But we also know there's value in putting pen to paper to write down our own principles and use them as a framework for improving our lives in more ways than one.

“The quality of your decisions will influence the quality of your life.”

This is what I believe and this is what I'm trying to practice day by day.

I still stumble frequently. 

I struggle with making wise decisions, especially in tense family situations (the holidays have been tough).

What's different from 2-3 years ago is that now I can see my shortcomings more clearly, I try to get external perspectives faster than ever before and I have the courage to call BS on myself (and others) while proposing a solution. 

I can see I'm improving, even if sometimes it feels that my struggle isn't paying off. Pushing through those moments is something we each have to do on our own but not alone.  


No matter what we do, we can't avoid making decisions big and small. The sooner we hold ourselves responsible to them (even when it hurts), the faster we'll grow.

“Time is like a river that carries us forward into encounters with reality that require us to make decisions. We can’t stop our movement down this river and we can’t avoid those encounters. We can only approach them in the best possible way.” 

I've learned a lot while writing this newsletter in the past year. More than I could have anticipated!

Each email, tweet or comment I received from you has pointed me towards other possibilities to consider, other questions to answer.

Thank you for this and for reading this newsletter! 

If it's something I'll put even more effort into next year is this:

“Look for people who have lots of great questions. Smart people are the ones who ask the most thoughtful questions, as opposed to thinking they have all the answers. Great questions are a much better indicator of future success than great answers.” 

May you ask yourself tough questions and decide your way to great accomplishments in 2019!

I can't wait to learn more alongside you! 
Andra  

 



PS: If you're interested in the finance articles I read (including two from Ray Dalio), here they are:


PPS: This is, in my electronic music-loving opinion, the best video to listen to on New Year's Eve. Just hit play, even if it's not your favorite genre. You may be delightfully surprised!

Steve Angello - Rejoice (feat. T.D. Jakes) 
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