This article shares a few observations about creating wealth. These seven principles also fall squarely into the category of things I wish I’d known sooner. Perhaps, by reading them now, you will know them sooner – and find them useful to position yourself to create wealth over your lifetime. PRINCIPLE #1 – The further you get from the actual work, the more money you will make. To illustrate this...
I am continually intrigued by how two groups of people can witness the exact same event – either live or on video – and arrive at completely opposite conclusions. This happens most frequently with sports and politics… from parents at little league to stadiums of fans at pro events… from homeowner associations to federal politics. While the perspective can be different between two observers at the...
This is the final part in our series on the Federal Budget. Part 1 discussed the severity of our budget problem. It’s pretty bad. Part 2 outlined the broad options available to affect our budget deficit. We’ll need all the tools we can get. Part 3, this part, is my attempt to probe more deeply into cost cutting opportunities to answer the very practical question, Where EXACTLY should we cut our...
Like the rest of you, I’ve been thinking about auctions and auction theory because nothing pairs better with a beautiful weekend morning than considering the efficiency of asset pricing mechanisms and writing about it. I’m sure you’ll agree. (I asked ChatGPT to draw a picture to represent the opening sentence. This might be entirely too accurate… minus the suit and tie… and I’m not blue. But...
“Should I go for 3-of-a-kind or the full-house?” I thought aloud. I was home from college for Christmas break. Between semesters. Final exams behind me. Eight family members gathered around the kitchen table to play Yahtzee (the dice game) at my grandparents’ house. I sat on the end of the table, closest to the door. To me, Yahtzee was an exercise in statistical probabilities mixed with pure...
As young adults, my brother and I bought my Dad a model airplane for Christmas one year. Included in our gift were lessons from an experienced instructor to help Dad learn to fly it. As it turns out, model airplanes are more difficult to maneuver than one might assume. Apparently, the instructor told my Dad a general rule of thumb for beginners is to fly at an altitude “three mistakes from...
When I was an undergraduate at the University of Tulsa, I was at the computer lab writing my final paper for the semester. As was common, it was quite late in the evening and the computer lab was full of students cramming in that last assignment… just trying to get done. At one point in the evening, the football player a few seats over stood up to walk to the printer. On his way, he tripped over...