The Geometry of Wealth

According to Timothy Wilson in Redirect, those who fare better in life “have better coping strategies in the face of adversity—they confront problems rather than avoid them, plan better for the future, focus on what they can control and change, and persist when they encounter obstacles instead of giving up.”44 Those who take the prepared mind serio

Uncertainty abounds. In many instances, we don’t know what we’ll want in the future. In fact, recent research goes even further and suggests that we don’t know who we’ll be in the future.

we engage with more and more information, but research suggests that the more information we gather, the worse choices we make.46 Further, the more information we gather, the more compelled we feel to make decisions. We don’t like to harvest new information but then do nothing with it. It feels like wasted effort. Finally, too much deliberation hin

Taking more risk does not produce greater returns. Instead, taking more risk increases the variability of future outcomes. That’s not great bumper sticker material. Nevertheless, if there were a reliable relationship between more risk and bigger rewards, then technically you wouldn’t be taking more risk. Everyone would bet long shots all the time.

73% of Americans say money is the most stressful factor in life. It is more stressful than death, politics, or religion.

Pascal bought insurance on his soul and was, I’m sure, happy to pay the premiums.

I’ve come to believe that there are four enduring sources of a joyful life. I call these Connection, Control, Competence, and Context. Connection is the need to belong. Control is the need to direct one’s own destiny. Competence is the need to be good at something worthwhile. Context is the need for a purpose outside of one’s self.

In a fascinating study, a group of prominent researchers measured the personalities, values, and preferences of 19,000 people ranging in age from 18 to 68. They found a wide gap between the expected and reported changes in those qualities. We look backward over our lives differently than we look forward. The researchers discovered that people are e

Through most of history, people worked until they died. And those who outlived their human capital relied on traditional family structures for support. In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, bedridden Grandpa Joe and Grandma Josephine weren’t pensioners, nor did they have Social Security or some other government largesse to rely upon; they were