Notes towards becoming a better investor

The term at hand, umarell, is borrowed from Emilian and is rare enough for my word processor to display it underlined with a string of pink dots. Literally it means “little man,” but within my tiny sub-community it means “someone who spends time observing workspaces, typically construction jobsites.” I am an umarell. I love watching work being... See more

In some sense, Albini’s contrition was the act of a premier hater realizing that the final frontier of hating is one’s own past. But it was also a welcome way for Albini to show that people can continue to grow at any age—and it set the stage for him to continue to grow as a producer as well.

There is a divine nature inherent to labor. The key to finding professional success and happiness is in seeking that sacred thing. Some people find that the divine comes from only devoting their labor to missions they care about. For me, I’ve found something spiritual in delighting in the minutia of my work.

I was young, naive, and plagued by impostor syndrome. I held back instead of exploring more, engaging more deeply, and seeking out more challenges. I allowed myself to be carried along by the current, rather than actively charting my own course. Youth is wasted on the young.

Why pretend to be smart and play it safe? True understanding is rare and... See more

What I found though is that making myself understandable all the time diluted the joy that lies instead in specificity — in concisely crafting a life that only needs to make sense to me.

Allowing yourself to be misunderstood teaches you who values you for your personhood alone and how much you actually need from other people to feel sufficiently... See more