Sometimes the right book comes along at the right time. I want to introduce you to Ryan Holiday’s new book, Stillness is the Key. This is the fifth book that I have read by Holiday; I really enjoy how he thinks and it’s clear he is very intelligent. But I think what I like most about his writing is that it’s easily digestible for a simpleton like me. Two of his other books that I really enjoyed were The Obstacle is the Way and Ego is the Enemy. As a skillful marketer and an incredible writer, Holiday does a masterful job of titling his books. I consider myself an extreme…

I’ve written about debt and debt pay down strategies before. I literally, at one point, wrote a Debt Manifesto. But I don’t think I’ve written a piece specifically on the strategic use of debt and my thoughts on it. I think for a large majority of today’s society the ALL DEBT IS BAD philosophy is a one size fits all approach that takes risk completely out of the picture and guarantees success for many people, assuming their investment strategy is sound. This a strong defensive stance but is not necessarily being the best steward of your finances in all cases. To explain further I put some maxims together that summarizes…

I’m not an overly prolific reader. However, I do read listen to 20-25 books each year. I thought you might appreciate a consolidated list of some of my favorites so far in 2019 along with my future reads.  Favorites of 2019 (in no particular order) Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World – David Epstein The title says it all. Maybe specializing is NOT the best idea. The book actually goes a little bit too deep (dare I say specializing too much) into the research than I think it should but I understand why the author did it. However, it is a great book that flies in the face…

In last week’s piece, The Importance of Hyphens & Slashes, I told you about the current book I am digesting. The book is called Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World by David Epstein. Epstein states that in most fields – especially the complex and unpredictable ones – it’s generalists, not specialists, who are in a position to excel. The book itself examines the most successful athletes, musicians/artists, inventors, and scientists as case studies. My favorite quote I’ve seen endorsing the book is by author/speaker Malcolm Gladwell: “David Epstein manages to make me thoroughly enjoy the experience of being told that everything I thought about something was wrong.” Gladwell’s…

Bottom Line Up Front: I think there is extreme value in intentionally diversifying your efforts.  Diversifying your career and/or interests can lead to a fuller and richer life, financially and in terms of happiness. In her book, One Person/Multiple Careers: The Original Guide to the Slash Career, Marci Alboher says, “From lawyer/chefs to surgeon/playwrights and mom/CEOs, today’s most fulfilling lives are the ones filled with slashes.”  The good news: you are probably already living a “slash life” to some degree. The bad news: you are likely not leveraging it properly and/or you mentally have not labeled yourself as a person who intentionally works at multiple skills. In Ryan Holiday’s latest…