Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.”
- Lao Tzu
“Read books. Travel when you can. Learn how to cook one meal exceptionally well. Sit in old bars and talk to strangers. Wear your best jacket to dinner. Appreciate good wine, good music, and good conversation. Do the right thing, even when no one is watching. Set the example for younger men who are watching you. Call your parents. Take long walks. Leave your phone behind sometimes. Become the kind of man people feel better after being around. Life is short, so live it well.”
-J.B. Lloyd
They say a father is the one person who quietly roots for you to outgrow him—to go further, do better, and live bigger than he ever could. There’s something really powerful in that. 🥹💕
Focus on what you can control. Build something, anything. A product, yourself, a family, your community, a team, a company or organization, relationships. Or help someone else do it. Don't complain or be a victim, ever. #PlayNiceButWin
The Masters is the best run tournament in the world. Why? IMO it's because they have a system in place, created years ago, and handed from chairman to chairman, that prevents them from making the same mistake twice. You consistently know what you're going to get...just a little better each year. Europe has this with their Ryder Cup Committee. The US tries to reinvent the wheel every 2 years because of a lack of continuity and no dedicated committee or system. To me, this feels like a tipping point for the Ryder Cup, both from a competitive standpoint and a fan conduct standpoint. Try behaving like we've seen this Ryder Cup week at The Masters and see what that gets you! Finally, if The Masters ran the Ryder Cup, we would at least have fewer commercials!!
The Post Office said: you can’t get it there overnight.
But when FedEx did, suddenly others could, and even USPS had to improve its service.
That’s the power of competition.
So why not apply it to education?
People think good decision-making is about being right...It’s not. It’s about lowering the cost of being wrong & changing your mind. When the cost of mistakes is high, we’re paralyzed with fear. When the cost of mistakes is low, we can move fast and adapt. Make mistakes cheap, not rare. - This thought is from Farnam Street and I thought it applied well to trading!
“You come to understand that most people are neither for you nor against you, they are thinking about themselves. You learn that no matter how hard you try to please, some people in this world are not going to love you, a lesson that is at first troubling and then really quite relaxing.”
— John W. Gardner
Because it matters to me. And it’s my business on the land I own or rent. We pay our taxes, employ people, and sell a product built in USA to a customer who travels the USA and spends their money while traveling in the USA bought from a guy who legally immigrated to the county and made something. Thats why. @phish4rob
The Star-Spangled Banner is not easy to sing. It’s rangy, for one thing. One and a half octaves are a lot to ask of the average citizen, as is the chromaticism throughout the melody. Also, the words are a mouthful and easy to mangle or forget (Just google “worst renditions of National Anthem,” and strap in. The number of professional musicians who have unilaterally beclowned themselves for posterity is mind-boggling).
Personally, though, I’m more appalled by the professionals who remember all the words and hit every note perfectly but make the whole thing about themselves. This, I think, is the biggest reason most people don’t sing along as they should. It’s not because they “can’t sing” or because they’re embarrassed to sing in front of other people. It’s because of all these pop stars and professional musicians who have turned the privilege of singing our national anthem in public into a showcase for their own talent.
Consider the famous renditions from people, like Whitney Houston, Alicia Keyes, Jose Feliciano, Marvin Gaye, and most recently, Chris Stapleton. Each give excellent performances that put their talent on full display. But that’s the problem—all these performances with all these individual interpretations have turned We the People into an audience of passive meat bags, standing mutely in stadiums and arenas all over the country, when we should sing along with unbridled enthusiasm. We don’t do this, however, because our national anthem has morphed from something participatory into something performative. And that sucks.
If it were up to me, I’d require anyone invited to sing our National Anthem at a public event to do so in less than a minute. That’s right. One minute. After 60 seconds, your microphone is cut. Implementing this one, simple requirement would have myriad benefits, some of which I discuss and demonstrate in the attached video. Consider it a Star-Spangled Public Service Announcement from the Dirty Jobs Guy to all those honored to lead us in song.
Happy Birthday, America!
Mike
I have a knack for spotting Great People—the kind you want as friends, spouses, employees, teammates, or business partners.
It's no superpower—all I do is look at receipts that others ignore.
Here are some very good signs:
— Punctual. The #1 indicator of executive function.
— Fit body. Shows discipline and work ethic.
— Passionate hobbies. Signals curiosity and depth.
— Sense of style. Taste is a massively underrated trait.
— Long marriage. Indicates maturity and stability.
— Thriving kids. “A tree is known by its fruit.”
— Spiritual life. Reflects values.
— Optimistic. Points to abundance mindset.
— Helps others. Speaks to kindness & generosity.
— Good vibes. The gut never lies.
You can spot most of these in a single conversation.
(PS: Pay attention to red flags too. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Always.)