Kevin Kane

Technology Market Strategist, Fortune 50 and Venture Backed Startup Executive, Air Force Desert Storm Vet

[David J Harris Jr @DavidJHarrisJr]

Woah.

Enron just introduced the "Enron Egg" - the world's first micro-nuclear reactor for residential use that can power your entire home for up to TEN YEARS!

Thoughts?

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

@elonmuskADO 👍🇺🇸

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

@meelonmuskusa 60

[MarketWatch @MarketWatch]

Waystar’s stock gets jeered in its Wall Street debut https://t.co/PFQMngbLpW

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

@elonmuskADO A

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

@elonmuskADO Hey Elon! Keep doing you, the world needs more of you!

[Elon Musk @elonmusk]

Precisely

[David Perell @david_perell]

Howard Marks manages ~$190 billion and has penned some of the world's best investment writing.

Warren Buffett loves his writing too: "When I see memos from Howard in my mail, they're the first thing I open."

Here’s our conversation—with its top 13 insights:

1) For Howard Marks, heaven is seven little words: “I never thought of it that way.” Get the reader to say them and you win.

2) Einstein supposedly said there are four levels of intelligence: bright, brilliant, genius, and simple. Insecure writers try to flaunt their expertise with jargon; secure writers share what they know in surprising yet simple ways.

3) Something about putting words to paper freezes people up. Hence, Howard Marks tries to write as he speaks. Lesson: Take your written voice closer to your conversational voice. You’ll discover a new freshness and speed in your work.

4) Most writing rings hollow. No stories or thought-out principles inside. Howard Marks’ challenge to writers: Have experiences, cultivate convictions, and then your writing will come alive like never before. Thoreau said it best: “How vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live.”

5) Find your creed. What do you believe in? What do you think will work? What will not work? What are the rules that govern your decisions? People listen intently when you speak from a "principled voice."

6) Be eclectic in your subject matter and sources. Tackle the same point from different angles to create a richer reading experience. For example, in his memos, Howard Marks has explained investing via the prism of gambling, poker, sports, and more.

7) Howard Marks’ knack for analogies has made him one of Warren Buffett’s favorite writers. Takeaway: Come up with more surprising comparisons. Make cross-disciplinary connections.

8) What Howard admires in Buffett’s writing: its accessibility, folksy simplicity, and humor. A great example is Buffett’s description of the 2008 financial crash: “It's only when the tide goes out that we find out who's been swimming naked.”

9) Writing is anti-BS because the reader can keep re-reading until the hole in your logic becomes clear. You will get away with some BS in conversation, but if you want to discover and fix the holes in your ideas, write them down.

10) The old sayings don't get to be old sayings for nothing. A heuristic, story or book that has been around for long probably has something valuable to teach you.

11) The more complex the idea, the simpler your explanation must be. Nietzsche agrees with Howard Marks: “The more abstract the truth you wish to teach, the more you need to seduce the senses to it.”

12) The world is governed by cyclical forces. Even if history doesn't always repeat, it rhymes. This is why old books will teach you as much about the future as the past.

13) Writing prompt: Reconcile two things that seem to be at odds or show the hidden fault lines between two things that seem to be compatible. The reader will feel rewarded. She might even say the seven magical words: “I never thought of it that way.”

I've shared the full conversation below.

If you'd rather listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple, check out the replies below.

[Former Congressman Matt Gaetz @FmrRepMattGaetz]

Episode 133 LIVE: DEI in the Sky (feat. Dr. Darren Beattie) – Firebrand with Matt Gaetz https://t.co/WfdfvnJ415

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

Check out this Linktree! - https://t.co/qzrCN3Y8jE

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

I love this

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

Just minted!

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

I'm going to mint rn!!

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

Just minted!

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

I'm going to mint rn!!

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

This is really nice!

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

About to mint

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

I love QQL!

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

I love QQL!

[Kevin Kane @K2Kane]

QQL is on fire