Business & Money

Here’s the S&P over the last 5 years.

It’s up 71.56% over that span. That time frame happens to be roughly the same amount of time that I’ve been actively investing in public equities. And while my returns are significantly higher than that, I wanted to post that picture as a reminder to myself that I’m not smart or special.

You can see what I mean if you look at the following picture that shows the performance of the market during your teens and twenties from 2 different vantage points: if you were born in 1950 vs 1970.

I’m eager to say how things shake out when we hit some real volatility.

Human Progress

There are certain companies that have grown to become core parts of our communication infrastructure. To be specific, I’m thinking about Fedex, UPS, and other mail carriers.

Similarly, on the internet, there are certain companies that have grown to become core parts of our digital communication infrastructure. Here I’m thinking about social platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

In the first example, carriers have some responsibility for what’s sent in the mail. They have certain safeguards and protocols in place to screen for explosives, narcotics, and other nefarious items.

In the second, we have a scenario where the platforms try to abstain from taking responsibility for what’s sent via their platforms.

Would we allow for mail carriers to say, “we are not responsible for what’s sent; we just provide delivery services.”

I’m not sure that would hold water.

Philosophy

People spend so much time trying to think about how they can make a difference. They ask,

“What can I do that really matters? How can I have an impact?”

But I worry that often times people don’t think about the impact that they actually have.

Every time you smile at someone or hold the door for a pregnant mother. Every time you give up your seat for the elderly man on the subway or give an unexpected compliment to the barista at Starbucks. Or the flip side, when you throw a wrapper on the ground or yell at someone for cutting you off.

What you do every day and how you live has an impact. I think people just need to decide what type of impact they want to have on the world and the people around them.

My Latest Discovery

I’m really pumped to watch General Magic!