What I've Learned About Building Financial Stability

1. Do your homework to the best of your ability every time. Don’t dog it. You’ll develop a habit of dogging it. Well after school, the habit of being better prepared than everyone else will serve you well.
2. Go to the best schools you possibly can. The experiences, the learnings, the credentials, and the connections will serve you well.
3. Read widely, deeply and constantly. If you don’t, you will become a habitual listener to those who have read more. By reading deeply, I mean, incorporate what you read into your increasingly broad and deep world view. Create slide decks of the books and things you’ve learned. I’ve got several hundred; you can use them in many different places.
4. Pay attention to the energy level in the room. Adjust your style to creating high energy—but based on evidence. Charismatic (often religious) charlatans get high energy but often based on faulty beliefs. Add high energy to fact based insights. Truth delivered in a monotone loses to lies delivered with drama.
5. Charge what the market will bear and give them more than they are expecting. Give more than you take and your reputation will grow.
6. When people tell you, “you don’t charge enough,” listen.
7. Add dramatic story telling to your repertoire. Study acting and how to convey powerful messages powerfully.
8. Save and invest 10–15% of everything you earn. Never spend beyond your means. Let your investments grow, but don’t drain your base. Serial entrepreneurs will argue this one; it’s based on your personal risk aversion profile. I always wanted a stable financial base while serial investor/gamblers are willing to bet the farm.
9. Clean as you go. Don’t dump toxics, take care of the “commons,” (air, water and soil) so you don’t have pay up later. Think “sustainability,” will this approach last? Leave your campsite cleaner than you found it—even if that means a little less profit in the short-run; it will be more profit in the long run.