Avoiding identity politics I avoid aligning myself with labels, tags or groups because I don’t want to bear the consequences of associating with people where I have limited control over their actions. Political parties, in particular, are a minefield of identity politics. As soon as you identify as Republican/Democrat in the US, Labour/Conservative in the … More Voting for the Capitalist Party in SA Elections 2019

I like to think of Nassim Taleb as a modern philosopher. “Modern” is somewhat misleading though, because Taleb vehemently opposes modernity, intellectualism, scientism and academia. Taleb likes practitioners and is opposed to anyone without skin in the game. Skin in the Game is essentially real investment, where one’s actions and opinions have consequence. Taleb’s latest book … More Skin In The Game – Nassim Taleb

If I were to characterise my father in one word, I’d choose “principled.” I remember not getting my way as a child and asking why, why, why couldn’t I have the latest object of my affection. Often the answer was “it’s the principle of the matter!” After years of rebelling against them, I’ve become committed … More Principles – Ray Dalio

Adventurer Peter Van Kets’ inspiring story and the techniques he adopted in order to complete three gruelling physical feats – rowing across the Atlantic (twice) and skiing to the South Pole. Most of the techniques were psychological and relate to targeting success elsewhere in life wherever challenges present themselves. An easy and undemanding read. Likely … More The 8th Summit – Peter van Kets

As a child, English and writing were chores. I was forced to submit assignments at school and university but this was merely a means to an end. When I entered the working world I joined a research house, writing commentary each and every day. The red ink on my edited work identified that my ability … More The Artists Way – Julia Cameron

I’ve skirted with Stoicism before through Nassim Taleb and Tim Ferris’ podcast but this book was my first deep dive into Stoic philosophy. The School for Gods is set as a conversation between a man and his spiritual guide, the Dreamer. The student, who also serves as the narrator, leads a somewhat troubled life of … More The School for Gods – Elio D’Anna

Politics rears feelings disdain, resentment and even anger. Understandable, given the quality of the political leaders at the helm in many of the biggest countries around the globe. There is a dearth of talent and sometimes outright moral corruption at pinnacle of professional politics. In the corporate world, we’re wary of the emotional drain caused … More Encourage positive politics

I’m passionate about monetary policy and particularly the negative societal impact of low-interest rates. I disagree with the mainstream economic theory that interest rates should be lowered to stimulate economic activity. This short-term thinking underestimates the long-term negative consequences of inflation and artificially reducing people’s time preference, the interest rate. Given my disdain for artificially … More Could interest rates ever be too high?

Science fiction isn’t really my thing but The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu came highly recommended by one of my favourite finance writers, Ben Hunt, so I thought I’d expand my reading horizon. I read Three-Body Problem while on a recent winter break in sunny Mozambique. The unfamiliar nature was a particularly welcome distraction from … More The Three-Body Problem – Cixin Liu

I’ve just finished the first half of Ray Dalio’s book Principles. It’s great! In the book, he goes into a huge amount of detail and reiterates the points, in a valuable way. I recommend it. My paraphrasing of Ray’s summary of Life Principles: In order to have the best life possible, you have to: 1) … More Life Principles from Ray Dalio