Venkatesh Rao @vgr 2020-01-01
If you’re under 35 try consider replacing all resolutions with equivalent make-more-money resolutions.
Examples:
Exercise more = +10k for a 3x/week personal trainer
Eat better = +10-60k more for eating out at salad places/exec chef
Learn stuff = +5k-15k for personal coach
Solving problems with money is more efficient in proportion to how much you value your mental effort resources for other stuff you enjoy more. If those activities pay on a leveraged way, the trade off is 100% worth it.
Why under 35? Because concentrating your mental resources on your comparative advantage creates a kind of high-drive exhausting raw energy positive feedback loop that I’ve only seen younger people handle well. And that loop is what creates the surplus to pay for other stuff.
The older you are the greater the financial surplus you need to achieve the same level of attention concentration on a core positive feedback loop. Money is a more achievable kind of leverage when you’re younger though you need it more badly when you’re older.
I’d need a million dollars today to achieve level of leverage I could have gotten with 100k in 2010. This is why for the average person, financial leverage drops with age. But we fixate on CEOs and entrepreneurs who buck that trend by making $-leverage faster than they are aging.
For financially average people like me, you fall behind on that game, and solving problems with money stops being an option, because you’re not efficient enough as a cost structure to achieve much with the surplus you have. So do it while you still can.
Counterintuitive but yes. That exec attention is more cdluable elsewhere when young and it’ll take a bigger, out-of-reach surplus to achieve similar reallocation efficiency when you’re older. Plus doing it when young installs stronger habits for later.
Venkatesh Rao @vgr 2020-01-01
tldr get rich young if you can. It’s both easier and more valuable.
Gytis Daujotas @gytdau 2020-01-01
In your experience, does earning more generally correspond to having less free time or energy to pursue these tasks? Or is it the case that you need to sacrifice these goals short term so that you have more freedom in 5-10 years?
Venkatesh Rao @vgr 2020-01-01
Having more money young changes your goals and who you are. It’s not a zero-sum tradeoff analysis. Your money history is as big a part of your growth story as health or relationships and way bigger than explicit philosophy. The only question is do you want to become that person.
Donny_ Dude @_Donny_Dude 2020-01-01
This is very interesting given my age. Can you please say more?
It’s better to earn 10K more so I can afford personal trainer, instead of forgoing the income and trying to do exercise by myself?
Venkatesh Rao @vgr 2020-01-01
Correct
Charlie Sanders @CharlieSand3rs 2020-01-01
I love this way of looking at things. At the same time, there’s an inherent privilege assumed in this advice, considering that the average Millennial that this advice targets isn’t in a financial position to take this advice. Source> http://shorturl.at/hjvJ1
Venkatesh Rao @vgr 2020-01-01
I’ve written off the average millennial. I’m high-grading my bets here.
Larsen Drinks Tea @lhgstm 2020-01-01
Reminds me of Sandberg’s Lean In advice around getting the better childcare to take the next career ladder step which will pay for the extra care and more. There is some baggage with her arguments, so it is good to be explicit about the conditions for when this is a good idea.
Vinayak Pathak @OneBigOh 2020-01-02
So what are the best tips on making more money? 1) milk a well-optimized career? 2) something something art of gig?
Vinayak Pathak @OneBigOh 2020-01-02
What’s something one may want to learn that’s made a lot more efficient by hiring a personal coach? 🤔
Maynard Handley @handleym99 2020-01-02
This argues get rich to consume better.
Counterargument: get rich to buy your freedom by early retirement.
What’s it worth to you in terms of giving up (essentially STATUS) consumption to have full control of your life from age 40 or age 50 onward?