Farnam Street
Mastering the best of what other people have already figured out
Sometimes in the debates about how to improve equality in our society, the reason why we should desire equality gets lost. In his classic text The Subjection of Women, John Stuart Mill explains why equality is critical for solving the …
Our devotion to our values gets tested in the face of a true crisis. But it’s also an opportunity to reconnect, recommit, and sometimes, bake some bread. *** The recent outbreak of the coronavirus is impacting people all over the world — …
It can be daunting, wondering what to give people, especially at this time of year. What gift properly communicates the feelings you have for someone? One idea is to give yourself. Another is to give the gift of hope. In Becoming Wise, …
The most important things in life are internal not external. “The big question about how people behave,” says Warren Buffett, “is whether they’ve got an inner scorecard or an outer scorecard. It helps if you can be satisfied with an …
An interview with Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos touches on the timeless lessons he’s learned for business success. The three big ideas are (1) thinking on a different timescale, (2) putting the customer first, and (3) inventing. What …
One of the engines behind the Italian Renaissance was the concept of paragone—pitting creative efforts against one another in the belief that only with this you could come to see art’s real significance. At first, the concept drove debates …
Stop me if this sounds familiar. There is a person who toils alone for years in relative obscurity before finally cracking the code to become a hero. The myth of the lone genius. It’s the stuff of Disney movies. Of course, we all have …
If the mother of a Guernsey and a Brahma calf dies, one of the calves will survive and one will not. One thing makes the difference. And is it the very factor that keeps us from reaching what we want most. *** Persistence in the face of …
The hard truth is that most things in your life – good and bad – are your fault. The sooner you realize that, the better things will be. Here’s how to cultivate an active mindset and take control of your life. What happens when someone …
It’s getting harder to have the expertise necessary to navigate every arena in our lives independently. Sometimes, we need to defer to the expertise of others, but how do we know who to trust? We are a culture of explainers. You’ve met them …
Inefficient does not mean ineffective, and it is certainly not the same as lazy. You get things done – just not in the most effective way possible. You’re a bit sloppy, and use more energy. But don’t feel bad about it. There is real value …
We can learn valuable lessons from the life of Samuel Andrews. Haven’t you ever heard of him? There’s a reason. He was John D. Rockefeller’s right-hand man and stood to become one of the world’s richest men. But then something got in the …
Insight is rarely handed to you on a silver platter. Einstein argued that genius was 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. While we can acknowledge that luck plays a role, we often use that as a crutch to avoid doing what we can do to …
We’ve all been there: someone says something rude to us and our instinct is to strike back with a quick-witted comeback. That’s what many people do. It’s also a big reason that many people don’t get what they want. Consider this example …
Our desire to know the future leads us to speculate on questions unanswerable questions. Everyone, in nearly every industry, ponders, “What’s going to change in the next 10 years?” The goal is to gain an advantage by …
Quick — who’s your favorite character in The Godfather? The most popular answer to this question surprised me. About half the people who are asked pick Sonny: Santino Corleone. “Everyone loves Sonny,” writes Talmer Sommers in his book Why …
After a decade of attending the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting, these are the thoughts and experiences that stand out the most to me. (My essay appears in the The Warren Buffett Shareholder.) I’ve been going to the Berkshire …
Most people think going fast and getting stuff done are the same. They are not. Understanding the difference between speed and velocity can help increase your productivity, simplify your focus, and improve your results. Progress Drives …
How is it that two people delivering the same value to organizational outcomes, in the same role at the same pay, can have a massively different value to the organization itself? *** Here’s a common problem that a lot of people are …
“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Do you ever ask kids this question? Did adults ask you this when you were a kid? Even if you managed to escape this question until high school, then by the time you got there, you were probably …
Long a fount of wisdom, Charlie Munger provided us fascinating insight on everything from energy policy and mental models to how good gamblers think and making effective decisions. At the Daily Journal Meeting (held March 25th, 2015), …
Most geniuses—especially those who lead others—prosper not by deconstructing intricate complexities but by exploiting unrecognized simplicities. Andy Benoit
From Garrett Hardin‘s mind-blowingly awesome Filters Against Folly. In our highly technological society we cannot do without experts. We accept this fact of life, but not without anxiety. There is much truth in the definition of the …
I’ve come across this short story a few times recently but I can’t track down the origins. If you know the source please contact me. A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a …