Good investing is about overcoming the belief in personal uniqueness that leads us to overlook probability-based approaches in favor of a vague belief that, “The rules don’t apply to me.” Investors who own their mediocrity can rely on rules and systems – they do what works and reap the rewards. Investors mired in a need to be better than average insist on flaunting the rules in favor of their own ideas and pay a steep price for their arrogance. As investor and author @jposhaughnessy says, “The key to successful investing is to recognize that we are just as susceptible to crippling behavioral biases as the next person.” Our tendency toward pride is rooted in cognitive errors, including overconfidence bias and the fundamental attribution error. Studies show that over 95% of people think they have a better-than-average sense of humor, and similar trends appear in self-assessments of interpersonal and athletic abilities. American high school students, despite average mathematical proficiency, lead the world in confidence about their abilities, reflecting a dangerous combination of mediocrity and overconfidence in the investment world. In life and markets, there is a great advantage to be had in realizing that you're not that great. Excerpted from The Laws of Wealth - amazon.com/Laws-Wealth-Psych…

🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪 🍪 Happy National 🍪 🍪 Chocolate Chip 🍪 🍪 Cookie Day! 🍪 🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪🍪

When I was a therapist, working at an eating disorder treatment center, one of the first things we did was educate the clients around how the media sausage gets made so that they could be informed consumers of what was being presented to them (in this case, distorted standards around women's beauty). In the next 100 days or so, you'll be bombarded with political and financial news, much of which is manufactured to sell ad space and not to maximize your financial wellbeing. I hope you'll keep these tips in mind as you watch and read, and be sure to go make your voice heard in November!

A 2021 Pew Research survey found that family and freedom are key determinants of a meaningful life. Interesting to consider how closely this aligns with how you spend your time/energy/money. It's so easy to misplace effort.

“Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” - Dolly Parton

The thrill of getting is fleeting. The joy of giving lasts. Data: happiness fades quickly when we buy gifts for ourselves, but sustains when we give gifts to others or donate to charity. Giving is the greatest source of meaning. #GivingTuesday