Month: February 2018

This term but can be applied to everything in life, for we have comparative advantages all around us.

In every stage of life.

Its what makes each stage (elementary, junior high, high school, college, post-grad, retirement, etc) unique.  Children do not have to work for survival. College students are surrounded by friends and people their age on campus.

Most of these comparative advantages are only temporary. Children will eventually grow into working adults. College students will graduate and leave many of their friends behind.

So how do we turn these temporary comparative advantages into sustainable ones? Sometimes it is not possible. Other times, looking back, we might not even want our old comparative advantages back.

But if we do want to hold on to some, we need to prepare. Want to stay fit, like when we were young? We need to build solid habits of excercise. Want to continue supporting your family, even after retirement? We need to save and invest our money. It is these types of habits that can turn our temporary comparative advantages to sustainable and long-lasting ones.

There are two cases for work. Either work has value or it does not. To understand this, we must know what the trade-offs or reasons are for working. Most people view work as the trade-off for income.

Work = time sacrificed/lost, which yields income

Less work means more time, but less income. And vice versa.

Let’s take the belief that work has value. If it does, then we would be more than willing to sacrifice the time. We no longer care about the results (income) of work, for we are passionate and believe in what we do. And since we are working hard, we would still typically receive the level of income we desire.

Problem solved.

Now let’s take the belief that work itself has no value. If this is the case, then we want to work as little as possible in order to obtain the income we desire. But why do we have to sacrifice our time? We value time, not work.

So what if we could determine a way to raise income, without sacrificing our time in what we would label work?

“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”

If you ever hear a quote full of satire and truth, it is usually safe to assume that its Mark Twain.

In a perfect world, this statement would not be possible. There should be no confliction between the two. However, in society today, I have a hard time disproving Twain’s message. After four years at a university, I am still not sure what is watered down more, a college business exam or a drink from a city bar.

People used to argue that going to college and GPA was important, for it was a standardized way to distinguish between quality students and potential hires. But in a  world of grade inflation, how do you tell the difference? And even when there is a difference between students, it seems that it does not matter anyway. The kid who knows someone from the company will get the job anyways.

So how can we tackle this problem? Or do we just accept that it is the way it is and move on?

The answer is probably a little bit of both. We should still learn what we can from classes and strive for excellence, but this excellence cannot stop outside the classroom. Classes are just the tip of the iceberg for various fields, it is up to us to hone our skills and network to the best of our abilities. For the cream will always rise to the top.

This question is most commonly used in relation to how we feel about a past situation. What if we invested in Google/Amazon/Facebook 10 years ago? What if we asked that girl out sooner/later? What if we played football instead of soccer growing up? What if we took that other job? All these questions are about situations/encounters/decisions that we cannot control. They destroy our time, energy, and most of all, our future goals/aspirations. While we are stuck in this ‘paralysis by analysis,’ we are wasting perfect opportunities to make the next best decision.

How is it that a Kylie Jenner tweet can send Snapchat’s stock value down $1.3 billion?

How can Elon Musk sell $10 million of flamethrowers in 4 days?

How can a book recommendation from Tim Ferriss on his podcast become an instant bestseller?

What do Kylie, Elon, and Tim all have in common?

One word: Influence.

They have all gained such a devoted and loyal audience, that no matter what their beliefs, thoughts, or aspirations, their fans will support them. The people will stand behind their mission and believe what they say.

Whether you agree with them or not, we cannot deny their influence. This influence can have a massive impact, not just on their target audience, but on the world.

So how can we create this influence for ourselves? How can we create a positive impact on the world in our own way?