Brad's Brief - Mastering Sleep, Using Leverage in Real Estate, Bonds are Terrible, The Founder of Shopify, and Crushing the Scarcity Mindset
Hey everyone,
I'm back in Nashville after a few weeks on the road. We spent last week in Florida with the family. The weather wasn't ideal, but it was nice to be at the beach spending quality time with everyone. I came back this week reinvigorated and ready to hit the ground running. This week's Brief is 🔥. Enjoy.
Brad
What I'm reading
The Observer Effect | Tobi Lütke
The Observer Effect studies interesting people and institutions and tries to understand how they work. In this article, they focus on Tobi Lütke, the Founder and CEO of Shopify.
Shopify has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of the COVID-10 related ecommerce boom and Tobi is one of the most interesting CEOs in technology today. He goes deep into his typical day, building teams and culture, and learning.
Interestingly, Shopify was initially built for American customers, by German founders, in Canada. Toby talks about how the “host” city for a company has an effect on the employees in that local office. It is very real. And not being from Silicon Valley is usually a disadvantage, but they turned it into an advantage.
There is tons of value in this article, and I highly recommend you digging in. The Observer Effect also has deep dives with Marc Andreessen and Daniel Ek that are excellent as well. This is a fun rabbit hole to go down.
Why in the World Would You Own Bonds When... | Ray Dalio
Because I believe that we are in the late stage of this Big Debt Cycle that mechanistically works in the way I described, I believe cash is and will continue to be trash (i.e., have returns that are significantly negative relative to inflation) so it pays to a) borrow cash rather than to hold it as an asset and b) buy higher-returning, non-debt investment assets.
I have put several writings and videos from Ray Dalio in the Brief because he is my favorite macroeconomic thinker and writer. Ray Dalio's "How the Economy Works" YouTube video is equivalent to Macro Economics 101. This article is Macro Economics 301. It goes deep into the mechanics of yield curve control and provides references to times in history where we have taken similar measures to control the economy. Hopefully, this can help you be more prepared for what is going to happen in the coming years.
What I'm listening to
Master Your Sleep & Be More Alert When Awake | Huberman Lab
I recently discovered the Huberman Lab podcast. The amount of value that Dr. Andrew Huberman provides in each show is astounding. It's like Hardcore History for Neuroscience. Dr. Huberman spends an entire month focusing on one area. This episode is the first of a series on sleep. I have never thought about the science of sleep before and I learned a ton from this series. One big takeaway is that getting natural sunlight in the morning for 10 minutes sets your internal clock and helps you naturally fall asleep at night. There are tons of tips and tricks in this series and it’s very bingable. I highly recommend it.
Khe Hy: Following the Fun from Wall Street to Self Actualization & Crushing the Scarcity Mindset | The Louis and Kyle Show
Khe quit his 7 figure salary on Wall Street to find a better life. He approaches productivity like a therapist. He believes that the neverending chase for productivity tools is usually the byproduct of other issues. You have to address these underlying issues before you can unlock your highest level of productivity.
What I'm watching
Visualizing Leverage in Real Estate w/ Nick Huber
This is a great primer on Real Estate investing. Nick Huber is a self-storage expert and he breaks down everything you need to know about investing in real estate. In this video, they cover:
How real estate is valued
What is leverage
The risks
Leverage as an amplifier
Operating real estate (increasing revenue / decreasing expenses)
Cash out re-finance
Tax advantages
And it’s all done with great visuals!
Tweet of the Week
Every company is a media company. Even B2B SaaS companies.
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