Brad's Brief - The Perfect Daily Schedule, Apex Predators, How the Economy Works, The History of The Times, and Berkshire Hathaway
Hey everyone,
Happy Wednesday from a beautiful, 70 degree day in Nashville.
We spent the second half of last week visiting our new clinic in Dallas. Construction is on schedule and we are planning to open sometime in May. The launch is starting to become real now that our buildout is halfway completed and some of our key team members are hired. Our bet that life would be closer to normal by this summer looks like it’s going to pay off. 🤞
I’m excited to get back to our regular format for The Brief this week! Let's get to it.
Brad
What I'm reading
Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letter 2021
One of my favorite pieces of literature to read each year is the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Letter. This would have been included in last week's brief, but we missed it due to the NFT extravaganza. I have read every letter from 1965 to 2021 and collectively they provide great context into 50+ years of operating a business and investing in a variety of market conditions. Is Warren Buffett perfect? No, but anytime you can read the thoughts of someone worth more than $80B, it's time well spent.
Productive assets such as farms, real estate and, yes, business ownership produce wealth – lots of it. Most owners of such properties will be rewarded. All that’s required is the passage of time, an inner calm, ample diversification and a minimization of transactions and fees. Still, investors must never forget that their expenses are Wall Street’s income. And, unlike my monkey, Wall Streeters do not work for peanuts.
You can buy a copy of all the annual letters in Kindle form here.
You can also watch a condensed version of most of the annual shareholder meetings here.
How to Craft the Perfect Daily Schedule
Eighty percent of the population experiences a common pattern of energy and mood fluctuations throughout the day: Energy and mood tend to rise in the morning, go down in the afternoon, and rise again slightly in the late afternoon or evening.
I have had a variety of daily routines over the course of my adult life. They have ranged from starting my day at noon in college, to waking up at 4am as a parent trying to start multiple companies on top of my day job. Recently, I have settled into a routine of getting up about 5am each day. This gives me a few hours to myself before the rest of the family wakes at 7am.
I have mentioned before that I am always looking for ways to improve my daily routines, and I found this article on scheduling your day around your energy useful.
My biggest takeaway is that you can increase your productivity by scheduling your most important tasks during the time of day when you have the most energy. Almost everyone is more productive in the morning hours. To maximize productivity, you have to keep your mornings sacred and not let meetings and other distractions take away from your primary “getting shit done” hours.
Another interesting tidbit is that the afternoon rebound is a good time for creative work. So you can schedule creative tasks in the afternoon and expect better results.
What I'm listening to
Robert Breedlove on Bitcoin as the Apex Predator | The Pomp Podcast
Robert Breedlove and Anthony Pompliano are two of the premiere educators in the bitcoin and cryptocurrency space right now. This is a great conversation that ranges from the current state of bitcoin, corporate America protecting their balance sheets, when central banks will buy bitcoin, and what the world will look like in 25 years.
The New York Times Company | Acquired
I love studying the history of businesses that have stood the test of time. When I think about these iconic long-standing companies, The New York Times does not immediately come to mind. But it should. Before listening to this podcast, I had no idea that The New York Times was founded before the Civil War! This three hour show is worth the listen. It's got crazy family drama, massive business failures, and a several amazing turnaround stories.
What I'm watching
How the Economic Machine Works
This is one of my favorite YouTube videos of all time. It is the best 30 minutes you can spend to gain an understanding of how the economy works. It is good to rewatch every year, and now is a great time since congress just passed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Brrrrrr.
I have learned so much about how the economy works from Ray Dalio. If you want to go really deep on this subject, I highly recommend his book, Big Debt Crises.
Tweet of the Week
Contrary to what VC’s tell you on Twitter, not all companies require millions of dollars of venture capital to be successful. This is a great example of how to scale a services business using debt financing:
Thanks for reading!
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