Edition #080
Hey friends, happy Sunday!
I think now is a great time to be a freelancer / entrepreneur and here's why 👇
Alrighty let's get into the Filter.
One Lesson
Not investing will make you more money...
If you're a young ambitious person you shouldn't invest... too much.
The common consensus is that maximising your investment accounts is good. You need plenty of time in the market to benefit from compound interest so why not skimp on living expenses and maximise your portfolio to get rich?
Sure, time in the market is helpful but you know what's more helpful?
Earning more money. And how do you do that?
You invest in levelling up your own skills.
Investing everything you have while earning very little is the equivalent of automating every process in your business before you have any paying customers.
Instead of investing every penny, young ambitious people should focus on gaining the time and freedom needed to explore their interests and level up their skills.
How do you find that time and freedom? Cash.
By piling up cash, you give yourself a runway to find work that's fulfilling and build valuable skills.
Cash gives you the freedom to breathe, choose a direction and equip yourself with the tools needed to unlock the next level of income.
Sure compound interest is great but it functions much better when you have more money flowing into your investment account.
Two Ideas
I.
The key to sustained growth is to have the self-awareness of where you are and where you want to go without letting your current shortcomings impact your happiness.
II.
Optionality is the enemy of compound interest.
By keeping your options open you never commit to anything, never benefitting from compounding returns.
Three Favourite Finds
The Locus of Entertainment: Entertainment has become increasingly passive, instead of engaging in conversation we scroll Twitter while drooling a little. We no longer have to leave the house to see a show because we can see anything we want whenever we want it.
In this essay Nat Eliason explores why screens are not the issue it’s that entertainment has become passive which is making us increasingly impatient, expecting happiness to be drip-fed to us.
Build by Tony Fadell: This book is fascinating - Tony Fadell was on the team that created the iPod and later started the smart home company Nest. The book is laid out like an encyclopedia of advice for entrepreneurs - really enjoying it so far.
Two years of building a personal incubator: I love this analogy for creating internet projects from Ben Issen.
Building internet projects is a lot like growing a garden, some require lots of maintenance (flower products 🌹), others not so much (cactus products 🌵).
End note
The Sunday Filter relies on word of mouth to reach more people, if you’re enjoying the newsletter I’d really appreciate you sending it to a friend or sharing on Twitter.
Have a fantastic week!
- Stephen
