No. 482 — July 24th, 2022 — Read on FS

Hello from Italy.

Welcome to Sunday Brain Food: a weekly newsletter full of ideas and insights that never expire.

FS

The Art of Being Alone

"Loneliness has more to do with our perceptions than how much company we have. It’s just as possible to be painfully lonely surrounded by people as it is to be content with little social contact. Some people need extended periods of time alone to recharge, others would rather give themselves electric shocks than spend a few minutes with their thoughts. Here’s how we can change our perceptions by making and experiencing art."

Insight

Sun Tzu on adapting:

“A military force has no constant formation, water has no constant shape: the ability to gain victory by changing and adapting according to the opponent is called genius.”

Tiny Thought

Most information is irrelevant.

Knowing what to ignore saves you time, reduces stress, and improves your decision making.

(Click here to share this Tiny Thought on Twitter.)

Etc.

+ Warhol: "The richest consumers buy essentially the same things as the poorest. You can be watching TV and see Coca Cola, and you know that the President drinks Coca Cola, Liz Taylor drinks Coca Cola, and just think, you can drink Coca Cola, too. A coke is a coke and no amount of money can get you a better coke than the one the bum on the corner is drinking."

While you have access to the same iPhone as Jeff Bezos, that doesn't mean you'll get the same results. Technology transforms small differences in skill into asymmetrically different results.

+ Risky Decisions: "Risk tolerance is the scarcest resource in most companies."

+ Choosing your friends matters more than you think.

+ Three random things I love: True Food Kitchen, Athletic Greens, and Outway Socks (links are not sponsored or affiliates).

The Royce Funds. Small-cap specialists.

Stay safe,
— Shane

P.S. How a mechanical watch works.