Your time on the stage as the greatest political upset is, well, history. Donald Trump’s defeat of Hillary Clinton is the new shocker for the ages. I would guess that even many Trump supporters were surprised. Now on to what this will mean for everyone. The Financial Times from London says this “marks a thunderous […]
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In Search of the True Self…
Recently I stumbled on the fact that the third most popular course at Harvard University is Classical Chinese Ethical and Political History. Who would have guessed? The course explores the teachings of Chinese Philosophers from 2,000 years ago. Michael Puett, who teaches the course, has now written a book with a co-author, The Path, explaining […]
The Power of Alipay…
We know there just was an election that was kind of important, but last week there was another fascinating day of an entirely different nature: Singles Day on November 11. Singles Day is a made-up holiday in Asia that started as a way for young people to celebrate being single (since the date is written […]
Spending in Retirement – the Big Unknown…
Retirement planning can be devilishly difficult. It requires you to think about what your life will look like many years ahead, trade-off spending today for spending in the future and, at some level, face mortality – all endeavors most of us would rather avoid. One of the biggest challenges is forecasting your spending. A standard […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Modern Anxiety and Purpose
A friend of mine who is a nurse told me that on election night her hospital saw a surge in patients coming to the ER with chest pain. For some, the stress, suspense, and excitement or disappointment of election night became too much to handle. The last few months, there have been plenty of stories […]
The 2-Minute Thought: The Danes Are a Happy People
Source: Citi IO Earlier this year, Denmark once again was declared the world’s happiest country in the World Happiness Report Update 2016 released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations. Although Denmark lost the number one spot once in 2015, it otherwise has been ranked the world’s happiest country three out of […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Are the Super-Rich Really Smarter Than Everyone Else?
**Please note: The 2-Minute Thought will be on holiday for two weeks and will return on November 10** You may say yes, of course the super-rich are smarter. Or you may say no way, they’re just luckier. Or you may say, wait a minute, it depends. And yes, it does depend . . . But […]
A Modest Proposal…
There are a lot of moving parts to the U.S. economy today. Let me focus on just two. The first is the general feeling of anger across the country. As Robert Samuelson the columnist in The Washington Post said recently, “the sense of boundless optimism and national superiority that characterized the boom years” of the […]
So What’s In Your Wallet?…
I am guessing $4,200 in crisp greenbacks. Statistically I am right but in reality I know I am way off the mark. Let’s do the math. Divide the value of all the dollars in circulation by the U.S. population (man, woman and child) and the result is that everyone should be walking around with $4,200 […]
On Getting People To Say Yes…
Social psychologist Robert Cialdini is an expert on getting others to comply with our requests. How do we get people to buy from us, contribute to our charities, accept a work offer, or join our causes? Cialdini has studied hundreds if not thousands of salespeople, direct marketers, television advertisers, nonprofit fundraisers, public relations specialists, and […]
Fighting the Last Battle…
Learning from past mistakes is generally a good thing. But sometimes efforts to avoid past fumbles can result in a failure to anticipate the next big thing. The general consensus today is that excessive risk taking by large financial institutions led to the 2008-2009 financial collapse. The idea that losses at one institution can spread […]
The 2-Minute Thought: Speaking a foreign language can make you more rational
Source: University of Toledo If you’re fortunate enough to speak more than one language, you have many advantages over those who speak just one. The pluses go beyond navigating another country with ease or having rich interactions with the people who live there. Various studies show that bilingual and multilingual people are more cognitively flexible […]
