Edmond Chan

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday – key takeaways

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On my Kindle for iPad Mini

 

Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday is the third book in my Book a Week Challenge. I must admit that I didn’t find this an easy read. Street Smarts was a page turner. Ego is the Enemy less so.

That’s not to say that it’s not got an important message. It does. And it’s a message that you can apply to your own life.

Key Takeaways

Don’t let your Ego get in the way of proper progress

I’ve been playing golf for since I was 13. That’s more than 20 years ago. I’m still a pretty poor player knocking around a 24 handicap.

You’d think that in 20 years I might have improved. Even one shot better a year would have meant I’d be a single figure golfer by now.

So why haven’t I improved. Holiday would say that my Ego has prevented me from improving. I think I’m good enough. Or I think I’ll get better with a little swing thought or a quick hack.

Instead I should accept the reality: that I’m an average golfer who’s not going to get better on my current trajectory.

At the moment, my Ego is in the way of my progress.

If I want to get better, I should find a good teacher and diligently work on what they tell me to do. For as long as it takes to get better. Rinse and repeat.

Don’t let a little success get in the way of further success

I think I’m a reasonable cook. I know basic techniques and I believe that I have good taste.

This is enough for my Ego to think that I’m a good cook and that I don’t need to learn any more.

Will I go on to learn how to bake? How to make fresh pasta? To learn how to make sushi?

Not at the moment. Because I’ve had a little success and my Ego already thinks it’s a Michelin starred chef.

Always be the student, never the master

If you think you know it all, then you’ve already lost.

Almost everyone wants to become a millionaire.

Why is it that most people don’t make it?

Everyone thinks they know what it takes to be a millionaire.

Their Ego has got in the way. They’ll tell you about property, about some hot shares tip, about Bitcoin.

Anything except being a serious student dedicated to a defined goal.

If you want to become a millionaire, go and find a millionaire and listen to and implement what they advise you to do.

If you want to become a scratch golfer, go and find a top golf instructor and rebuild your game from the ground up. Change your grip, work on your posture, practise diligently until this becomes second nature.

If you want to be a great writer, learn the whole craft. Write and get your writing critiqued. Feedback. Feedback and more feedback. Remember, you’re the student.

Buy Ego is the Enemy here.

Check out Ryan Holiday’s website here.

THIS is your best year. Stop dicking around.

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Everyone’s always like ‘Next year, I’ll do it next year’.

‘I’ll take that big trip, the one I’ve always been talking about, next year.’

‘The market’s a bit choppy at the moment. I’ll look for a new job next year.’

I say things absent-mindedly, ‘I’ll save more next year.’

‘I’ll start writing that book next year.’

‘I’ll go to Mont Blanc next year.’

I’ll get a new house next year.’

Sound familiar?

Even my dad says stuff like this. ‘I’ll get my teeth done…maybe next year.’ He has slightly dodgy molars that mean that he hasn’t trusted them to chew through a steak in 5 years. 5 YEARS! So why doesn’t he get them done now!

3 reasons you should do it THIS YEAR and stop dicking around

1. Simple fact: you don’t know when you’re going to die. You could die NEXT YEAR!

You may think you’ve got 40 or 50 years left, but how the fuck do you know that?

2. You’ll NEVER be younger than you are THIS YEAR

I’m 37 now. 38 this year. So I’ll be 39 next year.

If I say, ‘I’ll start that project next year’, or ‘travel the Silk Road next year’, then I’m really saying I’ll start when I’m at least 39.

Jesus.

Am I going to be less vigorous at 39 than I am at 37? Probably. So why not start it now?

Start it NOW!

3. If you leave it to next year, you’ll never do it. Seriously. So shut up about it.

I think this is what people really mean when they say ‘I’ll do it next year’. They mean they’d LIKE to do it but not like it enough to start now. Not enough to put the work in now.

Also known as hot air. Also known as bullshit.

What now?

Stop dicking around and either do it now, THIS YEAR, or don’t say it at all.

Tell me what you’re going to start THIS YEAR.

Street Smarts by Jim Rogers – key takeaways

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Street Smarts by Jim Rogers

Jim Rogers is an investing legend. His Quantum Fund was up 4,200% when he retired at the age of 37. Since then, he’s taught at Columbia and travelled around the world twice setting Guinness World Records in the process!

Street Smarts is a book that opens your mind. It’s an exhilarating read. The opening chapters are a memoir, which takes you from his beginnings in Alabama to Yale to Oxford to the US Army to Wall Street and to Quantum. He’s definitely a man to listen to (unlike the likes of Greenspan, Geithner, Paulson at al. who Rogers excoriates).

Key takeaways from Street Smarts

Think really long term

Rogers thinks about not just the last bear market (2008) but about the dot.com crisis, the Asia crisis, the savings and loans crisis, OPEC, The Second World War, The Great Depression, the 1907 crash and so on. Don’t think about this news cycle; think about the next few decades.

Will oil run out soon? Will the ice caps have melted by 2050? Will we face food shortages and high food prices? How will the migrant crisis unfold? Think long term.

Be a student of history

Rogers references history a lot. He’ll refer to the Rothschilds re Waterloo, the fall of the British Empire, the fall and now rise of China, the history of Singapore. Knowing your history gives you true perspective and the ability to not panic in short-term meltdowns. History has seen it all before.

Rogers is long Asia and short The West

By this, I mean that Rogers thinks Asia will be the dominant power in the coming decades and that the US and Europe will continue to decline.

He points to the huge debt of most Western countries vs the creditor nations of the world (particularly Asia)

The poor education systems of the West relative to Singapore.

In a nutshell, the West has become less competitive whilst the Asia countries have become more competitive and more vigorous.

Put your money where your mouth is (or walk the walk)

Rogers was so convinced about the coming dominance of Mandarin as the world’s lingua franca that he moved his whole family to Singapore so that his daughters could learn Mandarin and be competitive.

Do your research from the ground up

Rogers advocates getting into the country you’re looking to invest in. Don’t listen to the analysts who’ve never been there. Rogers was there in Angola investing in the stock market. He was touring through Myanmar even before free travel was allowed. Do your own research and get your information firsthand.

What is your actual exposure?

This was the question that stayed with me after reading Street Smarts. Since Brexit, I’ve been acutely aware of my currency exposure. Everything I earn and own is in GBP. GBP has fallen 20% since Brexit last June. So you could have great returns in your GBP portfolio but still be down vs the rest of the world.

How do you hedge against your overexposure to your domestic currency? Rogers opens bank accounts (such as in Switzerland in 1970 which netted him a 400% return decades later). Opening up foreign bank accounts isn’t straightforward though. He suggests getting exposure via a currency ETF/ETC but I would rather have the long term exposure of money in a bank account. I’ll continue to dig and post what answers I find here in an update.

Buy Street Smarts on Amazon here:

Check out Jim Rogers official website here: www.jimrogers.com

How I became a morning person. Finally.

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For as long as I can remember, I’ve been an insomniac.

I remember being awake for a whole night before a 9am exam. I’ve punched the walls in frustration at not being able to sleep the night before an important interview. I’ve lain awake so often that for years on a Sunday night, I would pop downstairs at 3am for a glass of port and a sleeping tablet to help my mind relax and finally get some sleep.

Not ideal I know.

I’ve long dreamed of being able to sleep when I want to. I’ve dreamed of bouncing out of bed at 6am and going to the gym, reading a book and doing some writing.

But I’ve never been able to do it. The snooze button was always too inviting. The pillow was too soft and too warm.

Until now.

I was in Hong Kong and Australia recently to celebrate getting married. Jet lag going eastwards is always horrible. But it’s a total joy coming back westwards, particularly for an insomniac.

At 8pm London time, I would be so tired. (8pm London time is 7am Sydney time). I’d go to bed at 10pm and wake up naturally at 6am!

I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks now and it’s changed my life. I get up now at 6.30am, feeling energised. I go to the gym every other morning and use the rest of the extra time to read.

How to get up at 6.30am

You need to commit to doing this for 3 weeks minimum. That’s how long it takes on average to build a habit. It’s easier to do in summertime because the sun rises earlier and you will feel like getting up as it’s in daylight (as opposed to getting up in darkness in the depths of winter).

First morning: Set your alarm for 6.30am and get out of bed at that time, no matter if you feel like staying in bed. No caffeine at all that morning.

First evening: You’ll feel tired that evening. Eat around 7.30pm and go to bed at 10.30pm latest. Set your alarm for 6.30am.

Repeat, repeat and repeat.

Repeat even at weekends. Don’t fall back into late habits at the weekends. This is critical.

become a morning person

What’s next?

I’m going to get up earlier and earlier. There’s a whole legion of people online with 5am accountability clubs.

Noah Kagan has a podcast episode dedicated to getting up at 5am.

Jocko Willink has one for 4.45am. The community will take a photo of the time and post it to Twitter #0445club

What time will you get up? Let me know in the comments.

Shoe Dog by Phil Knight – key takeaways

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Shoe Dog

I picked up Shoe Dog on a recent trip through Hong Kong airport. I’d first heard about it on Bill Gates’ excellent blog.

I read this in less than a week. It’s that good a page-turner.

It’s the story of how Phil Knight went from selling shoes in Oregon to building a $30bn empire.

What stands out about this book is its raw honesty. Knight never puts a nice spin on things.

In many ways, he’s a very difficult man. He doesn’t omit this. He’s uncommunicative to colleagues and can be a complete asshole. But he’s a man you respect and by the end of the book, I really liked him.

It reads more like a novel than a business book. One of the best memoirs I’ve ever read.

Key takeaways from Shoe Dog

Pursue something related to what you love

Knight wanted to be a professional athlete. He fell in love with Japanese running shoes and wanted to sell these instead. His obsession with bringing these shoes to a wider market was what allowed him to work long hours and never give up, even when faced with disaster.

Build lifelong partnerships

Knight is a master at building relationships with quality partners. It isn’t just his team (detailed below) but also Japanese holding company called Nissho, who gave Knight the funding and knowledge that he needed, and actually saved his company from bankruptcy once.

Build a seriously great team around you

He built a team of obsessives in the early days. People like Jeff Johnson who loved running and the Onitsukas that Knight was selling in the US. People who would give up everything for the company (like move from the West Coast to the East Coast just because they were asked. Above all, he recruited people with extreme loyalty, to Knight himself and to the Blue Ribbon company (the first incarnation of Nike).

Take risks

Knight went travelling round the world in the 1960s! Think about that. Today, backpacking round the world is an industry in itself and it’s pretty easy to do. But in the 1960s, it must have been another world in terms of comfort and almost no predetermined routes for intrepid travellers like Knight.

He also took out chunky loans and left a solid job at Price Waterhouse (as it was then) to focus 100% on his company.

Be a voracious reader

In the early pages, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Knight was a deep reader. More importantly, he was a reader of quality. He recounts how he went to Johnson’s house once and saw a fellow reader, one that read philosophy and ancient history. Knight regularly quotes what he’s reading at the time. At one point, he has a fascination with generals and biographies of his three main heroes: Churchill, Tolstoy and Kennedy. He quotes widely: Confucius, Alexander the Great, Rumi, The Upanishads, Dante, Voltaire, Rousseau, The Oresteia and much, much more.

Buy this book: Shoe Dog by Phil Knight

For a similar read, check out “Legacy – What the All Blacks can teach us about the business of life” by James Kerr and my summary here.