Here at Simply Finance we give you a high level of Financial Data alongside relatable stories that make it easier for you to learn.
Let’s put some personality back in Finance.
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Today’s edition is part of My Stories where I share vulnerable thoughts around my opinions in Finance.
Charts & Chit Chat will be the next edition coming out within a few days where I share Financial Data/Charts alongside quick takeaways that get right to the point.
After that is a weekly Video Post you can think of as a coaching call where I chat about whatever is most relevant over the last week.
For now, let’s get vulnerable.
You know that feeling of immense joy when you are aggressively cracking up at some stupid joke...
You’re living life wrong if you’re not laughing like that every day.
Little chuckles don’t count — you should be cracking up in laughter at least once per day and preferably more.
It’s so good for the soul.
If you don't know what I'm talking about right now then this one's for you especially. Everything doesn’t always need to be so serious dude.
All day I am either consuming or creating Finance content, and you know how serious Finance bros and Macro analysts can be. As much as I get caught up in it I also know it’s healthy to find time to detach a bit.
The Wolf Of Wall Street used drugs and hookers to help him detach. Drugs and hookers are interesting but I prefer to use Instagram, at least on most nights.
I end most of my nights during the week with about 30 minutes of scrolling through mind-numbing videos on Instagram that make me crack up in laughter.
I watch the stupidest sh!t.
It ranges from things like professional comedians, retail pranksters, new-aged scientists, and even the hawk tuah girl -- it’s all so stupid but it’s all so hilarious.
It might not even be a joke. I was watching someone poke a stick into heavy palm trees and catch big football size lizards that were falling out with his bare hands. Like 3 of these lizards in 10 seconds. That is hilariously awesome and leads to so many questions left unanswered after just 10 seconds of content watching.
Let yourself laugh.
The older we get the more serious our brain becomes, and the less stuff we find funny.
Why so serious though?
Laughter is such a net positive in our lives, as mentioned straight from lips of Google’s AI.
Ouu, I love when AI talks to me like that!
It’s hard for me to shut what’s left of my brain off on any given day — it’s always running. Maybe it needs to work overtime now because of all the brain cells it lost in college.
They’re short-staffed up there in my big head.
In any event, it’s tough for me to unplug. Unplug for what I feel like? With no wife, kids, or dog I don’t have anything else to do anyways. I have no excuse to be lazy. I'm also jealous of anyone that has all that and has also built big careers alongside it all.
How TF did they do it? Where do they find the time? Who did they meet to help?
The stress in various aspects of life can push us to work harder sometimes, but it's important to find a balance.
Everyone talks about the “dangers of social media” but very few talk about the benefits of using it responsibly.
I found my job here today from an Instagram post in 2013. That post changed the trajectory of my life for the better.
They say social media is making us addicted to quick little dopamine hits and we're losing our attention spans.
So what? Move it or lose it bucko. We’re quicker these days, why is that a bad thing?
We know what we want. If I want laughter I know where to find it quick.
Laughter is good so I seek it out daily, and there’s no easier place to find it than on social media. I mean the type of laughter where you can feel your whole face change shape because you are laughing so hard.
There are parts of every single day that we should approach as if we’re sitting front row at a comedy show. You need to be open to laughing. You need to be ready to take a joke.
You don’t want to be the loser sitting front row at a comedy show that isn’t even smiling at the jokes, and you don’t want to be the loser that's with that loser.
Be easy. Let yourself laugh.
If I’m out for the night with friends or loved ones I’ll treat the hangout as if I’m headlining an improv show. I’m saying stuff to make myself and the people around me laugh.
Either their laughing with me or their laughing at me, but either way they are laughing...
Let’s crack up together!
Why not?
The best part about this idea is you get to use those jokes to laugh more than once. If this is done right, the next day you will be doing something random like washing the dishes and all of a sudden remember what you were cracking up about yesterday.
Then you start cracking up again! Because.. it’s still funny!
Some things are still funny a month or a year later, and some of the stupidest sh!t you’ve ever done or said might be funny forever!
The only thing better than that is a spontaneous visit from your Latina Diva for a drive-by quickie during the work day. I’m giving out real alpha right here people, pay attention!
Better than the quickie though, jokes and positive energy last for more than one use. The quickie could ghost you at any time.
Not jokes though.. they linger, and the more you get during the week, the more they will continue to linger throughout the month and keep you uplifted even in the most serious of times throughout the year.
The jokes linger and the quickies leave. That’s the beauty of both. That's what gives you a little extra dopamine to fuel the rest of your day.
Maybe you just got done writing about something serious like the two-sided narratives of the FED cutting rates by 50bps and what that means for the next direction in Financial Markets, and you finish it off by screaming “HAWK TUAHHH” as you type the period on your last sentence.
You let out a loud laugh, and that laugh gives you the dopamine energy you needed to read it over again one more time for edits even though it’s 11:45pm and you’re “tired.”
You’re never tired when the quickie comes back around for some extra dopamine though. The jokes keep you energized.
Allowing yourself to laugh will help you stay loose in the times you need it most. Even just a big genuine smile from recalling some joke or positive piece of energy can completely change the trajectory for the rest of your day.
These things translate to other areas of our lives.
Someone who chooses to laugh every day will probably laugh at the market’s movement more than they yell at it. That makes it easier to digest data and information to make the best decision on the board and live with it.
Someone who chooses to laugh every day is probably going to handle managing risk better. It will help them stay open to the opportunities that could go right, rather than be paralyzed by the seriousness of what could go wrong every second.
It’s tough to feel alive when you’re always closed off and serious.
The AI above told us, “laugher can increase pain tolerance.” Maybe that makes it easier for us to manage our emotions during a portfolio drawdown, or it helps us allocate a little piece of our net worth towards a “risky asset” like Bitcoin. 😱😱😱
The AI above told us, “laughter can increase blood flow.” That means lower blood pressure when managing your money, and better performance for your Latina Diva. Win-win.
The AI above told us, “laughter can release endorphins, which can help reduce stress and anxiety.” Enough said. You don’t want to always be stressing your position with anxiety about which way the market is going to move next.
The AI also ended with how laughter can extend your life and offers psychological and physiological benefits. I barely know how to read, spell, or pronounce those last two P-words but everything there sounds important too.
It’s probably worth having, so let's throw it in the bag here too.
And it’s really so easy to let yourself laugh. Just let it happen, and look at all the benefits that can come along with that laugh.
Bang for your buck — laughing is the most valuable thing you could do for your overall well-being and quality of life. It could even make you a better risk taker and money manager in Financial Markets.
Now I know there are exceptions to this.
People go through hard times. The last thing I wanted to do was laugh when my grandma passed in 2017. She helped raise me. At the time, we had lived together for 21 out of my 27 years, which was 77% of my life.
You know I’m a numbers and data guy.
So here is a summary of the numbers and data...
Kids are generally happier than adults, and kids laugh at way more stuff than adults laugh at. That’s a direct correlation.
AI already told us the benefits of laughing above, and we all have a mini computer in our pockets filled with every rabbithole a person could possibly think of.
Use that mini computer to find good rabbitholes. Use it to find work, cool people, and laughter.
And next time you read one of my stupid jokes that I write in these newsletters don’t be afraid to crack a smile. It won’t hurt you.
Bring it back to being a kid.
Why so serious?
Laugh it up.
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Disclaimer: These are not recommendations and I am not a financial advisor. These are just my two cents, or two satoshis as the kids say. Remember to do your own homework before making any financial decisions. Also, keep in mind I usually have some personal investments in the things I discuss.