MAP Strategic Wealth Advisors

Four takeaways:

Pressured situations and crises can arise very suddenly- but they don’t have to lead to disorganized or stress-induced reactions. Here are some quick tips for building that ever-elusive, but universally-admired quality: grace under pressure.

1. Preparation: A lack of preparation is not only impossible to conceal, but it also causes scattered, tentative actions. Do your homework, and arrive to each situation with as much background knowledge & understanding as you can..
2. Visualize: high-level athletes are known to visualize successful play. You too can visualize various scenarios, which can give you a sense of having “rehearsed” or considered all courses of action when actual challenges arise.
3. Create contingency plans: Anticipating potential questions, roadblocks, or other negative outcomes can strengthen your sense of control, lowering the risk of feeling flustered or losing composure when things do indeed go wrong (and they often do, as we know!). Taking the time to consider all possible missteps or unplanned interruptions can increase your confidence.
4. Learn from mistakes and close calls: Use errors and frustrations as learning moments. This will increase your sense of “having been there before” the next time a stressful or unexpected crisis arises. This is part of the reason why there is no substitute for experience in the workplace: with experience comes the adaptive learning that comes with making mistakes.

In most cases, the stressful situations that arise in life do not require the heroism of a first responder. But that doesn’t negate the way that they can test our mettle. Hopefully these tips will help you impress those around you with your calm and clarity the next time a highly pressured situation rears its ugly head.

By Perspectives
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Five takeaways:

During the pandemic, Jeffery Rosen set out to read every book on a reading list that Thomas Jefferson provided a friend in 1771, five years before he started writing The Declaration of Independence. What he found changed the way he thought about the psychology of the Founders and, in particular, about how self-consciously they strived for self-improvement.

1. The classical and Enlightenment thinkers that Jefferson read defined happiness as the pursuit of virtue—as being good, rather than feeling good. The Founders believed accordingly that happiness results from the daily practice of mental and spiritual self-discipline, mindfulness, and rigorous time management. Happiness is always pursued, but never to be obtained.
2. The founders believed that “passion” was a synonym for “emotion,” and that happiness lay in mastering those passions in productive ways. In both enlightenment thought and the wisdom of philosophers like Plato, calm self-mastery and tranquility of mind was key to personal happiness.
3. There is evidence that the founders were very intentional in their pursuit of “mastery of the passions” Benjamin Franklin, as a young man, created a list of 13 classical virtues and resolved to end each day by running through a checklist of whether he had lived up to each one.
4. The Founders also believed that “that personal self-government was necessary for political self-government.” This is to say, that leaders in particular had a responsibility to be intentional in their pursuit of true happiness as it would help them overcome moral quandaries and the lure of corruption.
5. While it is evident that the Founders frequently failed to meet their own standards of moral perfection, their commitment to attaining self-mastery, greater knowledge, and continued personal growth– as advocated by the enlightenment thinkers and ancient philosophers they read– is noteworthy.

One last tip: if you wish to stop complaining so much, let those you are around commonly about your intention– you’ll find that they’ll be more than happy to call you out when you go back to your complaining ways!

From Jeffery Rosen at The Atlantic:
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Note: At the time of this posting The Atlantic offers five free article views per month.

Six takeaways:

Warren Buffet may be the most well-known investor of all time, but even masters have their biases and blind spots. Buffet’s success would not have been possible without the longtime partnership of Charlie Munger. Their partnership, one rooted in respect, honesty, and rigor, is one that anyone in business should strive to replicate.

Here are some tips for finding your Charlie Munger.

1. Know yourself. Be crystal clear about your goals, your own personal skills and strengths– and the qualities you lack. This will help you define what you need in a partner.
2. Put yourself out there. Make yourself findable for a potential partner, by sharing your story and philosophy online. Make connections, both online and at events. Follow up diligently.
3. Say yes to the dinner. Buffett and Munger’s meeting was happenstance. If one had decided not to go out that night, the partnership would never have been born. Get out there and open yourself to opportunities.
4. Deserve one. Be great at what you do, and build a reputation for being trustworthy and responsible. Embody what you are looking for in a partner.
5. Assemble one. You can identify talent around you and work with them on their skills and attributes over time.
6. Be Charlie Munger. It is easy to resist a partnership in which one member gets more notoriety than another (Buffet overshadowed Munger in the public eye). But do not let ego deter you– maybe you are the Charlie Munger to a potential partner who plays the more prominent Buffett role.

A good partnership can open you and your business up to opportunities that were previously unimaginable, just as Buffet and Munger’s did. Don’t be afraid to be intentional and diligent in your search for one.

By Frederik Geischen for The Alchemy of Money Newsletter
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