Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

Milutin Milanković argued that the Earth’s Ice Age was caused by a change in the Earth’s orbit around the sun. This change is said to affect the inclination of the Earth’s northern and southern hemispheres and reduce the amount of solar radiation. However, the main reason is believed to be that summer isn’t hot enough. The ice kept accumulating as summer passed, and winter arrived before all the ice could melt. Even in our lives, things we neglect tend to build up and lead to big problems. Small, untreated chores can produce significant results over time. Good luck or bad luck, maybe that’s all there is. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

As Voltaire said, “History never repeats itself; man always does.” Many interpret this saying differently, but the core message that human behavior is hard to change is clear. Since humans cannot predict the future, they can only forecast it based on past experiences. That’s the best way to anticipate what’s ahead. The current economic and financial landscape is driven by irrational human behavior that remains constant. It is not based on <hard skills> like investment techniques or mathematical formulas but on <soft skills> such as emotions, psychological reactions, and attitudes. Understanding humans helps us understand the world. Therefore, history and the humanities play a significant role in wealth building. However, it takes just a few soft skills to accumulate wealth, and ultimately, human actions shape a person’s destiny. In wealth building, soft skills and behavior matter more than grand theories or knowledge. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

People say content is money. That may be true, but money itself is also a type of content. Money is a way to exchange value or build wealth, but it also carries humanity’s stories. We cry and laugh because of money. Money reflects the rise and fall of empires or nations, hiding great stories inside it. Most top YouTube channels focus on content about money and wealth. We often hallucinate money with content. However, we don’t realize that money itself is an ingredient of content. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Most economic concerns are at the core of the conflict between the price of goods and the value of money. An increase in interest rates means a higher cost for borrowing money. This also causes the value of money to rise. Investors want to own an asset that will appreciate in value. They consider whether to buy a good or a currency. Investing in stocks means buying a company, while bonds are buying fiat currency. Most investors see these two concepts as corresponding concepts, not assets of the same nature. The proposition that money buys goods represents a very significant aspect of investing. If you want to invest well, you should get a hint from this proposition. Money appeared because of the convenience of exchanging goods, but in the world of investment, it always results in a confrontation between goods and money. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

All investments should be evaluated based on opportunity cost versus time. Are you investing for the short term or the long term? And which option would be more efficient and profitable if you invested elsewhere instead of this? The idea behind recommending long-term stock investments is that high-quality securities tend to benefit from inflation. Inflation happens when the prices of goods increase faster than the value of money. Wouldn’t a producer only make a good if its price exceeds its monetary value? However, if this gap is too large, the consumer experiences volatility. That’s why the efficiency of using money declines because you need money to buy things. This principle explains why stock prices tend to rise over time if you hold high-quality stocks long enough. Therefore, investing is often referred to as investing in time—because over time, it adds value. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Making money and avoiding losing it are two different things. There is no guarantee that you won’t lose the money you’ve gained just because you make money well. Wealth can’t be achieved unless it’s supported by the right attitude toward money, proper management principles, and the psychological mindset and self-control suitable for the situation. You can gain some wealth through your skills and abilities, but this is less about being wealthy and more about your psychology, attitude toward money, and worldview. Therefore, being smart doesn’t necessarily make you rich. Most importantly, you need to have a clear understanding of your own identity. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Business debates who benefits most from time. When borrowing money, the debtor gains the benefit of time until the repayment date. Since the period before repayment favors the debtor, the debtor compensates the creditor with interest. However, as the repayment date approaches, time shifts to favor the creditor. After the due date, the debtor loses the benefit of time, known as ‘acceleration of debt,’ and must repay both the principal and interest. Time benefits debtors but poses risks to creditors. Therefore, lending money without interest results in a loss. All of this illustrates the power of time. Time is money, and money derives its value from time. The most important factors for CEOs to focus on are time and, next, opportunity cost. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Greed isn’t about how much you want, but about wanting something without paying for it. Nothing in this world is free; everything has a cost, whether seen or hidden. Trying to get something for nothing leads to problems and consequences. What am I actually paying now, and for what? It’s useful to think about this from time to time. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

What is the most interesting story you know in your life? Why was that story interesting and engaging? A detailed analysis of the reasons reveals what kind of story material attracts people and how they respond to sharing these stories. Sometimes, the way you tell the story and the grammar of your words matter, and the impact of my message varies greatly depending on which aspect of the same material is emphasized. As the story unfolds, you must convey what you need to get across. Increasing sales, raising investment, and persuading others all depend on storytelling. People always gather around those who tell interesting and meaningful stories. Attention asset: attracting people’s attention creates an asset. However, managing these attention assets is a challenge of its own. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Storytelling is the foundation and framework of communication. It’s essential to convey values in an easy, engaging, and emotional way. The world is filled with stories, many of which are reborn with different values depending on how they are processed. Investment, management, and love are all forms of storytelling. This world craves stories. Myths in ancient times, religion in the Middle Ages, and media today all process and share stories. Entrepreneurs are storytellers. However, most people in business tend to overlook telling stories and only focus on presenting products and services. No product or service enters the world without a story. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

For a good to be distributed in the market, it must have value. Its value stems from several factors. In a complex world where networks and communication have advanced, values are assigned to groups with similar preferences. So, now, more than in previous eras, business is more prominent in the mania class, such as online clubs. The same applies to digital assets like NFTs. Ultimately, to be recognized for an unseen value, it must first be distributed by a group with the same preference that recognizes that value. Therefore, digital assets are mainly created by clubs, and to be acknowledged for their worth, the story behind the digital asset is absolutely essential. Storytelling has always been a very important asset. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Threshold. A boundary value at which a physical phenomenon begins to change. This world is constantly evolving. It doesn’t stop at change but also significantly influences other elements and the surrounding environment. Just like the slightest movement of an Amazon butterfly can trigger a storm across the Pacific Ocean. We live in a world where even small changes can have major impacts and outcomes. Recognizing the threshold before a shift occurs can help us prepare for hardships and alert us to danger. These thresholds exist in various fields that make up our world. It’s just that we often don’t know or suspect them. Surviving in this era is an achievement. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Consilience. When information is gathered to form knowledge and then used to gain insight through inspiration, it becomes wisdom. The world we live in is now multidimensional and a complex system. You can’t correctly interpret and understand it using only the simple patterns of a limited worldview. After collecting and discarding fragments of information and scattered knowledge, we must reconnect them to discover new patterns. Consilience is the ability to see wisely in a world filled with significant volatility and uncertainty. It’s a world where mistakes are easy to make if we only focus on one side. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Egoistic Mind. Traditional education that emphasizes social interaction often views ‘selfishness’ as a negative trait. However, selfishness is a necessary component for survival. The problem arises when selfishness is solely focused on oneself, as it can damage social bonds and community life. I believe that selfishness and sociality are qualities that should be balanced and complemented, not seen as mutually exclusive. Ultimately, selfishness should align with social interests. I call this positive form of selfishness “altruistic selfishness.” It means making choices that satisfy your own needs first, but ultimately acting in a way that promotes happiness for both yourself and your neighbors. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Tracking. Media has existed since primitive times, including the Middle Ages. Although the forms of media have been different, their core properties have remained the same. Marshall McLuhan’s definition of media, “the medium is the message,” remains relevant and will continue to be so in the future. Regardless of the form media takes, this definition indicates that the medium itself does not leave the message frame. By observing the interaction between media messages, the audience, and the environment, we can improve our ability to judge the world and understand the crucial contexts of this era. Media also influences the economy, and the same applies to politics. Without the ability to understand media, we cannot judge the world accurately. This ability develops from constantly observing how media messages react with audiences. Therefore, maintaining a mindset of continuous pursuit allows us to read the narrative that drives the world, and the judgments based on this understanding can ...

The world we live in is not a simple system but a complex one. However, human history has often been seen as a simple system due to religious beliefs and ideology. Science was also viewed as straightforward. But as quantum mechanics advanced in recent times, it has become increasingly difficult to explain or interpret the phenomena of this world from the perspective of a simple system. The world of wealth-generating investing is no different. In a simple system, the ability to perform multiple functions at once, called ‘multi,’ is beneficial. Yet, in a complex system, having ‘insight (meta)’ to understand multi-dimensionality becomes crucial. Intuition to grasp connectivity has gained more importance. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

People don’t work efficiently at first. Efficiency comes from trial and error. In other words, if you don’t try, your chances of becoming efficient are slim. The navigation system only works when the destination is entered. More importantly, it only functions well when the starting point is input accurately. The system recognizes the starting point automatically and guides you to the destination, but if the origin is wrong, problems will occur. Change, growth, and progress only happen when you confirm your identity. You need to ask more than ten people around you to understand who you are. The most reliable method is to look in the mirror and wipe away the stains from your face. If you try to remove a stain by guessing, you might sometimes succeed by luck, but that’s just called ‘hard work.’ - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Salary isn’t just ‘my money.’ It’s money that should be spent considering yourself today, your future self in 10 years, and your future self in 20 years—that is, your future self together. Therefore, my current income is always, in a way, public money. We need to get approval from our future self before spending now. A bright future is only guaranteed if the future self agrees to the spending. It’s inconvenient to spend other people’s money on your own terms, and thinking of your own money the same way you see others’ cherished money will help you develop good habits for the future. I don’t have an exclusive claim to my own money, as if there’s no such thing as my own air in this world. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Moderation. Greed and despair stem from the same root: excessive desire. In investing, profits and losses are unpredictable, and the chance of losing is usually higher than the chance of gaining. It’s natural to want to make big profits with minimal damage, but the truth is that it’s not always possible. Ultimately, a disciplined person stays moderate through both profit and loss. It all requires courage. Temperance fosters consistent investment behavior. Without persistence, achieving great things in any area becomes difficult. It’s not easy, but in investing, only those who can stop and accept gains and losses as they happen are true winners. Greed is simply the seed of downfall. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

In primitive times, there was no such thing as ‘coincidence’ because all unknown and unpredictable events were interpreted as divine revelation. This reflects a religious and deterministic worldview. Since Christianity was dominant in the West, science also developed based on this deterministic perspective. However, with the rise of quantum mechanics, it has been revealed that the natural world we live in exists in an indeterminate state. Matter is in an uncertain state and becomes determined only when observed by an observer. In other words, the act of observation influences the behavior of the object being observed. To exist and to observe is a deeply metaphysical phenomenon. Do coincidences truly exist? When a decision was made in an undecided state, did God already know the outcome? How much freedom and discretion do humans really have? Does free will truly exist? - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”