DISQUS

Congrats on the launch, Clay. Personally, I was impressed, especially by your humble submissions of learning.

My observation, via your recent blog posts, is that your learning (and teaching) is more a result of "doing" rather than a result of "knowing," which is why (and how) you have demonstrated that conventional education has little correlation with success in business or life.

"Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught." ~ Oscar Wilde

Cheers...

Kent

Clay: You are actually articulating the essence of "non-being." Once you realize that you are nothing, you are really something. The idea of non-being is rooted in Taoism but some more recent philosophers, such as George Hegel, have written about being and non-being.

Hegel would say that the highest form of reality is not "being" but it is "becoming." Becoming is the process of moving from being (something) toward non-being (nothing).

I may have shared this quote with you before, but it expresses the idea of and meaning of becoming (the synthesis or process of moving from being to non-being):

"You spent the first half of your life becoming somebody. Now you can work on becoming nobody, which is really somebody. For when you become nobody there is no tension, no pretense, no one trying to be anyone or anything. The natural state of the mind shines through unobstructed -- and the natural state of the mind is pure love." Ram Dass

Escaping from anything conventional requires self-knowledge. When you know yourself, you are given confidence to separate yourself from herd behavior.

If your number one job is understanding yourself, then you will be successful at any other "job." Self-knowledge is three-tiered: 1) Understanding yourself as a human; 2) Understanding yourself as a unique individual personality; and 3) Understanding your environment.

"Nearly all mankind is more or less unhappy because nearly all do not know the true Self. Real happiness abides in self-knowledge alone. All else is fleeting. To know one's Self is to be blissful always." ~ Ramana Maharishi

As you might guess I would say, Clay, I'm neither one nor two. I will say, however, that I am closest to number two.

Lately I've been reading existential philosophy (Nietzsche, Heidegger, Kierkegaard) and I'm confident that the primary challenge most of us have is with language.

For example, specifically with language, you say in this post, "Sometimes it seems like the only things people have to say about work is that they don’t want to do it." An existentialist, especially Heidegger, would say that these people are unhappy because their definition of work is aligned with social conventions -- that they need to define "work" for themselves, then pursue that definition.

"Man acts as though he were the shaper and master of language, while in fact language remains the master of man." ~ Martin Heidegger

It seems as if you are defining your own terms, Clay, such as freedom, work and value.

Keep up the good "work."

Kent

Kent

What I find amusing (and revealing) is that my first interpretation of this magazine cover was that the larger fish represents hope and that, perhaps, those of us who have been patient are getting closer to having our first satisfying meal in a long time.

The problem is perception. Why couldn't anyone out there "be the big fish?" Sadly, the vast majority see themselves as the smaller fish behaving with the herd mentality and swimming toward a deceiving light.

In my view, I'm the big fish; the light represents patience; and the school of small fish represents the many small but compounding accumulations of returns I receive for staying true to my "plan."

"There are no facts -- only interpretations." ~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Keep up the good work...

Kent

Jim:

I live in Charleston, SC. You can find my email on my blog if you would like to ask me any questions about the area.

Cheers...

Carl,

I appreciate your illuminating explanation of heuristics -- something I believe more people should be aware of...

Self-awareness and self-knowledge are key ingredients to success in any endeavor and our brain's use of heuristics, for better or worse, is fundamental to our decision making process.

As you stated, heuristics worked quite well for primitive man. The human brain, however, has not significantly changed in 100,000 years but our environment certainly has dramatically evolved.

Complicating matters for modern man is the incredible amount of external distractions and overwhelming number of choices available for every decision.

If one takes a moment to think about it, the saber-toothed tiger is much less frightening than the environment we live in today.

"Thought is the organizing factor in man: intersected between the 'causal' primary instincts and the resulting actions." -Albert Einstein

"In character, in manner, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity." ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Great points, Carl...

"Fear always springs from ignorance." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Those who have knowledge, don't predict. Those who predict, don't have knowledge." ~ Lau Tzu

You make many great points. As a financial planner and investment advisor, I tell clients, friends and readers of my blog that this environment is where planning can be most useful and comforting.

As humans, our greatest fear, simplified, is the unknown. We would prefer to see something ugly in plain view than to feel and see the nothingness of the dark -- and often the picture painted by one's imagination is a magnified version of whatever emotion one is currently feeling.

For example, in "good times," one's imagination will fill any existing empty spaces (unknown) with over-confidence and positive images. In "bad times," one's imagination will fill those empty spaces with pessimism and horrific images.

Financial planning, by virtue of shedding light on one's financial picture, removes much of the unknown, at least on a personal level, and enables an individual to begin stepping forward again with renewed confidence -- regardless of how ugly the immediate environment...

"Once men are caught up in an event they cease to be afraid. Only the unknown frightens men." ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Don't sell yourself short! Actually, I meant the originator of the comment obviously manufactured the misspelled words. I'd publish the comments as posts until the idiot stops commenting. If they don't stop, you'll have a whole new category of posts. If they do stop, the idiot will disappear.

Either way, you're a winner!

The "hate mail" appears completely manufactured. No one spells "misogynist" correctly and has broken English at the same time. The email is still entertaining, although not in the way it was intended...

Anyway, welcome back Clay -- not that you were ever "gone" -- it's just nice to have your voice present again.

I just read your most previous post and wanted to offer my favorite "death" quote for you...

"We say that the hour of death cannot be forecast, but when we say this we imagine that hour as placed in an obscure and distant future. It never occurs to us that it has any connection with the day already begun or that death could arrive this same afternoon, this afternoon which is so certain and which has every hour filled in advance." ~ Marcel Proust

Clay,

If you are not "this guy" anymore, then who are you? I imagine your absence for several weeks from this blog means you are seeking to answer this question. Good for you!

"I know not how I may seem to others, but to myself I am but a small child wandering upon the vast shores of knowledge, every now and then finding a small bright pebble to content myself with." ~ Plato

Cheers...

Thanks, Ben...

I have not seen "They Live." I'll add that to my Netflix rotation...

I am thankful that I have realized at the young age of 39 that money, material wealth and social status are almost completely void of meaning. I will say, however, that there is absolutely nothing wrong with "wanting more" as long as we are content with what we have now.

You are correct: Money is a tool. Thanks for the thoughts...

Tim:

Having children of your own is an incredible gift. Once your son is able to speak and communicate with words, he will teach you more about life than you thought you would ever learn.

Thanks for the comment and yes, I will certainly check out your blog...

Kenny:

Thanks for the comment! I hope to hear from you over at The Financial Philosopher...

Cheers...

Kent

Thanks, Maria...

I believe the conventional wisdom for many of my fellow financial planners and investment advisors falls short of the kind of guidance people really need.

Following a "plan" can be quite hyper-intentional, which can lead right over a cliff or close doors to unforeseen opportunities. People need more "life planning" and less "financial planning."

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts. I'll look forward to you joining in the discussion at The Financial Philosopher...

Clay:

Thanks to you for the honor of writing this guest post on your blog! You have a good thing going here and your efforts have certainly impacted people in a positive way.

You are a great "philosopher!"

"The essence of philosophy is that a man should so live that his happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things." ~ Epictetus

Will:

I'm a fan of Seneca as well! Here's one of my favorite quotes:

"It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare, it is because we do not dare that things are difficult." ~ Seneca

Thanks for sharing the quote...

Kent

Kenny:

If we really think about it, the worry over money reveals how much energy we give to it. You are fortunate to realize this now...

If our priorities are aligned properly (and we have food, shelter and clothing), then our concerns over money, material wealth and social status will be minimal, if not non-existent.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts...

Kent

Clay:

The problem is that people are not leading their own paths. They see someone else making money doing someting, think it sounds great and start doing it.

I think you are getting closer to defining "freedom," Clay. At a minimum, people should understand that money should not be the pursuit.

The phrase may be completely warn out but it really is true that life is about "the journey" and not the destination.

Personally, I do not write in a blog to be "a blogger." I write to help myself make sense of the world and to test my ideas on people smarter than me. I don't care about the money but if my blogging turns into an income stream then so be it...

"What is important in life is life, and not the result of life." ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"I write to keep from going mad from the contradictions I find among mankind - and to work some of those contradictions out for myself." ~ Michel de Montaigne

"I tell you that virtue does not come from money but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man." ~ Socrates