Future Skills

Martin Sandquist co-founded Lynx asset management, a 8 billion dollar hedge fund

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Pippa Malmgren, award-winning author, former US Presidential Advisor and tech entrepreneur

drpippa.substack.com

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We conclude Season 1 of Future Skills with an extra-long discussion about the top tips and ideas we learned from the following 15 guests:

Even if you?ve listened to all their episodes, the Season Finale will provide some much-needed spaced repetition and nuance on those ideas.

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Reading recommendations:

*Read a written season summary on Ludvig?s blog.

*Find a list of all Future Skills episodes + descriptions on the podcast website.

If you're on our newsletter, you will receive written of this episode following shortly.

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And stay tuned for Season 2.

In today?s episode we pick up the talk from episode 34 with investor, author, podcast showrunner and technology entrepreneur Erik Townsend.

Once again we cover a lot of ground, including Erik's views on decision making & strategy, technological progress such as automation, and his current views on gold, oil and Tesla. We also talked about the process of writing and publishing his book "Beyond Blockchain"

Not least we talked about Erik's views on cryptocurrencies and what could come after Bitcoin.

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In this episode you'll learn:

That writing a book is easier than many claim But publishing and selling in large numbers is a special game of its own Why a global distributed ledger digital but gold backed currency is the logical development beyond the blockchain Why Tesla is still a zero When the USD could lose its reserve status Why and when the price of gold in USD could drop by 25 per cent or surge by 500 per cent

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Erik Townsend is a retired software entrepreneur turned hedge fund manager and host of the Macrovoices Podcast.

Throughout his career, Erik has capitalized on his ability to understand complex systems and anticipate paradigm shifts far in advance of the mainstream.

A teenage computer protégé, he spent most of his high school years at MIT's Artificial Intelligence laboratory, where he taught himself several computer programming languages. Erik became an independent software development and design consultant to Digital Corporation's manufacturing systems technology group at age 17. By age 20 he owned his first private aircraft.

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? Merry Christmas! ?

In today's Christmas episode we talk to futurist Martin Ford, popular speaker and author of bestselling books Rise of Robots and now Architects of Intelligence.

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This episode can be seen as the finale to the last three (#43 - robotics and #44 - global problems). We discuss where the future of AI, robotics, and other high-tech fields seems to be headed, based on the existing research and the lay of the land. Most important - Martin clarifies what might be reasonable to expect in terms of future progress in these areas, based on what he's learned from talking to the 23 leading innovators in these fields.

Here's a rough outline of the conversation:

What is a robot? Martin's definition. Is Martin positive or pessimist about the future in general? Will the job market be more or less mismatched in 10 years? The Protestant Work Ethic is now mismatched to highly technological economy; how can we shift this value/tradition? Universal basic income - could it work? Is it compatible with open borders? What did Martin Learn from the 23 Architects of Intelligence? (Demis Hassabis, Nick Boström, Ray Kurzweil, Geoffrey Hinton, etc) What's an evolutionary network vs neural network? The leading AI companies - what are they up to? Why bundling & leveraging existing technology in business model will be paramount. Can normal people invest in AI startups? Longevity escape velocity - and will Ray Kurzweil live forever? Deep Mind + will Google achieve AI monopoly? What are some Future Skills recommended by Martin? And much more...!

More about Martin:

Website Twitter New book - Architects of Intelligence

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We discuss 5 global problems (water, food, climate, energy, health and 5 big technologies that may be used in solving them (AI, automation, biotech, nanotech, 3D printing/additive manufacturing). 

We call this the 5x5 Matrix: Click for image (if it doesn't show below).

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3 more problems are discussed: Education, depression, and migration.

We also discuss a list of future industries. Roughly 10 are mentioned out of a total list of 32. Subscribe to our newsletter for episode summaries for another 10 industries we did not get around to talking about in this episode.

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Alternate headline: "How You Can Own a Little Robot Butler, Like Rocky in 1984"

We delve into Mikael's strong interest for robotics and automation. Mikael makes a strong case for why robotics will be "the new auto industry", with lots of other industries converging into one massive industry. And how YOU can position yourself to get in early, working for or with robotics makers (for example by visiting your local robotics company...)

Do you want to learn more about investing?? Check out ?https://theinvestingcourse.com/?

Also discussed in this episode: "RaAS" - Robotics as a Service, "Intelligent Agents" - autonomous decision makers,

We will continue this discussion in next week's episode, talking about the 5 biggest problems to come (human demand) and the most likely (profitable) future industries.

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Today we talk to Dr Philippa Malmgren

Pippa, short for ?Philippa?, is a tech entrepreneur and a geopolitical consult. She has authored several books, including ?Signals?, and ?Geopolitics for investors?.

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In this conversation we focus on her most recent book ?Leadership Lab? and learn about important neglected skills of good leaders and why managers keep getting blindsided by well-known trends.

We talk about important megatrends like Big Data and the internet of (surveillance) things and how to adapt to technological change.

Pippa is extremely productive, something she attributes to mostly working at just 80% of capacity.

Among many thought provoking ideas, we discussed see-through clothes, why even Philippa Malmgren finds resistance to her suggestions, and why you should replace your ToDo list with a Be list.

Finally we get to know how Pippa does her best work while she appears to be sleeping in, why culture eats strategy for breakfast, and how eyes can?t see clearly if imagination is out of focus.

You can find Dr Pippa on her website, Twitter, or Amazon

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We answer questions from listeners and subscribers to our newsletter.

Do you want to learn more about investing?? Check out ?https://theinvestingcourse.com/?  

The following questions are answered in the episode:

 

What is the distinction between perseverance vs. bull-headedness? What websites do you often visit? What have you had to give up to get where you are today? What motivates you? What was the biggest factor that helped you being successful, other than yourself? How do you distinguish between superficial and actual knowledge; how do you know if you are really learning something? How do you integrate recently acquired abstract mental models from reading into your daily process? Should I pay down my mortgage or put away money for my daughter? What books do you recommend for getting started with investing? What trend or theory is most overhyped right now? What?s your best tips for not getting caught up in such hypes? In times of a bear market in bonds, does it still make sense to park some money in short term corporate bonds? Have you discussed neurolinguistic programming, NLP? How has podcasting impacted your lives? What possibilities have opened up and what have you learned from building a follower base? How do you best improve self-discipline? What areas in life make you struggle the most? Mikael, when you were at Futuris, what were the hardest parts of the job?

 

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We talk to Seth Godin, who is a serial entrepreneur, author, and one of the world?s biggest experts on marketing.

Seth has written as many as 18 bestselling books. His writing is about the post-industrial revolution, the way ideas spread, marketing, leadership and how change happens. His new book is called This is Marketing.

Seth is also the founder of the altMBA and the Marketing Seminar?two very successful online workshops. And, he has one of the world?s most popular blogs.

Seth has had a really interesting career, and we discuss some of his different business projects, like the Worlds of Power (a book series that sold over a million copies), and we also hear what it was like to work with Isaac Asimov.

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Three big takeaways from this conversation are:

1) You should start a blog. Even if it?s anonymous. Because it?s a great creative medium, and everyone should be engaged in some kind of creative medium as a long-term investment into their career and personal development.

2) All major industries become rebundled?that is, they become changed from the ground up? about every 10 to 20 years.

And finally:

3) Marketing is about creating stories that spread and drive change.

So, if you?re in business or you?re an entrepreneur or you have a message?the way to become more successful is to become better at marketing.  And Seth says that the most important thing is learning to tell the right stories. And so?how do you do this? This is what Seth will explain in this conversation.

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Tyler Cowen is an American economist, academic, and writer. He is the author of books like The Great Stagnation, Average is Over, The Complacent Class, and more.

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He occupies the Holbert L. Harris Chair of economics, as a professor at George Mason University, and is co-author, with Alex Tabarrok, of the popular economics blog Marginal Revolution. Cowen and Tabarrok have also ventured into online education by starting Marginal Revolution University. He currently writes a regular column for Bloomberg View. He also has written for such publications as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Time, Wired, Newsweek, and the Wilson Quarterly. Cowen also serves as faculty director of George Mason's Mercatus Center, a university research center that focuses on the market economy. In February 2011, Cowen received a nomination as one of the most influential economists in the last decade in a survey by The Economist. He was ranked #72 among the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" in 2011 by Foreign Policy Magazine "for finding markets in everything."

His newest book (subject of conversation today) is Stubborn Attachments. It took him almost 20 years to write it.

A few practical tips by Tyler: You should re-read the best books; you should have hobbies that make you think more, and you should argue for what you think is correct, but also understand it?s likely that you?re wrong.

Then we talk about big picture things, like:

What is Tyler?s view of economic growth and how it happens? ­Have we seen the majority of economic growth from the Internet, or is most of it yet to come? What are the 2 things we?as a society?should prioritize above all else. And also: When should we prioritize economic growth over the redistribution of wealth by government? What are the 3 things scarce in today?s economy? How will future cities look different in 20-30 years from now? And, will the future economy reward generalists or specialists?

Learn more about Tyler:

On Twitter Marginal Revolution (economic website) Conversations with Tyler (podcast) Tyler Cowen?s Ethnic Dining Guide Amazon Page

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We answer questions from listeners on our newsletter.

The following 11 questions are answered in the episode:

1) How can I change careers and become a real estate copywriter?

2) Will biotech become a big industry? Does Free Will exist?

3) Should you work in finance? How can I study better? How does one become a renaissance man?

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4) What 3 top things would you recommend for business and career for a college freshman?

5) How do you develop an international career? What is the best job for an international career?

6) How do I start a commonplace in Evernote?

7) How much do you attribute luck to your finance career, Mikael?

8) What path would you take if you were 18 again?  

9) What is the best way to get 10.000 euro from you?

10) People say gold has intrinsic value. Why?

11) How do you set your goals? Do you tell others? Or do you have systems and processes?

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Grandmaster of Memory Mattias Ribbing joins us today. He is an author, educator, and 3-time Swedish champion of memory sport. He?s also become a Grandmaster of Memory internationally. Mattias sits down for a conversation about mnemonics, biohacking, self-improvement, minimalism, and his thoughts on improving the school system.

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The first half of the episode is about learning and the human brain:

How to think in pictures (the way the brain processes information fastest) The benefits of thinking pictorially (?give your brain folders?) How to learn a new area fast What to do when studying and feeling confused How to go from big picture to granular details How to become fluent in languages?and why we teach languages inefficiently in school

Here are the questions asked during the second half, about the school system:

Are we being dumbed down? What does the new school system look like? Should we improve upon the existing one by making modifications, or should we do away with it and create a new one from scratch? What makes Mattias optimistic about the future? Which skills will become more valuable (or hard to replace) in the future?

Please enjoy this conversation with Mattias.

Also, watch his TED talk about memory techniques here.

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How To Avoid Herd Mentality.

Stephenie Meyers broke all the rules and created a $3 Billion Dollar franchise (just with movies), sold 120 million books, and in the process, created a new genre: ?Vampire-Romance?. So don?t underestimate her powers.

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We talk about how to get started diverging from the crowd. Before you can be a real contrarian, you need to practice being one in small things.... like daring to walk into forbidden places, going to places other tourists aren?t, and walking in the middle of the road, or across the square alone. All of these things, there is a slight resistance towards doing, wouldn?t you agree?

Finally, we get to the big leagues?how to differentiate your thinking: (1) have different inputs for information and stimulation, (2) develop your own unique view, (3) analyze information differently or better than others.

 

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There are 4 modes of being: Herd Animal, Stoic, Independent, and Contrarian.

You can look at it visually like this:

Herd Animal------------------------Stoic------Independent------------------Contrarian

Herd Animal = Go with the crowd, fit in, be nice, and stampede in collective panic.

Stoic = Self-centered and serene, focused on one?s own world and work.

Independent = Going with/against crowd, but without any strong emotion attached.

Contrarian = Taking a stand for something and against the crowd for profit/ideology

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Erik Townsend is a retired software entrepreneur turned hedge fund manager and host of Macrovoices Podcast. Throughout his career, Erik has capitalized on his ability to understand complex systems and anticipate paradigm shifts far in advance of the mainstream. A teenage computer protégé, he spent most of his high school years at MIT's Artificial Intelligence laboratory, where he taught himself several computer programming languages. Erik became an independent software development and design consultant to Digital Corporation's manufacturing systems technology group at age 17. By age 20 he owned his first private aircraft.

Do you want to learn more about investing?? Check out ?https://theinvestingcourse.com/?

Erik draws on many different world trends and we learn a lot.

Here are some highlights:

Why you should not be like Warren Buffett (achieve the Sweet Spot). His personal role model?and why you can *not* emulate him (but rather find your own role model, that jibe with YOUR personal style.) The skills & experiences that equipped him to deal with complexities. The extreme fun of making sense of the world through history and a macro perspective. Why you can get away with breaking the rules?more often than other generations.

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In this second episode with Walter Kiechel, we continue where we left off last time in our discussion about Strategy, and Walter?s popular book ?The Lords of Strategy?.

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In case you didn?t listen to the last episode, Walter has over 30 years of experience in the media industry and among other things --- he's been the Managing Editor of Fortune Magazine and the Editorial Director of Harvard Business Publishing (which includes the famous Harvard Business Review). You can get in touch with Walter through the Lords of Strategy website.

In this episode we go in-depth about the Strategy consulting industry:

Why does strategy consulting work? Why do companies hire these consultants? What is the ?Jungian Shadow? of Strategy? And what did business thinkers Tom Peters and Peter Collin, tell Walter about the pitfalls of Strategy consulting. We also learn why Walter thinks clients of Strategy Firms are becoming more demanding than before, and what this means to the industry future. Then Walter tells us about the difficulty of behavioural change in business -- and why companies that become the leader in one industry rarely make the transition into the next big thing.

If you learned something new about business thinking and the strategy consulting industry, please head over to iTunes and give us a review, that would help more people find the show.

Also -- Be sure to subscribe to Future Skills on your favorite podcast platform: iTunes | Android?| Stitcher | Spotify

We talk to Walter Kiechel III.

This episode will be particularly interesting if you'd like to get into the media business and understand how it works.

Walter has more than 30 years of experience in the media industry; first as a business journalist, then as an author. Walter has served as the Managing Editor of Fortune Magazine and the Editorial Director of Harvard Business Publishing (which, of course, includes the famous Harvard Business Review). He?s also authored the two books ?Lords of Strategy? and ?Office Hours: a Guide in the Managerial Life.? 

Do you want to learn more about investing?? Check out ?https://theinvestingcourse.com/?

In this episode we learn:

Walter?s background before getting into the media industry and the story of how he made the decision of going to work for Fortune Magazine, instead of taking a higher paying job at a large consulting firm. How a big business publication or newspaper like Fortune Magazine runs. How Walter stopped working for Fortune Magazine, pursued a so-called Portfolio Career and helped start perhaps America?s most successful business newsletter Walter's career advice to someone who wants to get into the media business What his first impression was of Bruce D. Henderson ? and why he thought he was kind of mad?. But how, despite this, Bruce became supersuccessful by relying on his top 2 strengths and how he amplifying them.  And finally, he tells us of his meeting with Bill Bain, the legendary founder of Bain & Company, and what set Bill Bain apart from all the other Lords of Strategy.

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In thís episode you'll learn:

why celebrating high stock prices is wrong why next year's, any year's, Price/Earnings ratio is irrelevant that one strategic shareholder selling to another rarely means anything useful

... and a few more things, Mikael Syding picked up on his way from total beginner to the head of The European Hedge Fund Of The Decade.

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* Leave a review on iTunes to help us reach more people.

 

The 2x Rule is a practical application of the Experience Curve. It's a guideline for how you can plan your career.

The 2x Rule states that you should be willing to take half the entry salary of a prestigious company in order to maximize on learning for some time while you are still young.

Do you want to learn more about investing?? Check out ?https://theinvestingcourse.com/?

In this episode we talk about:

- What the 2x rule is
- How you can use it
- 3 bad career choices
- And 4 areas where (future industries) where the 2X Rule might apply most
- And the risks it entails

As a final tip, if you are in university we advice you to make two lists: one with high-paying jobs and another with jobs you're really interested in.

 

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Stop thinking linearly. Start thinking exponentially.

Everyone who has read economics knows about scale effects. Like economies of scale or economies of scope. But a lot of people don?t know about the scale effects of experience and learning...

The Experience Curve states that things become cheaper and more effective to produce over time as you get better at it. The experience curve explains why specialization works so well.

This is originally a concept from management consulting, invented by Bruce Henderson, the man who founded Boston Consulting Group.

"[UNIT] Costs characteristically decline by 20-30% in real terms each time accumulated experience doubles."

?Bruce D. Henderson, 1968

The reason The Experience Curve is important is that it?s a general principle that applies to you as an individual as well. And you can use this to plan ahead better in your own career. Once you specialize, you shouldn?t assume a linear progress, but rather, an exponential effect.

How to make use of this idea

Investing: Equity research, investment Work: Identifying promising industries or companies to work at Improvement: Focusing on the lowest hanging fruit for improvement

If you liked this episode, go ahead and give us a rating on iTunes. It will help more people find us and prepare properly.

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Elkhonon Goldberg, Ph.D., is an author, scientist, educator, and clinician, internationally renowned for his clinical work, research, writings and teaching in neuropsychology and cognitive neuroscience. He is a Clinical Professor of Neurology at New York University School of Medicine. Diplomate of The American Board of Professional Psychology in Clinical Neuropsychology and Director of Luria Neuroscience Institute. A student and close associate of the great neuropsychologist Alexandr Luria, Elkhonon Goldberg has continued and advanced his scientific and clinical tradition. He has written three books about his research of the brain: The Wisdom Paradox (about cognitive aging), The New Executive Brain (about executive functions and decision making), and Creativity (the future of innovation).

This episode is heavy in the history of neuroscience. 

The first 20 minutes we talk about his background. And his mentor Alexander Luria.  And how he escaped Russia during soviet union.... by taking a bold risk and spending 6 months as a hospital orderly-- mopping floors.

After that we talk about neuroscience and his three books, and where he thinks the field goes in the future, and whether he thinks it?s possible to model the human brain and create a General AI.

Then for something completely different: The story of how he first got his idea about the 2 brain hemispheres -- while drinking beer with 2 pediatric doctors. And his acquaintance with Nassim Taleb and his friendship with Oliver Sacks.   

Finally, he tells us which Future Skill he recommends and what we can do to live more Wakeful lives. 

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In this week's episode Syding and Sunström recommends a wide array of physical tools and gadgets for improving your life, and making sure you stay healthy, happy and productive longer.

Mikael's two favorite things are noise cancelling in-ear headphones and a Kindle Paperwhite (B&W) e-reader.

Ludvig recommends a physical almanack and a whiteboard

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If you liked this episode, be sure to check out these as well:

From  episode 16 -- Avoid Chronic Stress.

Blood-pressure monitor. Use about once per week. (Omron).

From episode 15 - the Top 3 preventive health tests to do:

Vitamins and minerals. --(Werlabs for Sweden.) Hormonal tests (testosterone, estrogen, thyroid, cortisol, etc) Fatty acids (Omega 3, 6, 9 etc.) --Arcticmed.

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These are tools and resources we use. All free and readily available. Everything from Noisly (ambient sound) to Inflation Calculations.

The top advice we give is to try: (1) Have I been pwned (2) Just Delete Me, and (3) Unroll.Me. This will really do wonders if you get lots of spam email.

Email us at [email protected] if you want to recommend a tool/resource to us!

Much obliged,

-Jabba Da Hut

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In Survivorship Bias we go over 6 practical tips:

(1) Remind yourself of the concept of Survivorship Bias. It's very tricky and

(2) it's only becoming "stronger" due to social media and network effects

(3) Train yourself to be more Contrarian/Stoic, and less pop-culture,

(4) Acknowledge success is often the result of a complex combo of things

(5) avoid unrealistic expectations, like comparing yourself to 20-year old billionaires whos success you *don't understand* and

(6) Choose whom to follow/study/learn from with some caution - some industry leaders are very very very far removed from the basics. You might be better off studying someone just a few years ahead of you.

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We describe and discuss a useful metacognition tool: The Myers Briggs Test which is based on Carl Jung?s ideas about 4 Functions.

Jung?s functions are based on Input and Output, Information and Decision. How do you gather intel and how do you make your decisions. Fact-based and reasoning, e.g., or intuition and feeling?

Use the tests for inspiration on beginning your introspective journey. Use the tests for realizing what others might see in you. Use the tests for checking if what you are thinking is the same thing as others are seeing in you.

Here are some of the things you?ll learn in this episode:
The biggest takeaway is to know the 4 functions and start thinking about them. The 4 functions are:

? Sensing / Intuition | Are you organizing info (making sense of something), or are you
"distant", somewhere else, daydreaming, dwelling in the subconscious?
? Introversion/ Extraversion | Do you want to be alone or with friends now?
? Thinking / Feeling | Are you questioning why things are this and that way, analyzing
what it can lead to -- or is your mind quiet, you're in the moment, kind of grounded?
? Perceiving / Judging | Are you open-minded and ready to see something new, or are you close-minded and just want to affirm/strengthen what you know?

 

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Alexander Bard is most famous for his music career, where he's put together successful groups like Army of Lovers and Bodies Without Organs, and for being the top judge of Swedish Idol.

More importantly, however, Bard?s also a futuristic philosopher?one of the most well-informed when it comes to understanding how the Internet and social media is impacting the rest of the world (business, government, public debate).

Together with Jan Söderqvist, he's written the 4 books: Netocracy,?(recommended),?The Digital Empire, The Body Machines, and Syntheism, and soon -- their new book "Digital Libido".

Here are some of the things you?ll learn in this discussion:

Giants of psychoanalysis: Freud, Nietzsche, Jung... Sensocracy: when sensors measure everything and people willingly give up choice What sex robots mean for the relations between the sexes About Bard?s coming book Digital Libido About psychedelics, LSD, Ayahuasca cycles and rites of passage, Ketamin, the dangers of opiates, of combining the wrong drugs, about legalization View of the importance of mentorship, context, networks Why religion has nothing to do with God How to become a philosopher How to write a book, and how to do research for it About the (difficult) philosopher Alfred North Whitehead

 

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This episode draws on an idea from Ludvig?s Ultimate Commonplace System. The Review File is like a virtual book summary book, only more extreme. It?s based on two learning methods: Spaced repetition and availability bias.

Your Review File is where you collect all the best materials related to your work, studies, investing, creative project, etc? and you want to review it every now and then over the long-term to make sure the best ideas stick to your brain, and become internalized.

4 Examples of a Review File:

For Creatives: To build a scrapbook of inspirational work. For Marketers: To create a Swipe File of historically proven material For Investors: To collect the case studies of successful/horrible businesses For Everyone: To collect the best learning materials by category.

How You Can Build a Review File Now:

List your TOP 5 books and other learning resources (articles, videos, audio). Divide this material into relevant categories (if you come up with a lot). Create a Review File in your commonplace and link to the content if possible. Set a reminder for when you should use your Review File.

The Review File is only a small piece of a commonplace.

If you want to learn how to:

build a commonplace that works like a dashboard over your life, collect an archive of your work that grows in value over time (like compound interest) structure your work so that you can work from your phone (if you work with your head) and gain an extra 10 hours a week (if you forget things or do a lot of routine work)

Then check out Ludvig?s Ultimate Commonplace System:

https://futureskillspodcast.com/commonplace

Barry Schwartz is a professor of Psychology, serving as visiting professor at the University of Berkeley, in California. His numerous TED talks have been viewed and listened to more than 20 million times.  They include:  ?Paradox of Choice?, ?Loss of Wisdom?, ?Practical Knowledge?, and why the way we think about ?Work is Broken?.  He has also written several popular books, where The Paradox of Choice is the best-known one.  

In our discussion with Barry, we go over things such as: 

When too much choice is a bad thing  In which areas do people prefer more choice  How Barry does his research (and the process behind his books and TED talks)   What he did before he find his own niche as a scientist and intellectual, and how long time it took him to do this?  Why we can?t always trust what people say  Why Barry thinks social media should be controlled   His greatest concerns for the 21st Century (and reasons for optimism)   And, finally, why he thinks soft skills and positive values will become more important as computers become better and displace many existing jobs 

Some thinkers mentioned our discussion include: 

Cass Sunstein & Richard Thaler, Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky, Milton Friedman, Isaiah Berlin, Jeffrey Pfeiffer? 

Also listen to: 

Episode 4: ?Are You a Maximizer or Satisficer?? as it ties into our conversation with Barry. (The idea comes from the Paradox of Choice.)  

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We cover the fundamental 5 steps to become an investor?based on Mikael?s personal guidelines.

Here?s a summary of the steps:

1 Psychology is more important than maths in investing

2 Read books and insightful articles about investing, not testosterone dripping online stock forums

3 Find a strategy that suits you. Refine it in company with likeminded truth-seekers

4 Use real money; it?s the only way to truly stress test your emotions and your strategy-psychology fit

5 Create a feedback loop of continuous improvement, your work as an investor is never done

Bonus tip: it?s not easy, anybody who says it is doesn?t know what they are talking about (or are actively trying to fool you). Anybody who has simple one-dimensional solutions to the ?problem? of investing is either a narrow minded sheep destined for slaughter, or a snake oil salesman out to trick you.

Follow-up: Check out Mikael?s blog post for a list of the books.

For serious students of investing: Check out TAOs (The Art of Sprezzatura) for Mikael?s investing framework.

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In this expert episode, our guest is?Sebastian Marshall, founder of?Ultraworking. 

Sebastian is also an author. You may recall we talked about the Japanese concept of Ikigai in our last episode. Sebastian's first book was called Ikigai. 

Here?s what we cover: 

-The different online tools and systems that Sebastian uses -- and also that me and Mikael use. And perhaps more important, the thinking that goes behind it.? 

-You'll learn what a "Keystone" is--and how you can use it to stay on top of your work 

-Sebastian talks about the 3 metrics for improving your productivity (to get more important work done each day) 

And finally: Why you don't want to have 2 tools competing for the same purpose 

There?s lot of ideas for improving your work in this episode. Hope you like it and use it!  

GET SEBASTIAN?S FREE TEMPLATES (WORK CYCLES & LIGHT SPREAD SHEETS) 

Work Cycles + Light Spread Sheets: https://www.ultraworking.com/future 

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THE 2 ESSAYS SEBASTIAN RECOMMENDED TO LUDVIG: 

George Orwell: Politics and the English Language (for writers) 

Peter Norvig of Google: Warning Signs in Experimental Design and Interpretation (accurate thinking) 

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FUTURE SKILLS: 

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Look up the Japanese concept Ikigai. 

We talk about how the word ?Passion? has lost its meaning from being overused and why Ikigai is a much better concept?and something that the Western World is missing. We also rant about herd mentality, the Law of Attraction, and ?putting out positive intentions on the Blockchain?. 

Ikigai can be thought of as the combination of (1) what you love, (2) what the world needs, (3) what you can be paid for and (4) what you are good at.  

Then there are intersections between these too: 

Love + need = Mission  Need + pay = Vocation  Pay + good at =Profession  Good at + love = Passion 

The key takeaway from this episode is to learn the concept, reflect on it, and replace it for ?passion?. 

It?s easier if you look at the picture. 

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Watch Albert?s TEDx talk about controlling your thoughts: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29Vj0-TVHiQ

 

Welcome to another expert episode! Today our guest is Jay Campbell.  

Jay Campbell is a Champion Men?s Physique Competitor and the bestselling author of ("The Testosterone Optimization Bible?). 

In this episode: We?ll go over some of the myths and truths about testosterone, estrogen, and other hormones, according to what the latest science has to say about it.  

We start out talking about how a kick to the groin changed Jay?s life when he was just 29, leaving him with deficient testosterone levels. And how he recovered from that and kept playing basketball at a high level while also retaining a successful modelling career (recently appearing on the cover of Iron Man Magazine).  

Then we get into?the nitty gritty stuff; the practical details and benchmarks for health and hormonal levels. And what diagnostic tests might make sense to do, to find out if this is a problem. 

Among other things we?find out: 

-3 of the most important testosterone-related metrics?to keep track of,?as a healthy man. 

-Who should do their bloodwork. And how often. 

-And, if your numbers are bad, what is the?one thing? the most important preventive measure you can take? 

 

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Contact Jay / get a free copy of his book: 

[email protected] 

Follow Jay on Social Media:

-Twitter, 

-Youtube Channel

-Email Newsletter. 

Hebrew University Study: 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sperm-count-dropping-in-western-world/ 

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-study-sounds-alarm-as-sperm-count-halved-in-western-men/ 

https://www.cnn.com/2017/07/25/health/sperm-counts-declining-study/index.html 

Actual Study 

https://academic.oup.com/DocumentLibrary/humupd/PR/dmx022_final.pdf

Hi friend ? in this episode we talk about how to monitor your blood pressure. It?s not difficult at all once you know how to do it. Then you can do it once in a while to get a sense of whether chronic stress is building up in your body.

This is another example of Boundary Testing. Meaning: it won?t give you an indicator of just how good your health is, but it *will* tell you when to be worried.

FYI: Those stats are: Diastolic pressure +120 | Systolic pressure +100 | Heart rate +100 beats per minute.

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Which are the most important preventive health tests? What are their benefits? How often should you do them? What do they cost? These are questions answered in today?s episode of Future Skills.

Why should you do preventive health tests? Because they will often let you know if something is SERIOUSLY OFF, then you can (hopefully) fix it before your health declines.

This is sometimes known as "Boundary Testing"

 

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Today we talk to Annie Duke.

Annie is best known for her career as a professional poker player, where she has won a World Series of Poker bracelet, the World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions, and the NBC National Poker Heads-Up Championship. She has more than 16 money finishes and has won more than $4 million in tournament poker.

She?s also a mother of 4 children and the author of the new popular book: Thinking in Bets: Making Smarter Decisions When You Don?t Have All the Facts

?Here are some of the things you?ll learn from Annie:

Why betting is the ultimate transferable skill How she first got into poker ? abandoning a promising academic career in cognitive psychology The Evolution of poker (as a business and from a player?s perspective) How to spot the bluffers on the table And how poker, finance, and other fields are ALL about remaining Adaptable, as the dynamics change up (as they did with televised poker) We talk about this from around 15-30 minutes. This is the best part, I think. Why becoming a Teacher makes you better at thinking ? and how practicing observation can make you more conscious in other areas of life

Even if you don?t play poker, this episode is really about the Learning Process, about MASTERY, and about becoming a better thinker and decision-maker. And that?s an awesome ability, regardless of what you do.

 

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Today we talk to Casey Gauss.

Casey is the founder of Viral Launch. Viral Launch is an online business that helps Amazon Sellers sell more stuff on Amazon.

He dropped out of college when he was 21. At the time, his family was going through a really tough time and were living on his little brother?s pizza-delivery paychecks. So he spent all his time Coding and (after failing a few times) built an Online business.

When I met Casey he wore hats every day.

One day, we sat next to each other in the bus. It was then that Casey said he was considering taking a year off, to learn engineering and science on his own. And I said: "Why not?"

Fast forward 3 years ? and 45 employees.

Here are a few things you'll learn:

How they've been able to grow the company so fast. The 3 things Casey wish he'd known earlier in life The software and systems Casey uses to manage Viral Launch Why he insists on a strong culture, in a physical office, even though Viral Launch is a 100% online company What Business schools should teach -- or emphasize more

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In this expert episode, we have serial entrepreneur Ola Ahlvarsson [Personal site | Wikipedia] back on the show to tell us how to run successful innovation labs - and to explain his framework of the 5 entrepreneurial types, and how you build a team around your talents.

Ola says that 7/10 innovation labs done in-house fail, and that those that do succeed are: Separate, Shared, Seen, Slim, Strategic, and have a Structure.

The 5 entrepreneurial types are: the Virtuoso, The all-or-nothing entrepreneur, the better-safe-than-sorry-entrepreneur, the serial entrepreneur, and the "Mr Sleeves Down" entrepreneur.

 

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In this episode of Future Skills we talk about what Biological Prime Time is, why it's so important, how you can identify your peak productivity or peak creativity time of day, and how to make the most of it through smart tweaks of your daily habits

Try to figure out when your BPT is. For many people, it will be about 1 hour after waking up. There are different times, but this is most common. Use your BPT for the top tasks;#1 priority, like writing an essay or a book. That stuff is very hard to do outside of your BPT. Consider making your daily to-do lists based on BPT Make the list before going to bed Start the next day with ?#1? for the top 1 thing to do during your BPT Then you might put a bunch of minor tasks/errands after that. Once you discover your BPT, do not squander it playing video games, playing with your phone or browsing stories on Facebook. FOCUS! Postpone errands/tasks during your BPT. Focus on the #1 priority -- that which forwards your capitals and bring you closer to your major goals and achievements in life

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Ola Ahlvarsson is a really really interesting guy (Personal site | Wikipedia). He's founded more than 20 businesses, worked with many of the world's biggest brands that you know of (like McDonalds, Google, Microsoft, Merck, Procter & Gamble, Twitter, IBM.... etc)

He's also an avid martial artist, with a Black Belt in Karate, and he's become the European champion in Goju Ryu Karate, the Swedish champion in Kung Fu and in Taekwondo, and the world champion in WAKO kickboxing.

Two notable businesses that Ola runs are "Star Stable", the world's largest online Horse game - with more than 6 million users, and "Epicenter", which is Sweden's biggest scale-up incubator.

Here are a few tidbits of what you?ll learn from the conversation with Ola:

What Ola would do if he were the Benevolent Dictator of the world How to look at the world through multiple dimensions, or lenses, to see things from different perspectives How Ola got Swindled by his Miami employee and how a team of Indians made off with his money The difference between a scale-up and a startup (and why it?s easier to become a rap star than create a successful scale-up company in Sweden.)

And many, many more things.

Here are some books mentioned:

Only the Paranoid Survive, Mission Possible, The Nordic Secret, Homo Deus, Nazi Diaries, Robert Kegan?s The Evolving Self.

 

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The 2008 crisis was a hell-hole for the financial industry, as we all know.

What most people don?t know, however, is that it was almost as bad for the legal profession. 60% of legal graduates (J.Ds) couldn?t get a job upon graduation.

Finance and law are stereotypical industries where you are so specialized that?if the industry takes a hit?you will be in trouble. And then there's ecosystemic risk.

Industry disruption is bound to happen everywhere sooner or later; to protect yourself you should learn transferable skills.

Some top examples of transferable skills are:

Learning how to learn, Social skills Focusing & getting into flow, Metacognition (thinking about how you think) Avoiding chronic stress Mastering a medium of communication

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The 4 capitals are the foundation of becoming Future-Proof. What are they?

? Financial capital (Uncle Scrooge)

? Social capital (Godfather)

? Cultural capital (Richard Feynman)

? Influence capital (Oprah Winfrey)

Tip: When you think about your progress in life, try to be concrete. A good way is to use this outline, and think of how you improved in one or many of these capitals.

Noble indulgence homework: Watch "The Defiant Ones" and consider how weird Jimmy Iovine?s career trajectory has been. Then consider it from the perspective of the 4 capitals.

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It?s a TRAP!

Once your sleep takes a hit, you can adapt to it, but it will transfer to other parts of your body?s hormones, and it will create a downward spiral that goes like this:

(1) Bad Sleep >> (2) Higher Cortisol Levels >> (3) Lower Impulse Control, Tired and Hungry >> (4) Eat Sugar and Consume Stimulants for Fast Energy and Focus >> (5) Become Fatter and More Stressed >> . . . Bad Sleep [AGAIN]. . . .

Then if you continue for more than 2-3 days, it will become your body?s new "Steady State" (Homeostasis), and you will want to remain in it.

This is a small excerpt from Ludvig?s book Breaking out of Homeostasis.

__________

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Alexander Bard is most famous for his music career, where he's put together successful groups like Army of Lovers and Bodies Without Organs, and for being the top judge of Swedish Idol. He?s also a futuristic philosopher ? one of the most well-informed when it comes to understanding how the Internet and social media is impacting the rest of the world (business, government, public debate).

Together with Jan Söderqvist, he's written the 4 books: Netocracy (recommended), The Digital Empire, The Body Machines, and Syntheism, and soon -- their new book "Digital Libido".

Here are some of the things you?ll learn in this discussion:

The truth about online success (and how the Internet resembles a "matrical structure" similar to a kindergarten) What happens when the Nanny State and Consumer Society combine ? and then you throw in a society that lacks proper rites of passages? How to find the best people for you to Collaborate with (this is the most important career advice for most people, who are not already collaborating) And, whether ? if you know yourself ? your role should be the same on *every* team you're on, or not, and how this has changed for Alexander throughout his career

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These are two different personality traits. You can think of them as being polar opposites on a spectrum. Depending on which one you are, it has a big impact on how you should manage your career and plan your days. If you?re neither, then you?re probably in the middle. That could mean you?re an Executor.

An Initiator is someone who has a lot of ideas and can begin new projects easily. An Initiator needs a team ? badly. A Refiner is someone who maybe doesn?t have too many original ideas, but can improve on someone else's ideas, like an editor or an investor. And the stereotype of an Executor is someone who?s a good CEO or salesperson.

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Maximization vs satisficing: This is both a decision-making rule *and* a personality spectrum. People who are Maximizers will dig themselves deep into details and make sure what they?re doing is done properly; they are perfectionists by nature. People who are Satisficers will just make do; they?ll do the minimum for moving the project forward, and want to move forward fast. A team should consist of both types.

In this episode we cover:

-The differences between the two

-Examples of both types in the many of the big industries

-And how you should manage your time as an Maximizer

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Martin Sandquist is the founder of Lynx Asset Management, one of the biggest hedge funds in Europe. They're classified as a CTA (commodity trading advisor) and have +70 employees. Martin is no longer active in Lynx. He now spends most of his time managing money and trading on his own.

In this conversation you'll learn:

Martin's 30/30/30/10 time-management method

The 4-step formula that explains most extraordinary business success

Why Martin doesn't call people up for his trades and insists on keeping his ideas to himself

10 book recommendations

What Martin learned from George Soros (and why he keeps Alchemy of Finance on his night stand)

What Martin learned from Ray Dalio and Bridgewater

How to put together a Dream Team in finance

 

See link in description:

If you'd like our summary of the 27 Lessons from Martin, go here:

https://futureskillspodcast.com/martin-sandquist-ebook

 

Inspired by Richard Koch's 80/20 Principle book, we discuss a little-known method for becoming more creative by measuring your mood. Everyone can use it, but it will be more effective for (1) those who have wild mood swings or wide variations of energy levels and/or (2) control their own time.

 

Competition:

10 people will win a 15-min coaching session and will receive 3 bottles of ArcticMed (Europe's best omega-3 fish oil, which we both use). The coaching will be done by Skype and you get to pick our brains on any topic of your choosing.

 

To qualify, here's what you need to do:

1. Leave an iTunes review of Future Skills.

2. Take a screenshot of it.

3. Send to [email protected]

 

By 1st of April we will randomly select 10 winners and let you know by email (we'll ask you for a time and date for the Skype session and your physical address for the shipping).

We explain what Future Skills is about and then we discuss why you should have a commonplace. Commonplacing is a mental practice used by many of the greatest thinkers in history, and it will teach you to become a more structured thinker. We both keep commonplaces ourselves.

 

Competition:

10 people will win a 15-min coaching session and will receive 3 bottles of ArcticMed (Europe's best omega-3 fish oil, which we both use). The coaching will be done by Skype and you get to pick our brains on any topic of your choosing.

 

To qualify, here's what you need to do:

1. Leave an iTunes review of Future Skills.

2. Take a screenshot of it.

3. Send to [email protected]

 

By 1st of April we will randomly select 10 winners and let you know

by email (we'll ask you for a time and date for the Skype session and your physical address for the shipping)

 

Regards, Karl-Mikael Syding and Ludvig Sunström

FUTURE SKILLS