Good luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity, bad luck is what happens when lack of preparation meets a challenge. – Paul Krugman (Economist, NY Times 3/3/2006) I’m no fan of Dr. Krugman, but his intelligence shines forth in this quote. Luck favors the prepared. Mentally anticipating change is adaptive, necessary for being a…
“The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has its limits.” -Anonymous Consciously creating virtual material has been put on the back burner during my stay in NYC, causing me to crave a smartphone or netbook. Catching up with good friends and making new contacts leaves little time to contemplate and write. Time to…
If you want to raise a crop for one year, plant corn. If you want to raise a crop for decades, plant trees. If you want to raise a crop for centuries, raise men. If you want to plant a crop for eternities, raise democracies. – Carl A. Schenck (German forester, 1868-1955) I’m a meat…
“Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” – (Market maxim) “Put your eggs in one basket and watch the basket.” – (An alternate strategy) The first quote touches on the necessity of diversification, but the second approach has a more realisitc attitude towards investment. Diversification is a wonderful thing, but it entails more than…
“The punishment of wise men who refuse to take part in the affairs of government is to live under the government of unwise men.” – Plato (Greek philosopher, 427-347 BC) A wise man living under the rule of fools may suffer if he does not adapt to the custom and whim of his leaders. Yet,…
“A day will come when all nations on our continent will form a European brotherhood… A day will come when we shall see… The United Sates of Europe… reaching out for each other across the seas.” – Victor Hugo (French novelist, playwright, Hunchback of Notre dame and Les Misérables, 1802-1885) Impressive. Hugo foresaw the creation…
“Every man who knows how to read has in his power to magnify himself, to multiply the ways in which he exists, to make his life full, significant and interesting.” -Aldous Huxley (English author, Brave New World, 1894-1963) What more can I say? Reading FTW!
“If you can buy all you want of a new issue, you do not want any; if you cannot obtain any, you want all you can buy.” – Rod Fadem (Stifel Nicolaus & Co., Barron’s 1989) This has the patina of truth and reflects the difficulty of profitable trading. Good stocks get expensive, and more…
“Every great advance in natural knowledge has involved the absolute rejection of authority.” – Thomas H. Huxley (British scientist and humanist, defender of Darwinism, 1825-1895) Dissolution of old media is clearly on my mind, here’s a quote denying the value of expertise 100+ years ago. Anarchy is on the rise.
“There is one thing stronger than all the armies in the world, and this is an idea whose time has come.” – Victor Hugo (French novelist, playwright, Hunchback of Notre Dame and Les Misérables, 1802-1885) For the second day in a row, I find myself impressed with the wisdom of fiction writers. Who needs quotes…