Jonathan Goldsmith on success late in life

If I’m being honest, I wish this all hadn’t taken so long.  But, then again, maybe if success had come earlier it wouldn’t have meant as much as it does now…  The harder knocks, disappointments, and travails one has, the more opportunity one has to gain awareness of who the devil we really are.  I’m still trying.

~ Jonathan Goldsmith

(As quoted by Chris Mayer, "The First Rule of Compounding," Woodlock House Family Capital blog, September 7, 2021.)

Charlie Munger on compounding

The first rule of compounding: Never interrupt it unnecessarily.

~ Charlie Munger

(As quoted by Chris Mayer, "The First Rule of Compunding," Woodlock House Family Capital blog, September 7, 2021.)

Dana Telsey on the death of retailers being exaggerated

Q: There was a belief for years that the rise of e-commerce would bring the end of bricks and mortar stores.  Has that been proven wrong?

A: When you think about all the headwinds that retail was faced with over the past few years, what the pandemic did was give permission to brands and retailers to accelerate, eliminating what was a cost center and focusing what can be a sales and profit driver. The narrative was, ‘ Amazon is going to take over.’ Nope. Didn’t happen. You’re seeing retailers not only survive but thrive. 

We’re seeing the physical footprint, not only be a nice-to-have, but be a must-have. You’re seeing the ability to get closer to the customer with seamless options—whether it’s buy online, pick up in store, whether it is virtual appointments, whether it’s shipped from store—the physical footprint is more essential than it’s ever been. And it also gives retailers and brands data on their customers to be able to assort and merchandise smarter. 

I think that innovation, speed, and data have only become more relevant.

~ Dana Telsey, "Bricks-and-Mortar Stores Are More Essential Than Ever for Retailers, Analyst Dana Telsey Says. These Stocks Are Well-Positioned.," Barron's.com, September 2, 2021

Jordan Peterson on self improvement

Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not to who someone else is today.  See, that's a game you can win.  The possibility that you can make yourself slightly better on a continual basis... I think that's something that's accessible to everyone.  I think that's equivalent to leading a virtuous life.  There's something to be said for virtue and truth.  That's another thing I've noticed about people who have been phenomenally successful, is that they really do everything they can to live a truthful life.  You get a bloody long ways by being honest.

~ Jordan Peterson, speech on YouTube, 3:30 mark, July 26, 2021

Jordan Peterson on motivation

You're going to have to put some effort into your life and you need to be motivated to do that.  And so, what are the potential sources of motivation?  You can think about them in the big five manner.  If you're an extrovert you want friends.  If you're agreeable you want an intimate relationship.  If you're disagreeable you want to win competitions.  If you're open you want to engage in creative activity.  If you're high in neuroticism you want security.  So those are all sources of potential motivation that you can draw on, that you can tailor to your own personality.

~ Jordan Peterson, speech on YouTube, 5:30 mark, July 26, 2021

John Mackey on Covid's impact on corporate culture

A company is ultimately about relationships, about trust, and about partnership.  And the hardest thing in Covid has been the difficulty, other than virtually, to connect with people.  More people may work at home when this is over, but in reality, if you're going to maintain a culture, you have to have people connecting with each other, and there's no real substitute for doing that in person.

~ John Mackey, "BW Talks: John Mackey," Bloomberg Businessweek, October 5, 2020

Marko Papic on hegemony

I'm not trying to tell you that American hegemony is a good thing.  I'm telling you that any hegemony is a good thing for us as investors.  American, Chinese, alien overlord takes over earth as long as they let us invest, baby, that's good for us.  That's my point: it resolves information problems.

~ Marko Papic, "Geopolitical risk in the equity markets," YouTube, 22:00 mark, January 8, 2015