My information consumption is now 1/4 X, 1/4 podcast interviews of the smartest practitioners, 1/4 talking to the leading AI models, and 1/4 reading old books. The opportunity cost of anything else is far too high, and rising daily.

If your father or mother is above 67, please pause and read this slowly. At that age, life begins to feel different for them. The world moves faster, but their bodies move slower. The things they once did effortlessly now require effort. Their strength is not what it used to be, and even if they don’t say it, they feel it. What they need now is not pressure. Not stress. Not arguments about money or past mistakes. They need stability. They need reassurance. They need to feel safe. If they have savings, protect it. This is not the stage for risky investments or “let’s try this opportunity.” It is the stage for preservation. Capital safety matters more than high returns. Peace of mind matters more than profit. If they depend on you financially, don’t see it as a burden. See it as a privilege. The same hands that once carried you are now weaker. The same voices that defended you now speak softer. Support them with dignity, not pity. And beyond money, give them something deeper. Call them without being in a hurry. Sit with them without checking your phone every two minutes. Let them repeat stories you’ve heard before. One day, you will wish to hear those stories again. At 67 and above, what they truly fear is not death. It is loneliness. It is feeling forgotten. Take care of their health. Help them organize their documents. Make sure they are not being financially manipulated. Protect them from stress. But most importantly, protect their heart. Because one day, the chair they sit on will be empty. And no amount of money will buy back one more conversation.

You’re bored because you don’t do side quests, bro. Life isn’t just work… and bed rotting. Side quests build edge. Edge builds identity. Here are 100 side quests to complete: Dangerous: Boring life breaker…

At birth, success is being alive At age 3, success is not pooping your pants At age 10, success is having friends At age 16, success is having a driver's license At age 20, success is having sex At age 30, success is having money. At age 40, success is having money At age 55, success is having sex At age 70, success is having a driver's license At age 75, success is having friends At age 80, success is not pooping your pants At age 90, success is being alive We all start somewhere and finish where we start, time is the real success so use it wisely

🌬️ Three suggestions for "staying sane" in the AI skills race per the WSJ 🌬️ You actually don’t need to read the {gift} article to get the best takeaway: Ask AI how to do your job better using AI. Mine: "What kind of AI training should I do for my job? A few tools over a few hours. Institutional fundraising." NOTE: I support the articles 1st (and perhaps best?) suggestion for life itself: "Take a Deep Breath." wsj.com/tech/ai/how-to-stay-…

A Japanese Manager Once Told Me: “We Fire Employees Who Arrive on Time.” I laughed. Then he explained why—and it completely changed how I see success. I first heard this in Tokyo during a business dinner. I asked why being late is such a serious offense in Japan. He replied calmly: “We don’t fire the late ones. We fire the ones who arrive exactly at the start.” The table went silent. In my culture, arriving right on time means: • responsible • disciplined • professional In his culture? It means passive. He explained: “If you arrive at 9:00 sharp, you’ve waited until the last possible second.” That tells us something important. It tells us you didn’t plan for: • traffic • delays • uncertainty • responsibility beyond yourself And if you don’t plan for uncertainty… you can’t be trusted with systems. He said something I’ll never forget: “Only the weak arrive in the last minute.” Not because they’re lazy—but because they think in limits, not margins. Japanese companies don’t value accuracy. They value anticipation. A professional arrives early to: • settle the mind • read the room • prepare mentally • show readiness Not to rush in out of breath. That idea stayed with me. And once I noticed it… I couldn’t unsee it. The most successful people everywhere, no matter within which country: • arrive early • stay calm • observe first • speak last They’re already present before others even enter. They build trust before the meeting begins. They notice details others miss. They create opportunity before others react. That edge compounds. Showing up early isn’t about time. It’s about mindset. Exactly on time says: “I did the minimum.” Early says: “I came prepared for reality.” Business, and life, require margin. When someone says, “But I came on time,” I no longer hear discipline. I hear the limit of their thinking. Japan understood this long ago: Success begins before the clock starts. Will Americans and Germans and many others relearn these self-explanatory principles? The question going forward is: Will YOU continue with the behavior of the Have-Nots, or choose the behavior and success of the Have-Yachts? Bitcoin. 🟠

The Medici Effect is Alive and Well in . . . Atlanta 🍑 The Renaissance-era idea of bringing together artists, financiers, and engineers to spark entirely new ways of thinking was in full effect last week. CAIA Atlanta & Georgia Entertainment hosted 150 people at a massive 19-sound stage movie studio to dive into the intersection of Sports x Film x Alternative Investments. 🎬 Film Finance - Great format A fireside chat with two industry experts that focused on how the business actually works and where capital fits. 🏟️ Sports Investing Presentation - Killer data $540B TAM 15% CAGRs Low/Negative Correlations From the Lakers and Celtics to the Bears, Giants, and Patriots. The "hits" just kept coming. 🎭 The Bigger Picture Entertainment has matured into a sophisticated, institutional-grade asset class. (And let’s be honest—it’s also a lot of fun.) When I moved here from NYC over a decade ago, Atlanta felt practical, but short on dreamers. The TV/film industry changed that. During my opening remarks, I encouraged people to mix it up: “If you’re in finance, meet someone in film or sports. And vice versa.” That happened, repeatedly. I promise you this: We will take the learnings, energy, and new connections of this evening and build something incredible.

🏈🎬 Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey is officially joining the lineup! The 12x Pro Bowler, 3x First-Team All-Pro, and one of the greatest cornerbacks ever is coming to our Sports x Entertainment x Alternative Investments event on January 14. Highlights beyond the investment discussion: 1️⃣ Exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Third Rail Studios 2️⃣ Networking in the stunning “Jewel Box” event space 🔗 Register: myaccount.caia.org/eweb/Dyna… @CAIAAssociation

📦🤖 AMAZON, Beyond your doorstep 🤖📦 I'm leading a tour of a local Amazon fulfillment center. Jan 14 | 9:00–10:30am ⏳ RSVP by Jan 5 here: luma.com/y75qq3zc You DON'T need to be a member of either of the groups sponsoring. Don't live in Atlanta? Organize a tour for your own friends, a non-profit, or an industry group. 27 locations across 15 states. See the link at the bottom of the flyer.

🎬 Do you like movies? ⚽ Do you like sports? $$$ Do you like money? If so, come to an event about film and sports investing at a . . . movie studio. Featuring: Georgia Entertainment, @CAIAAssociation , Third Rail Studios, Ares, Variant 📷 RSVP: bit.ly/4iHlRcA

Have you ever wondered how Bitcoin is "mined?" No? That's ok. Here is your chance. Sign up by Oct 14: bit.ly/4mxDo7f @CleanSpark_Inc @CAIAAssociation #Bitcoin #Crypto

I just etched #MEMPOOLDRAGON #Rune with @xverse! wallet.xverse.app/runes/mint…

I can't stop thinking about this poem... The final two lines bear repeating: And make the ordinary come alive for them. The extraordinary will take care of itself. How often have you been convinced that your joy, contentment, and fulfillment were on the other side of some extraordinary achievement? • I'll be content when I get that promotion. • I'll be fulfilled when I make director. • I'll be joyful when I find a partner. This "when, then" psychology traps our happiness in a conditional statement: You get to be happy when you achieve that thing. In a culture that obsesses over the extraordinary, there's much to be gained through simply shifting your focus to celebrate the ordinary. How can you make the ordinary come alive today? Every single thing you do today is something your 90-year-old self will wish they could go back and do. That simple walk. That feeling of satisfaction when you figure out a tricky problem. That smile from a friend. That laugh from your child. That workout you wanted to skip. That conversation with your parents. That ordinary moment you're tempted to ignore. All of it. So, the next time you find yourself wanting to skip through to the other side—to the end, the goal, the finish line: Stop. Pause. And breathe it in. This is it. This is real. This is life. Make the ordinary come alive and the extraordinary will take care of itself.

⁩ Bitcoin is the common denominator! ⁦@loukerner⁩ and the legendary ⁦@Kaufmania of CryptoMondays Atlanta in Vegas! Looks like you having fun! Enjoy gents! 🎰

Check out my latest article: Goldilocks and the Three Miles linkedin.com/pulse/goldilock… via @LinkedIn

This, by my colleague @willrahn, is just a total delight: "Baseball is like love in that it’s essentially impossible to say something new about it. The crack of the bat, the smell of the field—that’s all been covered at length. Great writers, for whatever reason, tend to love baseball. Maybe it’s the rhythm, the slower pace that lets the mind wander. Watching a baseball game is a form of meditation—albeit one you hope will be interrupted by hugs and cheering and high-fiving strangers. Let me tell you the story of one such interruption. I’m a Mets fan, a peculiar and unlucky denomination of the Church of Baseball. And for my Mets, last season was supposed to be a nothing year. Expectations were at rock bottom. They lost their first five games. By June, they looked snakebit, finished, over. Fast-forward to October. The Mets had remarkably made the postseason. But by Game 3 of their Wild Card bout against the Brewers—a consistently good team despite their middling payroll—they once again looked lifeless, and were trailing 2–0. I turned off the game somewhere around the seventh inning and took my dog for a walk. I tried to buck up by reminding myself that they’d made the playoffs against the odds, that the season should still be remembered as a success, that we had a great team to build on for 2025. In other words, I was depressed as all hell. But as I walked back to our apartment, I texted my wife and asked her to put the game back on. Mets baseball was a major part of our courtship and, last year, her pregnancy. Our then-unborn baby had already experienced some 20 games, which is a lot of emotional turbulence for a fetus to handle. Now we were home, huddled on the couch, late in her third trimester, to watch the season end. It was the top of the ninth inning in an elimination game. Exhausted by travel, the Mets had yet to score a run, and still trailed the Brewers 2–0. Up to the plate stepped Pete Alonso, a great slugger having an off year. The night before, he’d literally tripped over his bat, setting up a double play that lost the game for the Mets. Now he was facing Devin Williams, one of the best closing pitchers in the game today. And then, a miracle: With two Mets on base, Alonso hit a home run, putting the Mets ahead 3–2. I briefly left my body—I think dissociation might be the clinical term—but quickly returned as my wife grabbed and kissed me. We felt like we had just witnessed something impossible. It was like watching the atom split or the sun explode. There were few cheers in the ballpark. The game was in Milwaukee, the Brewers’ hometown, and in a matter of seconds Alonso had ended their season. He ran the bases and gave a chef’s kiss to the crowd. And when he was finished, the whole team was waiting for him by home plate, tears in their eyes, jumping for joy. I think that’s what it’s like to go to heaven. You round the bases and suddenly, all your old friends are there, weeping with joy because you are back together again. Show me another sport that brings you so close to the divine." thefp.com/p/fight-club-does-…

📷 Friday Fun Tip. Mega Sculpture tickets! 📷 Take up to five friends to see Michael Heizer’s astonishing “City” in 2025. On sale Jan 2 at 12 pm ET. Tickets sell out almost instantly. Let me know if you score a res. Ticket link should appear at tripleaughtfoundation.org/

🚨 0 to 100mph; @Porsche x @CAIAAssociation 🚨 Great final outing with the CAIA Atlanta Executive Committee as Chapter Head. I’m retiring (2nd time). The chapter has grown to 180 members from 35, and there are now 1500 people on our distribution list in the 10 years since its founding. Sponsors are knocking down the door. We’ve organized awesome events where people learn, connect, AND have fun. We . . . 🌛 Went to the VC moon at Illuminarium (lnkd.in/ejhT7pEe) 🔪 Cooked up an Alts storm at the Epicurean Hotel (lnkd.in/eXT8udPz) 🎲 Played board games related to investment vehicles (lnkd.in/eDpfHv_9) 👟 Talked about investing in the "coolest" collectibles (lnkd.in/eS9yq6hC), 🚘 and spun a few collectibles around Porsche’s driving track today. REMEMBER, being of service to your profession is generally a Win-Win-Win. A win for your industry, your community, your company, your career, and yourself. Plus, it's the right thing to do and feels good. Get involved!

🎁 What’s your “Pit crew” Gifting Plan? 🎁 We work for people. People work for us. Gifting ideas for the holidays. 💵 Frequent interactions (nanny, barber, cleaners): 1-2x regular payment 💶 Regular service, little to no interaction (mail, lawn, garbage): $50-$100 💴 Never see again, but interact with similar people all the time (shuttle driver, restaurant host, hotel housekeeper): $20 🎲 Colleagues: Lottery scratch cards. Get a bag of $2 to $30 cards and let people pick one. It's fun. 🧧 Teachers - We like to give Amazon gift cards (give them what they want!) AND a thoughtful gift box. Support local vendors. Here are some relevant to my area. 1) lnkd.in/g5vP_bm5 2) lnkd.in/gTZhuRY5 🏢 A fun idea for people hosting me recently has been Lego sets. You can find one that aligns with hobbies/interests—art, flowers, cars, etc. I recently bought “Starry Night” set lnkd.in/gtGYvZVy (and dinner) for a friend into art who hosted me in NYC for three nights. Who really has time for Legos, but It’s the thought that counts! Hopefully, most of this is common sense, but I'll be happy if even one of you is inspired. Obviously, adjust for your locale/career stage, but do it. It's appreciated and good energetically. Any other gift ideas for the people in your life that keep your life running smoothly?

🚂 All Aboard! Investment Vehicles for Every Journey Join CAIA & Ares for a unique event covering the CRITICAL advantages and disadvantages of vehicle structures. Before we "unpack" closed-end funds vs interval funds vs BDCs, pack your bags for a game of “Ticket to Ride.” This will be CAIA’s vehicle of choice to start an enjoyable afternoon of networking and education. Registration: bit.ly/3ZRaZ4l