Listening to a Head of State
Greetings,
I am not much into Politics, but I am well aware that a new administration is in place in America. C'mon, I know I don't need to be a brain surgeon to figure that one out.
But I perceive such a great difference in the level of noise, from last week to now. It is simply amazing. No one is talking over others. There is no name-calling. At least for now, things appear orderly and respectful. The fact that each one is listening to the other is making a big difference. There is hope of a message getting through and because of that there is hope of something getting done.
Talking about listening, I remembered the lesson I learnt about listening from my friend Ismail. It has stayed with me ever since.
If someone forwarded you this newsletter, please thank them on my behalf! Welcome to Newsletter # 29.
Thoughts that crossed my mind, while I was reading…
Jim Simons Proved the Textbooks Wrong — Almost by Noah Smith
No matter what your advantage, competitors will show up and work on reducing your edge. Unless your game is fast evolving, they will eventually catch up and your advantage will wither away. So the only way to stay ahead is by evolving quickly and changing the way the game is played.
Small bets are easy to make. If they are losing bets, they can be easily ignored. No harm done. If they are winning bets, they can be celebrated but no matter how big the win is, they won't move the needle.
Large bets on the other hand are not easy to make. They require mental and intestinal fortitude. Betting the house, is not for the faint hearted. As the stakes grow in size, the psychology dramatically changes. If the bet is outsized in relation to what the market can cope with, it not only distorts the market but it pushes back with reducing odds. If you end up on the losing side, it could be the end of the game - for you.
We are always dealing with imperfect and insufficient information. Hence, nothing is certain. To gauge the right size of a bet, always assume a loss. That way a losing bet will not decapitate you.
Things can be scaled up but there are limits. They cannot scale up to the moon. Physics does not allow it.
How Successful People Stay Calm by Travis Bradberry
Humans thrive under pressure. But there is a very thin line between pressure and stress. The tunnel vision caused by stress makes our behaviour regress.
Seek help, advice, input and feedback before things spiral out of control.
Multiple areas of stress are almost impossible to deal with simultaneously. Ensure the parts you can control, are dealt with routine habits.
Our physiological needs have to be met first, to be able to deal with other important issues. Don't allow lack of sleep, irregular nutrition or insufficient exercise, complicate what is already a trying situation. These are well within our control and should be kept that way.
Prepare as much as possible for a vast range of future situations. Preparation to deal with a range of outcomes will automatically help keep stress down to much lower levels.
No problem can be so great that it needs to be tended to 24/7. Disconnect from it for a while. Refresh and rejuvenate yourself with another activity or simply rest. The mental and physical energy available will be much greater than what you had prior to disconnecting. The period of disconnect is not a waste of time. It is a much needed reset and recharge.
Talk to others. They may not have the answers but the fact that you have an active discussion might help you discover the answers yourself. Put everything out on the table. It is cathartic.
Lights of different colours are seen strewn across airport tarmacs, taxiways, and runways. Each colour has some significance. They depict information such as - how much of the runway still remains ahead, where to turn, where to stop and lots more. Pilots find these lights most helpful during night operations as well as during reduced visibility. With just a simple glance they can achieve situational orientation.
Hiroyuki shared this picture of a Boeing 737 landing at Itami Airport in Osaka.
Singapore and Dubai roads remind me of such lights. These are the only two cities I have seen where traffic lights are embedded into the road surface.
For drivers and pedestrians, it means nothing more than stop or go. The only people who really benefit are the ones hunched over their mobile phones and not looking at the conventional stop/go lights installed on the poles.
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Stay well and see you next week.
Evian
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