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_{Exploring the branches, the lessons of history, and chaos}

Happy Thursday! Thanks for reading Intentional Dollar — where we look at old money ideas through a new perspective.

What’s inside?

• One idea to experiment with

• Two quotes from others

• Three questions to dig deeper

• Four lines of poetry for the point

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.

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_{One idea to experiment with:}

The Branches:

Have you heard the theory of six degrees of separation? It hypothesizes that any two people are connected by no more than six acquaintances. The people you know also know people that know people that know people and so on. You could reach almost anyone through a common thread that connects between six people, so the theory goes.

Each connection is a branch that links to another. 

This is why the networks we have are extremely valuable. Those with larger networks have larger opportunity sets. Since each connection offers a subset of their own connections, deep networks can provide exposure to almost anything you could ever want. 

Wealth, knowledge, position, power, and political reach all swim in the fringes of your network. 

But, unaware of the latent potential, we spend the bulk of our time in established circles and avoid branching out at the detriment of gained optionality. This is the bull case for making more friends, more acquaintances, and more allies. 

However, I’m not suggesting you log on LinkedIn after reading this and connect with every person you can imagine. There exists a world where this blind networking increases your exposure to a job or opportunity, but it’s inauthentic and shallow.

When we think about these branches, the aim is intentionality—not growth for the sake of growth. 

Think about the people in your world. Who knows the most people? Who at your company seemingly has a connection with everyone? What kind of visible advantages arise from their bounty of connections? 

High agency individuals hunt the information that advances their objective. You could scour Reddit threads and Investopedia articles, and you could expand the branches on your tree. The relentlessly resourceful do both. 

This week, draw another branch on your tree. Water cooler, “nice day eh,” “how’s it going?” conversations won’t do it. Go deeper. Establish a strategic network and unlock options that wouldn’t otherwise exist.

_{Two quotes on the lessons of history:}

Will and Ariel Durant wrote a masterful essay on the lessons of history. Common threads throughout civilization prevail, and we would be wise to learn what they look like.

_{Three questions on chaos:}

1. What one area of my life feels like it’s in a steady soup of chaos?

2. What levers do I maintain control over that would provide space, margin, reduction to the chaos?

3. Chaos is a function of time pressure. What procrastination or delay in my system has exacerbated this feeling, and how can I build a time buffer?

Which question stuck with you? Questions like these are spotlights for the mind. Reply to this email and let me know which one shined light on a previously dark cave.

_{Four lines of poetry for the point:}

Contact Me:

Content ideas, questions? Reply to this email or reach out to me at [email protected]

Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. These weekly posts represent my simple thoughts, a few quotes, and some questions — for educational purposes only.