When it comes to any money-making endeavor, there seems to be no shortage of books telling you how to make money. So many that it can be difficult to know whom to believe. Well, I am going to give you two recommendations. One is a series of books full of truth that can change your life. The other recommendation is a single book, and a quick read at that.
Incerto
The first recommendation is for a collection of books known as the Incerto. Nassim Nicolaus Taleb is a difficult man to describe. He was a quantitative trader (“quant”). He is a mathematician, a philosopher, and an author. His writing style is different than anyone else you have ever read, and he wanders all over the place in terms of subjects.
There are five books (so far) in the Incerto, but they don’t have to be read in any specific order, although I would recommend reading the oldest one first. It is in some ways the most challenging read, but it contains the principles which set everything else up. The books are: Fooled by Randomness, The Black Swan, Antifragile, The Bed of Procrustes, and Skin in the Game. The Bed of Procrustes is a collection of aphorisms (short proverbs) and probably shouldn’t be read all through at once- hop around. The other books though contain a truth that is easy to say, but which is hard to internalize, namely that we don’t know nearly as much as we think we do about how the world works, and we know essentially nothing about what the future holds.
Easy to say, yet we all act like we understand more than we do, and we plan as though we had some clue what the future holds. Consider though – in the last few months of 2019, did you really have any idea what 2020 would be like? Doubtful. These books show how powerful a truth this is, and how you can benefit from truly accepting your own lack of knowledge. Whether you are planning a new business venture or looking to invest and trade, read at least the first two books of the Incerto. Pick up Bed of Procrustes and read a few of the proverbs within before going for a long, slow, aimless walk. (After you have read the Incerto that will make more sense). And read Antifragile and Skin in the Game to see how this seemingly simple premise can profoundly alter life, either on an individual or societal level.
What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars
This book is a quick read, at least compared to reading the whole Incerto, and it is essentially an autobiography. What’s more – Nassim Taleb strongly recommends this book, and he considers almost all modern books on economics to be nonsense. (As an aside, if you follow Taleb on Twitter you will see a very strange side – he is clearly brilliant, but he has no patience for fools. And he considers a lot of people fools).
I don’t want to give away too much about this book – it is fairly short, and it is worth reading. In short though it lines up with the Incerto in an important way. This isn’t a book about making money, but if you learn from it you will likely end up with more money anyway.
There are a lot of other books I would recommend. A favorite is Tim Ferriss’ classic “The 4-Hour Workweek”. If you are reading this blog there is a good chance you have already read it. But for a start, to get the right mindset, I think the above will point you in the right direction. Then the rest will fall into place.
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