JETS JOURNAL
Issue #060 · 17th December, 2024

Hi All!

Here is your weekly round up of what I’m pondering and exploring. Feel free to forward along to a friend if you think they might enjoy.

You get better

After long enough you begin to notice the same speed bumps in your mind. You notice when a negative thought comes on, or when you feel a depression begin to spur inside of you. You can’t stop any of these negative feelings, but you can notice them. You can accept them for what they are, fleeting. You can remind yourself that this is temporary, and it’s actually normal to feel anxious, sad, disappointed and any other emotion we all like to run away from. Being able to experience the entire breadth of emotions is one of the privileges of being human. If you’re upset that you’ve lost something in your life, all that means is that you cared. You got to experience something so special, and are feeling the inverse of all those positive emotions you got to feel. Without the lows we’d all be walking around numb to the world. So, if your going through anything right now please know that while sometimes you can’t escape the issues, stresses, and problems—especially as we age, we get better at dealing with the cards we are dealt.

Understanding Asymmetric Bets

There will always be a risk and reward in every decision we make, so it’s our job to learn how to calculate risk effectively.

But how do I know what’s a good risk to take?

Understand how asymmetric bets work, which, in short, is a situation where the reward significantly outweighs the risk.

Examples of asymmetric bets might include: posting tiktok videos, starting a side hustle, asking someone out on a date, or going to a networking event.

Examples of negatively geared asymmetric bets that should usually be avoided include: gambling, high leverage loans, living beyond your means, scrolling on tiktok for hours, unbalanced partnerships and more.

Being able to look at the decisions you make with an unbiased lens on both the risk and reward can help us become better decision makers overall.

Understanding how asymmetric bets work is a great way to develop your critical thinking skills, which is in my opinion one of the most valuable skills to have over the next hundred years.

If you’d like to learn more, there is a great video that dives deeper into asymmetric bets and other cognitive biases you can watch here.

The Lindy Effect

The longer something has been around the more likely it is to stay around. A great example of this are classic books that have survived the test of time, or classic fashion items that never go out of style.

I love frameworks like the Lindy Effect because it helps you discern between fleeting fads and longterm growth and value. One of the main principles I try to live by is playing long term games. This is because I’ve come to believe that if I’m going to invest significant capital, time, or energy into something there should be some staying power there.

Now, there are obviously some caveats to the Lindy Effect like when automobiles replaced horses, because the Lindy Effect doesn’t account for disruption or unpredictable events. Take Bitcoin for example, which, while, still technically new, it is currently disrupting traditional finance. This is why, in general, I say it’s a useful mental model for analysing the staying power of certain things.

Analysing Nettspend & Gen Z Culture

The new BAD ASS F*CKING KID album by Nettspend has been one of my favourite albums to release this year. On the surface, it’s a blonde haired kid raping about hip hops usual subject matter, however, it goes much deeper.

I watched a forty minute analysis video on the “Skibidi Tragedy of Nettspend.” I know it sounds like a joke but I was really fascinated in what the man behind the video had to say. I would love to try explain some of his critiques on Gen Z TikTok culture but I feel like I would be doing his video injustice. So, if you have a spare half an hour or so, and are interested in the current culture kids are growing up in please watch the full analysis here.

Shut up and enjoy the journey

A reminder.

Feel free to give me feedback on Twitter. What did you like? What do you want more of? What do you want less of? Other suggestions? Please let me know. Just send a tweet to @JETLRWILLIAMS and put #JETSJOURNAL at the end so I can find it.
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Hope everyone enjoys their week!
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Love
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JET (@jetlrwilliams)

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