Reading Journal
Notes that are meant to be used — not collected. One actionable takeaway per book. Mostly finance, science, and practical thinking.
Investor
The core thesis: your biggest enemy as an investor isn't the market — it's yourself. Protect the downside first. Stay patient. Don't pay for hope. The boring, defensive approach wins not by making great trades but by avoiding catastrophic ones.
Protect downside first, stay patient, and avoid paying for hype. The "boring" approach wins by not blowing up. Mr. Market is a useful servant but a terrible master.
The way we measure time and motion depends on where we're standing. The same event can look completely different from a different frame of reference — and neither observer is wrong.
Systems beat goals. You don't rise to the level of your goals — you fall to the level of your systems. Identity-based habits are stickier than outcome-based ones.
Doing well with money has more to do with behavior than knowledge. No one is crazy — everyone is shaped by unique experiences that make their relationship with money entirely rational to them.
We have two modes of thinking: fast and automatic (System 1) and slow and deliberate (System 2). Most errors come from letting System 1 handle things that need System 2.
The investor's chief problem — and even his worst enemy — is likely to be himself.
Benjamin Graham — The Intelligent InvestorYou don't rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.
James Clear — Atomic HabitsI read to use what I find. Every book gets reduced to one actionable takeaway. If I can't explain a chapter in two sentences, I re-read it slower.
Notes follow a simple format — idea, example, when to use it, one-line reminder. The goal is a reference I'll actually pull up again.
The format
Idea · Example · When to use · One-line reminder
The rule
If I can't summarize a chapter in two sentences, I re-read it slower.
Categories
Up next
More classics. Depth over breadth.