Building something that lasts
When done correctly, there are very few things that change your life as much as becoming a parent. I say “when done correctly” because…well you know. There are plenty examples out there where it’s not.
But for the rest of us normal humans, becoming a parent is one of the most eye-opening, beautiful, challenging, draining, rewarding, hardest, best experiences we can ever have.
In an instant it can make you understand what’s really important. All the things you used to worry about are immediately forgotten as now all you worry about is this little life that someone has decided you will be responsible for.
I learned more about life and myself after becoming a parent than any other experience I’ve had. But this story isn’t about me.
With social media it’s trendy to talk about how terrible everything is. Everyone is a cynic. Previous generations had it so easy and woe is me. Any of these sound familiar?
People commonly say things like this…but I guess if you exclude the Cold War, Cuban Missile Crisis, Vietnam War and draft, the Civil Rights Movement, etc…then sure it was probably a cakewalk 🤷🏻♂️
My view is that we all go through stuff. Some more than others. Some at different times than others. But ultimately, we all go through it.
Here’s one example
Imagine being a foreigner coming to the United States in the 1970s. You’re college educated, come from a good family that ran their own business, and excited to start a life with the man you love.
The reality you face is that no one will accept your foreign degree or credentials and you end up working customer service jobs to help pay the bills and start earning some experience.
You get married, have a baby, and try to figure out if one of your neighbors would be willing to babysit during the day so that you and your husband can work and make a living.
You continue doing this for the next 20 or so years. You progress in your career and income, you travel every 2-3 years as a military wife, all while raising a son. Building a wonderful life with your family through sacrifice and hard work.
Nobody ever said this was supposed to be easy. Although it seems that way now with every fake Instagram post or made up overnight success story.
Here’s another one
Or what about a young mother who had just become a medical assistant to give herself a better career path. But then decides to take a call center job because it was at one of the best employers in the city and could have better long-term opportunities.
She works the phone for 10 years, without much opportunity to move elsewhere. In the meantime she goes to school at night - after working a full day - as well as being a mother to her two kids and a wife to her husband.
Finally, she graduates and becomes the first person from her family to have a college degree. All while giving her kids a live example of how hard she worked to achieve her goal.
Then, after more than a decade she finally starts to get those opportunities she’d been waiting and working so hard for. Now, she’s in a great role that she’s absolutely crushing and far away from the call center she started from.
And her husband is just some loser who makes videos for YouTube.
If you haven’t figured it out by now, the person in the first example is my mom. The person in the second example is my wife.
The two things that stand out to me about their stories are:
Never once did they question whether or not they should do any of this. They were driven to build a better life for their families.
As uncommon and special they are to me, I realize these type of stories are very common and we probably all have similar ones we could tell to each other.
I called this newsletter “building something that lasts” because it reminded me of that scene at the end of Crazy Rich Asians (you really thought you’d get out of here without a movie reference this week?!).
When Eleanor says “Happiness is an illusion. We understand how to build things that last” it’s really a poignant reminder how sometimes our want to be happy conflicts with our need to work to build that happiness.
Nobody exemplifies this mentality better than the women in my life. They’re selfless, hard-working, supportive, and loving. They’ve built something lasting because they were willing to go through it with determination and grit.
They’ve both moved the arc of their families forward from where they started. And not once has either of them talked about it in the way that I am now. It wasn’t some grandiose vision of success that drove them.
It’s simply what great Moms do.
If you want to tie this back to investing by finding the parallels in their hard work, determination, and persistence over time by all means you can do so. But sometimes the best motivating factor for investing is simply remembering who you’re investing for.
I genuinely hope you are able to celebrate the Moms in your life today. They’re amazing and we all quite literally wouldn’t be here without them!
Enjoy it!
Quick Thoughts
Jim Simons passed away this week. Truly a legend and an investor with an unbelievable track record. There are many good recaps of his life and accomplishments, but I particularly enjoy this video because it’s him talking to a young audience. Calm, humble, and endearing.
I like getting my current events from Twitter (or X) but the more time I spend on there, the less valuable I think it is. There’s a lot of noise and very little signal IMO. It’s a just a great reminder to put the phone down and get back to work!
I’m likely to start posting short video clips / reels back on my Instagram account soon. Might be a nice change of pace for folks who can’t sit and watch a 15 minute video. So if you do the Instagram thing you can follow me there as well. 🙂
If you want more thoughts on markets and stocks throughout the week - consider signing up for my Discord community!
Have a wonderful week, and I’ll see you next Sunday!
Portfolio Updates for the Week
Added to my GOOGL position this past week.
5/9/2024 - I bought 5 shares of Alphabet (GOOGL) at $169.15 / share
My total position in GOOGL is now 105 shares at a cost basis of $143.00 / share
GOOGL is now 6.47% of my portfolio
Some notes on my thought process in case it interests you:
Pretty much same as my initial Google video and the most recent earnings update video. Even though they've had a nice bump since I originally bought, they still look attractive from a price to value perspective. P/CF still under 20 (obviously doesn't take into account SBC though), and yes they'll be spending more capex like all the other big tech firms. But YouTube is a beast, and they seem to be making the right decisions in terms of cutting costs.
If that continues and growth is anything like it was last quarter - this should continue to do very well. It's insane I keep adding to these mega-caps but simply looking at the fundamentals (and not price action for the last year) they're some of the most attractive companies in the market to me. Maybe I'm crazy.
New Content for the Week
Why Did Warren Buffett Sell Apple (AAPL)?
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Answering Comments: Why Not Just Buy The Index?
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