Miles' Thoughts

Although we often glorify risk taking as a general principle, optimal outcomes are the result of pushing the limits only within a threshold of which you can survive. To assume a position completely void of optionality is to paint yourself into a corner and given enough time will result in catastrophic loss or death. You Can’t Know Try as we might, humans have thus far failed to prove an ability to predict the future. Sure we can make decent guesses in certain domains and that ability has increased in the age of data science, but to date even our best predictive models are akin to child’s play when you take a hard look backwards in time. If you don’t believe me, write down your local weather forecast for the next ten days, record the actual weather each day, and compare the two afterwards. We’ve been trying to predict the weather for the entirety of recorded human history and we can’t even get that right a lot of the time.  As it turns out, the more rare the occurrence of an...

Worried about what the future of the economy looks like? Me too. We live in a world where both disease and panic can spread faster than ever before. So what do you do when the majority of economic activity comes to a screeching halt? Here are some practical strategies you can implement immediately that (I think) will help mitigate the financial risk related to uncertainty in the current economic environment.  *Disclaimer: I am not a financial advisor, these are simply my own opinions which reflect the actions I am personally taking. Please consult with a licensed financial advisor for specific advice related to your situation. Prepare an Emergency Fund Hopefully you already have a dedicated savings account for emergencies, but if not, now is definitely the time to create one and put any extra money you can save into it. Experts recommend having enough to cover at least three months of expenses and ideally twelve. Personally I like Ally Bank’s High Interest Online Savings Acco...

On the paradox of choice and why routines are important in preserving mental energy for the most important tasks: Traveling to new places with different cultures is one of the most exciting things I've had the privilege to do. You know what else it is? Exhausting. The same qualities that make it so interesting and enjoyable also make it stressful and incredibly mentally taxing. Having to consciously evaluate and choose between seemingly infinite options on everything from where to eat and how to get there to which mountain or temple to visit next takes a lot of work and mental energy. In this paradox is a truth which you can easily flip onto its head in order to improve your own day to day life. The reality is, no matter who you are, every waking second of your time can't be filled with brand-new, exciting activities (though most people's Instagram accounts - including my own - would lead you to believe otherwise). There are plenty of tasks that simply need to be comple...

Are you putting premium in your tank and garbage in your mouth? When was the last time you took a close look at the results your lifestyle have had on your body? To paraphrase author/thinker Tim Ferriss - If you're getting your car checked out more often than you're having your own blood work done, you need to get your priorities straight! Whether you've been suffering from the same health problem for years or just can't quite get to the level of fitness you're aiming for, chances are what you're eating is a major factor. Think about it, the things you put into your body are what it uses to operate. It's the gasoline to power the generator, the bricks that make up the walls, the oil which lubricates constantly moving parts, and it feeds the system which washes out waste. If you're supplying your body with sub-optimal fuel it's going to give you sub-optimal results. That being said, I'm not a doctor, dietician, or even a wanna-be online person...

It's the oldest law of nature, yet somehow it's so one of the most difficult concepts for us to truly accept. The vast majority of people talk about how they are open to change and we talk about how great change is in public forums, but I'm afraid the truth is that when it really comes down to it most people are not willing to actually accept, embrace, or incite change. On a biological level I can somewhat understand that. Change is a shift away from the unknown, and why shift to the unknown when the known is perfectly safe, especially in the big scary world we live in. Yet there are many instances in which as a species we have made the conscious effort to resist our instincts; in fact "civilized society" is often defined by this ability to overcome some of our basic human instincts. Even more interesting is that living organisms are constantly adapting to their surroundings, both on a biological level and a behavioral one. Nature has long since proven out the b...

Just outside Barton Springs - Austin, TX There's a beautiful world out there if you'll just open your eyes once in awhile. One of my favorite aspects of the wave of technological innovation that we're experiencing is how much easier it is to immerse yourself in nature. From access to information on far away destinations, to the infrastructure to cheaply reach them, to the tools that allow you to continue to be productive and connected (should you so wish) once you get there. I find it troubling that most people haven't made a very simple connection yet: just as easily as you can check your Facebook on a flight to Brazil you can add value to team meetings from a hammock in your backyard, respond to emails from a picnic table next to your favorite swimming hole, or engage with clients to accomplish projects from the front porch of a cabin deep in the Rocky Mountains. For the vast majority of you, there's no reason you can't too. The question we need to be ...

“A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do.” - Bob Dylan I figured it's important to frame the conversation with a definition of this elusive "success" we all talk about. So far I haven't come across an answer that resonates better than this quote. What I've come to realize over time is that building good habits and eliminating bad ones is the primary driver of success. There isn't one specific thing, this unicorn we all seem to seek, but instead consistent small steps forward. Now I think it's important to understand the differences and relationship between habits, position, and opportunity and how they relate to "success." Habits  are actions that you consistently take and that can be intentionally designed. Often times it is the sum of many good habits and the removal of bad ones that positions someone for greatness. Position  is being in the right place at the...