4 Principles to Lead an Asymmetric Life
“When you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, you can have nearly anything you want in this life.” — Graham Weaver
Asymmetry
The notion of asymmetry is pervasive across a wealth of domains. Having an asymmetric face won’t get you too far as a model. But making asymmetric decisions can set you apart from your peers. An asymmetric decision has limited risk, but unlimited — or rather large — potential upside.
Graham Weaver, founder and managing partner of Alpine Investors, recently gave a lecture at Standford Graduate School of Business, where he offers 4 key principles to lead an asymmetric life.
1. Do hard things
I’m ashamed to admit this, but I’ve never had to work hard to achieve anything. It doesn’t mean I’ve been lazy, but that I’ve managed to achieve my goals with the minimum possible effort. I don’t know if it’s a blessing or a curse, but in my eyes it’s closer to the latter. If I don’t like something, I don’t do it. As simple as that. Quantum mechanics can be trivial if I find it interesting, but editing a spreadsheet seems a gruelling task if I don’t care about it.
Most remarkable feats require a sheer amount of discipline, so if you do hard things consistently, you’ll do well.
2. Do your thing
Everyone has their own talent. I love writing and it comes naturally to me. Find what you excel at. If it feels like play to you, but like work to others, you’ve found your thing. When the going gets tough — and it will — you’ll be less likely to quit if you love what you do and you’re good at it. This increases your upside potential.
3. Do it for decades
Consistency beats intensity, and that’s why I’m working to improve this quality. Daniel Kahneman, a Nobel laureate in economics and my favourite psychologist, has made significant contributions to the field of behavioural economics through his dogged devotion to researching human behaviour. The result of decades of his work is summarised in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow, which I highly recommend.
4. Write your story
No, I don’t mean your past story. Write your story 5 years from now. The sky is the limit. Where would you like to be? Who would you be with? What would you be doing? What would your net worth be like? Write all of that, and forget about the ‘how’.
The ‘how’ is the killer of all great dreams
Steve Jobs envisioned the iPhone in the early 2000s and it lead Apple to being one of the most successful companies in the world. He had his own story projected onto the future and it was crucial for his success.
Bonus: stick your neck out
This one’s mine and it’s one of the things that has helped me the most. Be brave. It’s better to say sorry than to ask for permission. Many people will be afraid to ask for more money, eat the last slice of pizza, or do anything that is even slightly frowned upon. Don’t. Don’t be rude, but feel free to cross some boundaries. Some people will be turned off, but a few of them will love you for being genuine and cutting the BS.
Do you have any other principles to lead an asymmetric life?
Alejandro Lopez — The Psychology of Wealth
Great advice Alejandro. Especially love your point on consistency over the long-term and loving what you do. It’s bound to get tough at times but if personal enjoyment for writing is a part of why we decide to write, we’re definitely more likely to keep at it.
Huge believer in assymetric decision making. As you outlined, the real test comes in decades of hard work and sometimes even patience in waiting to see your conviction play through and generate the outsized returns.