The starting point of all achievement is desire.

Γνῶθι σεαυτόν. Know thyself. (Greek proverb)

And the LORD God took the human and set him down in the garden of Eden to till it and watch it. (Genesis)

Work is how we materialize our ideals.

Never retire.

The goal is human flourishing.

The path to human flourishing is virtue.

Deep down what we’re all really seeking is to love and to be loved.

Deeper down what we’re all really seeking is to unite with God in silent love.

Man is a polis-animal. We thrive in civic community.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. (Decl. of Ind.)

Human flourishing occurs in a society of freedom and virtue — the freedom to choose as you please and the virtue to choose the beautiful thing.

Freedom and virtue, over and over.

Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. (Ben Franklin)

Ita fac: vindica te tibi. Do that: free your self. (Seneca)

Wealth is freedom, of a certain kind.

Money is purchasing power.

Inflation is the enemy of money.

Every year every thing we need to buy costs more.

Fixed income = financial suicide on the installment plan. (Nick Murray)

Stewardship is truer than generosity.

My household wealth is up to me, not the White House.

The purpose of the American government is to secure the rights of its citizens, not to give them a 30-year vacation.

The purpose of a business is to earn profits for its owners by doing good for its customers.

A good business generates more cash than it consumes. So too a household.

We invest in businesses we want to own.

It is impossible to time the market.

We seek long-term real-life financial outcomes, not “outperformance.”

Timing, track records, prognostication. Goals, plan, portfolio.

Volatility is not risk. Volatility cannot be defeated. Volatility is our friend.

Temporary decline is not permanent loss.

Investors not speculators.

Owners not loaners.

Reason not fear.

History not headlines.

This time is not different.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

There is nothing new under the sun. (Ecclesiastes)

Pessimists sound smart. Optimists make money.

All good long-term financial decisions come from love.

All good decisions, period, come from love.

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Sources where not mine or common knowledge: Napoleon Hill, Greek tradition, Genesis, Dr. Kevin Majeres, Rabbi Daniel Lapin, Aristotle, Declaration of Independence, Benjamin Franklin, Seneca, Nick Murray, Jason Zweig, Ecclesiastes, David Bahnsen.

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