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Contact
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RyanHoliday.net - Meditations on strategy and life
Blog

Accounting for Unfortunate Events

Some unexpected expense comes your way. Like you get hit with a fine or have to replace something that breaks.

You can see this as an unmitigated loss. Or you can try a little trick.

What was the last thing you got for free? Someone picked up the tab at dinner? Or that work bonus that was bigger than anticipated?

Ok, don’t think about it like that. Instead, you paid for half the dinner–and then you got half off reduction on that parking ticket. Or just see your bonus as actually having been X% smaller. Whatever ratio you have to jigger to get it to work.

Keep your gains in limbo and then shave a little off when life inevitably swings the other direction. It’s so simple. Yet saves so much anguish.

It’s called framing. Make it work for you.

Stop seeing simply the things that go wrong. Don’t keep an account of misfortune. Run the balance the other way: what were the things that you skated on, that you got away with, that got comped? Now when something goes wrong, count it against that–if you have to count it at all.

Because when you really look at it this way you’ll realize that you’re still ahead of where you started. And you’re prepared to account for the bad shit that will inevitably come your way as well.

February 25, 2013by Ryan Holiday
Blog

Welcome Creative Live

To all the new people who are just coming to this site from my Creative Live course, welcome. To all my regular readers, go check out the class–it runs for the next two days and it’s free. To both of you: a new post is coming Monday and a reading newsletter as well.

Reading newsletter? Yes, I give book recommendations to more than 5,000 people each and every month. (see my favorites from 2012). You should sign up.

For some of my recent marketing writing at the New York Observer and Fast Company read:
Hail Corporate: The Increasingly Insufferable Fakery of Brands on Reddit (from today)
Why Books Are The Ultimate New Business Card
Out of Reach: If the Media Covers You, You’d Better Bring an Audience
Broken on Purpose: Why Getting It Wrong Pays More Than Getting It Right
Everything Is Marketing: How Growth Hackers Redefine The Game

For some of my bigger posts here read:
Advice to a Young Man Hoping to Go Somewhere (Or Get Something From Someone Succesful)
The Narrative Fallacy (also see The Soundtrack of Your Life Delusion and The Second Act Fallacy)
The Dress Suit Bribe
Contemptuous Expressions
A False Sense
Stoicism 101: A Practical Guide for Entrepreneurs

Anyway, glad to have you. Stick around. Enjoy the class. We’ll be back to regular programming shortly.

February 22, 2013by Ryan Holiday

“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.” - Murakami

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