702 Morgan Housel — Contrarian Money and Writing Advice, Three Simple Goals to Guide Your Life, Journaling Prompts, Choosing the Right Game to Play, Must-Read Books, and More

This is a Claude AI summary of the Tim Ferriss Podcast #702- visit www.TinyTim.blog for more AI summaries, or www.Tim.blog for the official Tim Ferriss Podcasts.

Here is a summary of the key points from Tim Ferriss's conversation with Morgan Housel:

- Morgan's new book Same As Ever explores the psychology of what never changes about human nature and society over time. He argues that focusing on the timeless truths of human behavior is more useful for understanding the future than trying to predict what will change.

- They discussed how Morgan chooses which books and ideas to write about. He only writes when he feels compelled to get an idea out of his head, not because he "should" write on a topic. His books are written for an "audience of one" - himself.

- Morgan told the harrowing story of his two friends dying in an avalanche when he was 17. This showed him how fragile life is and how small decisions can have huge impacts. It shaped his views on risk and living life to the fullest.

- On happiness versus money - if you're already content, more money can make you happier. But if you're unhappy, more money may not help much. Contentment (lack of anxiety) can be bought, but not necessarily happiness.

- They discussed marriage and how to choose the "right" partner. Morgan believes it's largely based on luck. The key is finding your best friend, not maximizing for superficial traits that provide only short-term happiness.

- Morgan recommends reading history books like Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time to gain perspective and appreciate how different your life could have been based on chance events.

- On writing, Morgan thinks we're moving to a world where audio (podcasts) are more popular than text. But great writing will always have an audience. He aims to write books that he would want to read himself.

- Morgan chooses book topics based on questions he is introspecting on about himself and the world. Some examples: "What are we ignoring today that will seem obvious in a year?" "What hassle are you trying to eliminate that's actually a cost of success?"

- They discussed how to raise kids who aren't entitled. Morgan believes the only reliable way is to give them less money, so they learn the value of work.

https://tim.blog/2023/10/31/morgan-housel/