Hi Reader,

Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and I hope you're all getting a two week "unplug."

I want to thank you all for your support over the past *checks notes* decades!

It is a real gift to be able to share these ideas with you and grow as individuals, together.

I'm truly grateful. Thank you.

And if 2025 is the year you're going to make a bold career pivot, I'd love to be your co-pilot.

We're filling out our upcoming group coaching cohort and will be hosting a free information session on January 9th.

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Here are this week's top reads:

// one

A rule for lifestyle creep: live beneath your assets

6 minutes | Money with Katie

TLDR, it’s Total Annual Spending = [ (4% of liquid net worth) + income ] / 2. Spending rules always seemed too 1-dimensional, either as a % of assets or income. But when there’s a huge spread between the two (as in our case) what’s a good rule of thumb?

→ Read the post​

// two

When ‘middle age’ arrives in your 20s

5 minutes | Wall Street Journal

“20% of younger people ages 25 to 34 feel middle-aged.” Wait, wutttt? What if middle age is just a recalibration of expectations — which, technically, is age agnostic.

→ Read the article​

// three

Are you overreacting?

9 minutes | The New Yorker

Are we drowning in a world that demands a reaction to everything? From YouTube commentators to political outrage, our days are chained together by endless provocations. Perhaps true freedom isn't about unplugging entirely, but learning to react authentically rather than as part of the reactive mass.

→ Read the article​

Stories from my life

I recently pulled up a chart of the S&P 500 since I began investing 25 years ago.

Am I lucky? Hell yeah. But when it comes to investing, it's easy to talk about things with the benefit of hindsight.

Someone pointed out my relative good fortune:

Here's what I remember: it was 2009 and I was looking at my principal invested (around $200k) and seeing that I hadn't made any investment returns in 9 years.

In fact, many of my Gen X peers got out of the market at that time (remember, the S&P was down 50%) and have tried timing their re-entry points ever since.

It hasn't been pretty for them.

My strategy has been simple: the best decision is a non-decision.

Lucky? For sure.

But this is a game where time usually works to your advantage.

This Week on The Examined Life Podcast

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This week's episode: Should you move out of the US?​

Below the Fold
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LAST WEEK'S MOST READ

• ​40 questions to ask yourself every year (Steph Ango, 1,341 clicks)
• ​If you were rich, would you fold laundry? (Rachel Katz, 1,158 clicks)

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And finally, the time has arrived. Here's Blackstone's holiday video.​

With gratitude,

Khe

PS, here's how we can help you:

​Apply for our Coaching programs: Are you an executive or founder undergoing a career change? We’ll give you frameworks and accountability for this transition.

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