Monochrome Finances (Black and White Investing): How to Invest Like a Zen Monk

Investing is like meditation?

Calm your mind and soul. Make cool rational decisions. Super zen. 

My funny idea: building some sort of investing app which is only black and white? To avoid emotional swings?

Imagine like a bitcoin or a stock trading app, once again… The core functionality is that even if you want to, you cannot turn it into color. It is like a Zen investing app?

So currently the issue that I’ve been having is realizing, in order to read the news financial news or analyze stocks, bitcoin prices or anything analytical, you kind of need to stop. The best thing I’ve had thus far is using my iPad Pro, and doing it while standing.

But still, I prefer to be outside and walking around. As a consequence, I’m curious; how can I maximize the upside of walking around, and being outside, and not being chained inside my apartment seeking Wi-Fi?

The first idea is like having an iPhone, iPhone Pro or something or normal iPhone with 4G 5G connectivity. But the downside is because the screen is so small, you’re not as efficient.

I then suppose another idea is getting an iPad Pro with a cellular connection, that’s a kind of better idea. And actually what’s super interesting is that if making money is in fact your goal, it makes 1 million times more sense to get an iPad Pro with cellular connection rather than an iPhone Pro because once again, Having a larger screen will allow you to make more informed financial decisions, rather than a tiny screen.

In fact, I’ve made hundreds and thousands of dollars, maybe half 1 million or more, all while executing orders on my iPhone SE, the $300 one, which is quite incredible?

Nothing is meant to last forever 

So the tricky thing is once again, nothing is meant to last forever besides bitcoin.

so when it comes to purchasing an iPad Pro or whatever, once again, the thing bends, which means it will not last forever either. The new iPad Pro with M4 chip, probably will have a good duration because it is so powerful, but once again, maybe 4 to 5 years? If you stretch at 6 to 7 years? But then again once again, very likely that sooner or later I will accidentally drop it and break it.

Also the thing with an iPhone the iPhone Pro whatever, because of the weight issue, I would never recommend an iPhone Pro over the normal one.

In fact, if you look closely enough, the really rich and successful people don’t actually have an iPhone Pro they have the normal one. Even Kanye West uses the normal one with only two lenses.

Maybe a step further, with a new iPhone E out, iPhone E for ERIC, this will be the new smart phone to get, get it in white because if you use it as a GPS for your phone car mount, less likely to overheat.

Reverse freedom

Living here in Phnom Penh is almost reverse to LA:

Phnom Penh is too hot, LA is too cold.

To people who have actually never really lived in LA, the truth of the matter is that actually, at least for myself, LA is too cold. Maybe I’ll be happier in Florida or something.

The best clothes

So now that I am in Cambodia, and I cannot do online shopping in the states or whatever… A new idea I have is perhaps it is wise to just buy all the 100% merino wool stuff while you’re in the states because you won’t be able to get it while you’re in Asia.

Fortunately in Asia, you could buy very very good linen clothing, 100% linen is quite good, often times good enough. 

What else?

I do not know a single man or woman or child who is sad miserable depressed or anxious if they walk outside, 50,000 steps a day, or eight hours a day.

So my simple suggestion is optimize your life in your lifestyle and which you’re just walking around all day?

If it’s too cold outside, wear a shit load of clothes and stay super warm.

If it’s too hot outside, get us naked as possible, cover-up, sunblock and put on your son hat, and also try to walk as much as possible?

The environment is our best friend. And I think the greatest blessing of being a human human being being on this planet is the privilege of being outside in the privilege of being able to walk around.

Walking is the new luxury

I think the only issue here is that it is difficult to monetize walking. This is why you have all these scam companies trying to sell you loser $500 running shoes?

Perfect lifestyle, lifestyle perfection is not the goal?

Rather, or something else? In innovation? Instead?

The goal is innovation

Hybrid Lexus is the best idea?

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Train, training your physiology

Just settle with the best, then put your focus elsewhere?

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Look at finances in mono chrome

Because you won’t be less frightened or less of an emotional jolt?

Whenever I open up my investing app, there is always a moment of apprehension before I almost always expect a red, but the days which it is green I am pleasantly surprised.

But anyways, a simple workflow I have is if you plan on checking finances, before checking put your iPad or iPhone to mono chrome mode, before checking. Why? When you look at finances in monochrome, it is less scary to see red. So you get the upside of the information of what’s going on without the downside which is the emotional shock?

In fact if you were AI, a computer program, he would not be affected by economic price signals emotionally. Rather you would just take those information as inputs?

read the news in monochrome?

Once again, humans are very sensitive to colors. Even Anaxoras, one of the great pre-Socratic philosopher said that humans cannot bear looking at really really bright colors for too long of a time, nor tolerate too loud sounds for too long of a time. This is why even for myself, I did not like wearing really really bright sneakers because I would get distracted while I was driving or walking because I would just stare at my feet all the time?

And this is perhaps where I do prefer the all black clothing, because it is more calming for myself?

Even if you had a bright colored Lamborghini, perhaps sooner or later the color will bore you? Even though Matt Black is also boring, because it is always boring, maybe it never loses its charm?

only look at green if it is beneficial to you?

Assuming that green is the color of profit, the more green the better!

And then also, thinking that red is the color of loss, maybe the idea is then, when you have profits, you’re in the green, keep the color on. But, if you’re in the red, stay on chrome.