Don't make decisions when you are stressed.

Adult humans are naturally unsettled by things they don’t understand. Light ambiguity can be amusing or intriguing, but more extreme cases of ambiguity can induce us to make rash decisions.

Ambiguity will always be a part of our lives. It’s important to be able to cope with it, especially in key situations in life.

Don’t make important decisions when you’re stressed out. Don’t quit your job just because you’ve had a bad day at work. Wait until you’ve calmed down before making any big decisions. If you’re feeling anxious about some kind of ambiguity, you’re not thinking straight.

Millionaires don't all lead luxurious lifestyles. Your goal may be wrong

Many of us want to be millionaires to lead a luxurious life. Yet, I know many millionaires who become millionaires by avoiding flashy lifestyles. They prefer to be financially secure and independent.

Financial independence simply means you can avoid work and lead a credible lifestyle - travel, have fun, mean just below your means.

Many people prefer a lifestyle they cannot afford. They drive cars, drink wine, gamble, go for expensive holidays. They stress over how to afford their lifestyles. The alternative is to consume lesser and you can immediately be richer. Rich is a relative term when you compare what you have to how much you need.

Productivity at work and at home. Develop habits, stop multitasking and say no more often

When you make something into a habit, doing it becomes painless and effortless. Consider your daily habits. Perhaps you make yourself a cup of warm tea right after you wake up. If you have done this for years, it becomes a habit and it is painless. If something is important to you, make it into a habit. At first, you have to do it conscientiously and repeatedly. One day, it will be automated. 

Multitasking is a waste of time. Imagine you are using a water host to clean the floor. You need to focus on one source and you need high pressure. If you split the source into a few hosts, the effect of cleaning is weakened. Give that one thing you do undivided attention. Move on after you completed the one thing.

Say no more often than yes. Pick what you agree to do carefully. A simple rule is to make "no" your default answer. Do only the most important things in life.

What happens when you fail to spot blurring of lines between sectors and market segments

A technological innovation disrupts. Before the 2000s, Dell was a market leader and enjoyed massive profit margins. After that, Apple introduced tablets which ate into the market share of laptops and computers.

It may not be easy to spot trends ahead of time, but leaders must try to navigate hints and signals. Nokia didn’t act on the series of patents that Apple was filing secretly over the years.

You need to find talent that can spot developments early in an industry, and develop a taste for cross sector analysis. Disrupt happens when one industry crosses into another. Think about the implications of mobile phone technology and the financial sector. Major changes to take place soon. The same will happen in other industries when sectors merge.

Intelligent investors understand the importance of stock-market history

This is an excerpt of a summary of the Intelligent Investor. You can choose to read the article or simple read these next 3 words to save your time and pain – buy index funds.

Looking back through history reveals that the stock market has always been defined by regular ups and downs. Often, these fluctuations can’t be foreseen. The unpredictability of the market means that investors need to be prepared – financially and psychologically.

Economic crises, like the Wall Street crash in 1929, are a fact of life, and happen from time to time.

Thus you need to ensure that you can take a big hit and survive. This means that you should have a diverse stock portfolio, so your investments don’t all get hit at once.

What’s more, you should be mentally and psychologically prepared for crisis. Don’t sell everything at the first sign of danger. Remember instead that, even after the most devastating crashes, the market will always recover.

And while you can’t predict every crisis, looking at the history of the market will give you a better idea of its stability.

Once you’ve determined that the market is stable, focus on the history of the company in which you’d like to invest.

Look, for example, at the correlation between stock price and the company’s earnings and dividends over the past ten years. Then consider the inflation rate, i.e., the rise in prices generally, in order to see how much you’d really earn, all things considered.

For example, you calculate a 7-percent return on investment within one year, but if inflation is at a 4-percent rate, then you’ll earn a return of only three percent. Think carefully about whether it’s worth the effort for only a three-percent return!

When it comes to shrewd trading, a knowledge of history is a fine weapon, so be sure to keep it sharp.

The first thing you should do before you invest isn’t to look at a stock’s history. That’s important, sure, but what’s more important is looking at the history of the stock market itself.

Work Email Tips

When you are working on a document, don't leave the email open. Deal with work one thing at a time. Distraction is painful. You take twice or more time to go back to what you were working on.

Read your email aloud or in your mind before sending. There will almost be always silly mistakes. You want to look professional.

Keep emails short. Try to rewrite them so that you can your points delivered the shortest possible way.

If you bcc someone, do it because you don't want to get that people flooded with replies. But always tell the rest of the group who is bcc-ed. You don't want the embarrassment when the person in bcc replies.

I find that changing the title to focus on the new key points is important. Helps you find the content you need quickly.