I actually found this on boingboing.net. I shouldn’t even post their name since they’re one of the few big aggregating sites that has never run one of my articles. But hey, when they’ve got a good article, they’ve got a good article.
They posted This MP3 about how to always do the right thing. It’s brilliant. I’ve actually been wanting to write a post to that effect, but the speaker, Dan Gilbert, did a much better job than I would have.
The essence of the speech is that EV is king. EV is expected value, a term used commonly in the gambling world. I would explain what it is, but if you listen to the lecture you will have a better understanding and then I won’t have to type as much.
I always try to live my life by maximizing EV. Most people live their lives trying to minimize risk, which is a truly awful strategy. I’d say that roughly 90% of my favorite experiences in life have been the result of taking risk, but maximizing EV. The story of How I became a pickup artist is a great example. Moving to LA was risky – I was leaving my friends, moving in with people I didn’t know, and was paying a ton of money for the privilege. However, it was clear that the upside was huge, so I did it. I’m glad I did.
Listen to the lecture think about how it applies to your life, and post your thoughts here.
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