Posts by Alex Green
What Really Matters
Why do some folks look back on their lives and say they wouldn’t change much? Or anything? Is there a formula? Some mix of love, work, habits, or attitudes that offers the best chance of a well-lived life? Researchers at Harvard have been examining this question for 72 years by following 268 men who entered…
Read MoreThe World’s Scarcest Commodity
My 12-year-old son, David, is pushing his mom and me for a smartphone. Excuse me while I weep. It’s not that it wouldn’t be a convenience. When we’re late to pick him up at school, or he’s staying longer at a friend’s house or we’re separated at a ball game, it would be easier if…
Read MoreDo You Suffer From “Status Anxiety?”
Depressed you don’t own a new car? It could be Status Anxiety.
Read MoreThree Words That Will Change Your Life
Talk about a model prisoner… In 1985, Fleet Maull began serving a 14-year sentence for drug trafficking. During his incarceration, he completed a Ph.D. in Psychology, authored a well-received book, became an ordained priest, founded a prison hospice program and launched the Prison Dharma Network, a non-profit organization that supports prisoner rehabilitation through contemplative spirituality.…
Read MoreThe Best Way Out Is Always Through
Last year I suffered a “home invasion” when 22 of my relatives showed up for Thanksgiving. (Some of them were actually invited.) We gave thanks for our health, our friends, each other… and a 26-pound bird stuffed with cornbread dressing and surrounded by cranberry sauce, squash soufflé, parmesan-garlic green beans with almonds and sweet potato…
Read MoreThe Most Important Moment
A marriage, a friendship, a close family relationship… All of our important relationships are built on countless moments, innumerable interactions that either build qualities of trust, joy, and respect – or undermine those qualities. Today I want to show you what is arguably the most important moment for building a trusting, satisfying, loving relationship. We…
Read MoreHow to Live the Good Life
What does it mean to live a good life? What is true happiness? How much is enough? And how should you spend the time you have remaining? Aristotle asked these important questions more than 2,000 years ago. And he called the answer the golden mean. Aristotle (384 B.C. — 322 B.C.) was a student of Plato and…
Read MoreThree Steps to Protect Your Portfolio From the Next Bear Market
In one of my recent columns, I noted that investment analysis has gotten far trickier over the last few years. We have entered a period of “administrative markets,” in which equity returns are affected as much by government policies as they are by economic growth and corporate profits. In the last few years, we’ve seen…
Read MoreWhat Makes a True Gentleman
I’ve always enjoyed Oscar Wilde’s comedy An Ideal Husband. But New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd is out to help women find the genuine item. In a column, she shared the wisdom of Father Pat Connor, a Catholic priest with several decades of experience as a marriage counselor. Too many women marry badly, he says, because infatuation trumps…
Read MoreWhat You Need Instead of Income
The conventional wisdom is that everyone needs income . If you’re like most Americans, you have mortgage payments, car payments, insurance payments, utility payments, credit card payments and perhaps even student loan payments. You wouldn’t survive long in our modern world without income. At least, that’s what most people believe. But that’s actually a mistaken notion. This will seem…
Read MoreThe Silent Killer You’re Sitting On
What’s the most lethal object in your home or office? For some, it may be a rifle or handgun. Others might say it’s a knife, a ladder, a poison under the sink or a frayed wire. But I’m betting it’s something else… …your favorite chair. Two months ago, Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook made headlines…
Read MoreThe Secret of Inspirational Leadership
When speaking at investment conferences, I try to emphasize the importance of “quality of management” when evaluating public companies. What would Microsoft be without Bill Gates? Or Berkshire Hathaway without Warren Buffett? It’s hard to imagine. On the flip side, 15 years ago, WorldCom had the most impressive array of telecommunications assets on the planet.…
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