The Algebra of Wealth

A must-have guide to optimizing your life for wealth and success, from bestselling author, NYU professor, and co-host of the Today''s workers have more opportunities and mobility than any generation before. They also face unprecedented challenges, including inflation, labor and housing shortages, and climate volatility. Even the notion of retirement is undergoing a profound rethink, as our life spans extend and our relationship with work evolves. In this environment, the tried-and-true financial advice our parents followed no longer applies. It''s time for a new playbook. In Bursting with practical, game-changing advice from one of the world’s most popular business school professors, <The Algebra of Wealth< is the practical guidebook you need to win today’s wealth game.

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Scott Galloway is a professor of marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and a serial entrepreneur. He is the bestselling author of Adrift, Post Corona, The Four, and The Algebra of Happiness and has served on the boards of directors of the New York Times Company, Urban Outfitters, and Berkeley Haas. His Prof G Pod and Pivot podcasts, No Mercy / No Malice newsletter, and Prof G Show YouTube channel reach millions.

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*AN INSTANT #1 *NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A must-have guide to optimizing your life for wealth and success, from bestselling author, NYU professor, and cohost of the Pivot podcast Scott Galloway.

A must-have guide to optimizing your life for wealth and success, from bestselling author, NYU professor, and cohost of the Pivot podcast Scott Galloway

Today’s workers have more opportunities and mobility than any generation before. They also face unprecedented challenges, including inflation, labor and housing shortages, and climate volatility. Even the notion of retirement is undergoing a profound rethink, as our lifespans extend and our relationship with work evolves. In this environment, the tried-and-true financial advice our parents followed is no longer enough. It’s time for a new playbook.

In The Algebra of Wealth, Scott Galloway lays bare the rules of financial success in today’s economy. In his characteristic unvarnished, no-BS style, he explains what you need to know in order to better your chances for economic security no matter what. You’ll learn:

• How to find and follow your talent, not your passion, when making career decisions
• How to ride and optimize big economic waves (hard truth: market dynamics always trump individual achievement)
• What small steps you can take that pay big returns later, including diversification and tax planning
• How stoicism can help you minimize spending and develop better financial habits
  Brimming with wise, game-changing advice from one of the world’s most popular business school professors, The Algebra of Wealth offers a powerful framework for making the most of what opportunities come your way.

Leseprobe
Chapter 1: Stoicism

What kept me from economic security for much of my life was a stubborn belief that I was exceptional. The market reinforced this. I was starting companies, being profiled in magazines, and raising tens of millions for my start-ups. I was (obviously) on the verge of tens, if not hundreds, of millions as I was (obviously) exceptional. Getting close a couple times only reinforced the belief.

Convinced of my imminent jump to light speed, I ignored the idea of living below my means or saving and investing. The IPO or acquisition would be any day now. I could have easily saved $10,000 to $100,000 per year in my twenties and thirties, but why sacrifice when so much more is right around the corner? Right? Wrong. The dot bomb of 2000, a divorce, and the Great Financial Recession meant that every time the ball looked to be headed for the fence, it would veer foul. And then, at 42, my first son was born.

Angels singing? A Hallmark Channel moment? On the contrary. I was so nauseous I couldn't stand upright. It wasn't the blood and screaming that rendered me useless, but the wave of shame that washed over me. I had fucked up. I could have easily had a few million dollars in the bank, and I didn't. I had failed. Until minutes earlier, I could handle that, because I'd only failed myself. What I couldn't handle was the realization that I had failed my son.

My failure was constructed from poor choices, but it wasn't from a lack of knowledge. I had an MBA, I'd raised many millions of dollars in capital, made payroll every week, and delivered profits every quarter. I understood money. I just wasn't any good at it. I was not alone in this. A study of UK consumers found that while both financial illiteracy and a lack of self-control contributed to people getting over their head in debt, the data showed "a stronger role for lack of self-control than for financial illiteracy in explaining consumer over-indebtedness."

Economic security doesn't derive from an intellectual exercise; it's the result of a pattern of behavior. How can we avoid the pattern of behavior that leads to over-indebtedness and develop that which leads to wealth? Put another way, how can we align our behavior with our intentions? On the surface, this looks like self-control. But self-control suggests willpower, holding to a plan with white-knuckled grip. That's exhausting, fighting your own impulses constantly. There has to be something deeper that enables some people to align their behavior with their intentions consistently over the years.

The distilled answer: character. In the face of modern capitalism's temptations, human frailty, setbacks, and bad luck, our intended behaviors require durability, and that only comes when those behaviors are rooted in our true character. If durable changes of behavior could arise from intention alone, we would keep our New Year's resolutions and never forget a thank-you note. What we do is an expression of who we are. Contrary to the popular saying, it is not the thought that counts.

This chapter explores the development of our character in three parts. First, I explore the essential mechanics and principles of character building. Second, I describe how I apply those principles in my own life, and then I suggest how you might think about building your own strong character. Lastly, I widen the lens to consider character in the community. Humans are a social species, and we can only achieve our full potential in cooperation (and sometimes competition) with others.

Character and Behavior

Humans have sought to build character throughout history. The good news: we know how it's done. The bad: it's difficult. But it's neither mysterious nor complicated. Character and behavior exist in a self-reinforcing cycle. Just as our actions reflect our character, our character is ultimately the product of our actions. That cycle can be a virtuous circle or