Expectations vs. Happiness

To figure out what will happen in the future, we typically make guesswork predictions and look to particular periods in the past that seem like potential parallels.

My guest says that to figure out what will happen next, and how best to navigate that coming landscape, the best things to consider are those that have been true in every time, and will be true until the end of it.

Morgan Housel is a venture capitalist and the author of Same as Ever: A Guide to What Never Changes. Today on the show we talk about ideas and principles that never change that can help you be successful in an ever-changing world, including how the biggest risks are those you can’t see, how the idea of compound interest applies beyond your finances, how your expectations can sabotage your happiness, why you need to learn to accept that things are supposed to be hard, and how success can lead to failure. Morgan also shares his rubric for choosing your reading, what genres of books he finds most useful for improving long-term thinking, and two books he especially recommends for broadening your perspective.

Resources Related to the Podcast

• Morgan’s previous appearance on the AoM podcast: Episode #659 — Do You Want to Be Rich or Wealthy? (And Why the Difference Matters)
• AoM Article: 5 Tools for Thriving in Uncertainty
• AoM Article: The Best Books to Read in Uncertain Times
• AoM Podcast #821: Routines Are Overrated
• The Great Depression: A Diary by Benjamin Roth
• The Patriarch: The Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy by David Nasaw

Connect With Morgan Housel

• Morgan on X
• Morgan’s website
• Morgan on LinkedIn