Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

Volatility and Investment: The phenomenon where an asset’s price fluctuates over time is called volatility. Owning and reselling this volatile asset is known as an investment. The concept of buying and reselling an asset often causes us to overlook the fact that this process involves a trade-off between low-volatility and high-volatility assets. Cash is less volatile than stocks, and stocks are relatively more volatile. In other words, investing involves exchanging low-volatility assets for high-volatility assets and then switching back to low-volatility assets. Meanwhile, surplus profit is generated by the price differences caused by volatility. What would happen if we traded only highly volatile assets with each other? We would probably hesitate to exchange assets and might refrain from investing. In investing, there must be both low-volatility and high-volatility assets. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Pantone: Color cannot be monopolized. However, Pantone earns money with this color. How could Pantone monopolize the color industry? The answer lies in a subtle difference: Pantone does not monopolize the color itself; it monopolizes its description. To reproduce a specific color, there must be criteria (classification and combination data) and a description. This is where Pantone’s unique approach comes in. Pantone developed the “Pantone Matching System (PMS, criteria)” and monopolized the description of how printing inks should be formulated to reproduce that color. The resolution was so systematic that it eventually became a global standard. As a result, if you cannot monopolize the essence, it is better to monopolize the additive factor. In this way, business, legally, is the act of strengthening monopoly power. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Nominal Value is the price assigned to an item, such as a book priced at $15.50. Real Value is the adjusted price, considering factors like inflation and depreciation, so the used price of the book reflects this Real Value. Intrinsic Value refers to the worth of the book’s content, which can far exceed its Nominal or Real Value depending on the reader’s ability to understand and apply it. Merchants profit from the gap between Nominal and Real Values, while wise individuals gain by recognizing and utilizing Intrinsic Value. Recognizing and leveraging these values is essential for building wealth. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Mirroring and Maturation: Mirroring is a psychological activity where you observe yourself as if seeing your reflection, allowing you to gain self-awareness separate from your current reality. By creating this mental ‘mirror,’ you can see yourself as others might, which is a form of self-objectification. Adequate mirroring facilitates more accurate reflection on and correction of mistakes, ultimately leading to improved actions and decisions. Over time, this process helps you become more mature. Practicing self-objectification can also make others feel comfortable with you and may increase their reliance on you. This process is also known as self-reflection. Everyone has a mental mirror, but many neglect to keep it clear through regular self-examination. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Occupy and Move: These concepts are the key to wealth. Here, ‘occupy’ means owning goods, and ‘move’ refers to transferring ownership through exchange. Wealth is built by accumulating possessions. For accumulation to occur, a good must first be owned by someone else and then transferred. The transfer of ownership is what I call the movement of goods. To transfer, a payment is made to the current owner, usually in currency. Currency simplifies exchanges, as it is easier to move and issue than physical goods. Today, currency moves electronically, accelerating transactions. Had goods always been exchanged directly for other goods, exchanges and wealth accumulation would progress more slowly and inefficiently. The economic system now manages prices by adjusting the money supply, controlling the value of goods relative to currency, since money is easier to manage than goods. Business and investment outcomes depend on whether wealth is stored in money or in goods. If you emphasize goods, pat...

Connectivity and Opportunity: Opportunities come when you uncover connections that others haven’t seen. Humans create events, which then feed back into the world and cause change. By interpreting and discovering interconnected elements more quickly or differently than others, we open doors to progress. For example, people realized that a multiplex cinema’s competitor was a theme park, not just another cinema—showing how movie theaters and outdoor theme parks were connected. Another case is Lego: while sales were declining, they initially blamed computer games. However, they later discovered the real issue was a shift in children’s play culture. These examples illustrate how recognizing invisible connections boosts your chances of staying competitive. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The Trap of Compound Interest: Many view compounding as beneficial because interest earned is reinvested to increase profit. However, for those who are in debt, compound interest can increase the burden, leading to even greater losses. This effect disproportionately harms poor people, who often pay higher costs and face greater opportunity costs than the wealthy. While compounding enhances gains for those profiting, it intensifies harm for those losing money. This structure benefits the powerful, as the rules are designed by those in power. As a result, the desire for power can drive people toward questionable actions. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”