One Quote:

"Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." - Mark Twain

Be wary of the *conventional* wisdom. Learn to question the underlying assumptions.

Independent thinking is a rare superpower of the modern age.

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One Framework:

The Ben Franklin Effect

"He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged." - Benjamin Franklin

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is a legitimate treasure trove of insights and wisdom.

In addition to providing a look into his daily routine, which I wrote about here, the quote above is the basis of the aptly-named Ben Franklin Effect.

The Ben Franklin Effect is an observed behavioral phenomenon in which a person who has performed a favor is more likely to perform another favor for that person than if they had received a favor from that person.

Put simply, we are more likely to do a favor for someone if we have previously done a favor for them—this previous favor trumps them doing a favor for us in our minds.

Performing a favor is more powerful than receiving a favor.

Franklin hypothesized this effect after observing how he converted a political foe to a friend through its use (or manipulation):

"Having heard that he had in his library a certain very scarce and curious book, I wrote a note to him, expressing my desire of perusing that book, and requesting he would do me the favour of lending it to me for a few days. He sent it immediately, and I return'd it in about a week with another note, expressing strongly my sense of the favour. When we next met in the House, he spoke to me (which he had never done before), and with great civility; and he ever after manifested a readiness to serve me on all occasions, so that we became great friends, and our friendship continued to his death."

By drawing out a small favor from the foe—the sharing of a book—he successfully converted him to a friend.

Humans are inherently flawed, self-protectionist creatures. We like to believe that we make rational, sound decisions, even in the face of clear conflicting evidence.

The Ben Franklin Effect is a play on that nature:

The performance of a single favor for someone is often enough to convince us that we like or respect them (even if this is inconsistent with our experience with the person).

"I took an action to benefit that person, so I must think well of them," we silently say to ourselves.

Franklin observed that one way to convert someone from an enemy to a friend is to get them to perform a small favor for you. If they perform the favor, their internal dialogue will tell them they like you (else why would they have done the favor?!).

How to Use It

In the best-selling How to Win Friends & Influence People, Dale Carnegie refers to the request for a favor as a subtle form of flattery.

This is a useful framing for life. The request is a compliment—a show that the person you are requesting from has something that you believe is valuable or otherwise want.

Whether you are in sales (note: we are all in some form of sales!) or just looking to build and improve your network of relationships, the Ben Franklin Effect is a tool to be aware of.

In addition to engaging in all of the small acts of kindness and general decency that we do in normal course, consider leveraging small requests for favors as a way to level up relationships or deepen connections.

You may just find it works for you as well as it did for Old Ben!

I'd love to hear from you:

• What are some examples of when you have seen the Ben Franklin Effect in action in your own life?
• How has your awareness of this effect impacted your day-to-day?

Tweet at me @SahilBloom and I'll do my best to get back to everyone!

One Tweet:

This is really interesting: Openly available AI technology is being used to complete homework assignments—and get straight As.

I have a few thoughts (and questions):

• In some ways, this just feels like the 2022 version of the shortcuts kids used to take when I was in school—mostly using Spark Notes (short summaries of books) or Wikipedia pages to complete schoolwork. In other ways, it feels different, because it completely removes the human from the process. I'm torn on whether I think this is savvy or immoral. If you find a better way to do [X], even if it defeats the purpose of [X], should you be rewarded?
• How are schools and colleges going to navigate this as the technology becomes increasingly mainstream? I imagine kids are already using AI to write award winning college entrance personal essays, right? Are we building a future where no one is capable of clear, independent thinking or writing because it is all managed by AIs?
• This also leads to an obvious question about how you can possibly stand out and win as a content creator in a future where written content is all created by AI. I've been thinking about that a lot for the last year given its implications for my own journey. My fundamental belief is that AI will continue to accelerate in its adoption curve, but that personality and human connection is impossible to replicate. I am going to be focusing on building real human connection with my audience—through more video, a community rollout for P2P engagement, personality and life sharing, and more.

What are your thoughts on this? What are the skills that our kids will need to learn if so much is going to be automated by AI over the coming years?

One Article:

​​Roger Federer as Religious Experience​

In honor of Roger Federer's retirement from tennis, I feel compelled to share this brilliant 2006 article that is an ode to his early career dominance and elegance.

It is one of the most beautifully-written articles I have ever read—which may not come as a surprise considering it was penned by the late David Foster Wallace, who is one of the best writers in history.

A few of my favorite lines from the glorious piece:

• "Given Agassi’s position and world-class quickness, Federer had to send that ball down a two-inch pipe of space in order to pass him, which he did, moving backwards, with no setup time and none of his weight behind the shot. It was impossible. It was like something out of “The Matrix.” I don’t know what-all sounds were involved, but my spouse says she hurried in and there was popcorn all over the couch and I was down on one knee and my eyeballs looked like novelty-shop eyeballs."
• "Beauty is not the goal of competitive sports, but high-level sports are a prime venue for the expression of human beauty. The relation is roughly that of courage to war. The human beauty we’re talking about here is beauty of a particular type; it might be called kinetic beauty. Its power and appeal are universal. It has nothing to do with sex or cultural norms. What it seems to have to do with, really, is human beings’ reconciliation with the fact of having a body."
• "Whether anything like a nascent Federer was here among these juniors can’t be known, of course. Genius is not replicable. Inspiration, though, is contagious, and multiform — and even just to see, close up, power and aggression made vulnerable to beauty is to feel inspired and (in a fleeting, mortal way) reconciled."

The entire article is painfully good and well worth your time.

Roger Federer was the embodiment of the Paradox of Effort. He will be missed on the court, but his legacy will live on as he continues to do good for the world.

One Podcast:

Is a Recession Bullish?

This was a good (and entertaining) episode that covered a variety of market-related topics.

This chart of returns data was particularly interesting:

As we navigate through the exceedingly complex economic and geopolitical environment, the only advice I have is to think long-term and stay the course.

It's never as bad (or as good) as the the prevailing sentiment suggests.

It's really easy to get caught up in the various negative narratives that are out there—this generally leads to short-term, irrational decisions. If you ever feel compelled to do something rash, pause a moment and force yourself to zoom out.

Ironically, my biggest investing mistakes have all been made when I was consuming the most news and information about the markets. Let that be a lesson—learn from my mistakes!

Listen to it on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.​

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