Hello everyone,
Welcome to Not Pretty, Not Rich, a newsletter designed to help you level the playing field. If you were forwarded this email and would like to subscribe, you can do so here. You can also unsubscribe at any time. Past issues can be found here.
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This week’s issue: Don’t be mean, and don’t get got.
Get Pretty: Don’t hate the player
I came across a blog post by Paul Graham on the topic of “haters,” and it got me thinking. I occasionally get a mean email or tweet from some random hooplehead, but don’t generally think much of it. These people aren’t necessarily “haters,” though.
From Graham:
“A hater is obsessive and uncritical. Disliking you becomes part of their identity, and they create an image of you in their own head that is much worse than reality. Everything you do is bad, because you do it. If you do something good, they find a way to see it as bad. And their dislike for you is not, usually, a quiet, private one. They want everyone to know how awful you are.”
It’s easy to think of a few people that can trigger this type of behavior within you — like Tom Brady, the president, or one of those Jonas Brothers.
Consider whether or not you’re a hater — if you’re unnecessarily mean, rude, disrespectful, or otherwise catty to someone at work, it can come back to bite you. Nobody likes a hater, and people usually don’t hate somebody who’s nice.
The takeaway: Don’t be a jerk — and take a minute to detach yourself to see if you’re subconsciously being a jerk so that you can stop.
Get Rich: If it’s too good to be true, it probably is
People will fall for just about anything. That’s why the “Nigerian prince” email scam is still alive and well, and why you get robocalls from the “IRS.” Ben Carlson, a financial expert and podcast host, recently released a new book about financial scams and it’s full of stories that will make you pull your hair out.
For example, was a guy who almost sold the Eiffel Tower. Twice. The lesson? People will fall for anything, and you should be wary of anyone offering you something that’s too good to be true. Whether it’s an investment opportunity or a curiously cheap Geo Metro — just make sure you’re doing your financial due diligence.
I talked to Ben about his book and protecting yourself from scams if you’d like to read more.
The takeaway: Scams are everywhere — do your homework and don’t wire money to Moldova or something.
What I’ve been writing about:
Growing up, I listened to bands like Indecision and Most Precious Blood. One of the members of those bands, Justin Brannan, is now on the NYC City Council, and I talked to him about how he made the climb from the touring van to politics.
I also talked to a food scientist at Kraft Heinz about her job — which is to literally come up with new foods and drinks.
If you want to check those articles out and share them, I’d appreciate it.
That’s all for now. Keep fighting the good fight.
Sam
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