Breakfast Notes #80 (Mornings, Writing, Spies)

Good morning my curious friends,

Here is the 80th serving of the Breakfast Notes.

Insightful Links Of The Week

• How Arnold Conquers the Mornings. Arnold is the God of Bodybuilding. In this short read of the day, he cites research suggesting the four decisions you make each day that will determine your morning alertness the next day. The decisions include how you sleep, exercise, eat breakfast, and how many meals you eat. (Psstt... the key is sleep early, exercise more, eat high-fiber foods and don't gorge yourself on food!)
• Give Up On Writing. Matt Taibbi is an American journalist and author, whom I intensely admire. He has this irreverent attitude that Singaporeans dream of, and has a sharp wit that Jocelyn wishes she had. In this post, Taibbi reflects on how frustrating writing is. If you have written something over and over again and still... cannot say anything meaningful, it's a sign your idea probably sucked in the first place. He encourages us to be self-assured enough to give up. Now, this advice raised the mirror to my face, how confident am I to quit?  
• When Spies Meet. When spies meet, they probably do so in toilets, alleyways and at the bottom of the Eiffel Tower. That's my hypothesis after watching countless spy thrillers. But, what happens when they meet in real life? (and got their meetings leaked?) This was what happened at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. The insight that I gleaned from this commentary was that - conferences, especially those with tons of keynote addresses are more useful than you think. There could come a time in 2200, when our great-grandchildren study Singapore's history, and they might stumble upon how Singapore was where World War 3 was avoided.

Visualisation Of The Week

You want to get a sense of how investors feel about the US economy, take a peek at the S&P 500.

The crazy thing about this diagram is how little, I actually know about the top 500 companies driving the world's largest economy.

Thanks for reading and may the sun shine upon your face,

Keith