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Daily

Caution With Rapamycin

In the quest for longevity, Rapamycin has emerged as a potential contender. Originally developed as an organ transplant drug, this intriguing compound has captured the attention of researchers and biohackers alike. As the debate around its promise unfolds, questions about risk, benefit, and uncertainty take center stage.

Rapamycin has been tested on multiple species with seemingly promising results in extending lifespan. However, these findings tell only part of the story. While evidence supports its potential benefits, the unknown side effects cast a shadow over the drug’s viability as a longevity treatment.

When considering any medical intervention, it’s crucial to weigh the risks against the benefits. In the case of Rapamycin, this analysis is fraught with challenges due to the unpredictable nature of life. Asserting that there’s a risk-benefit analysis in this context is fallacious since the risk component cannot be accurately measured or predicted.

There is no risk benefit analysis when the downside is unknown.

While emphasizing caution is necessary, it’s also essential to acknowledge the positive aspects of Rapamycin research and the potential breakthroughs it may bring. Striking a balance between optimism and skepticism is crucial when examining novel interventions.

For instance, ongoing research on Rapamycin has shed light on the molecular pathways involved in aging, providing valuable insights that could pave the way for future treatments.

As we venture into the realm of longevity research, it’s vital to remember that uncertainty demands careful consideration. The pursuit of extended life should be guided by a healthy dose of skepticism and prudence, without stifling curiosity and innovation.

We should not take risks with young, healthy and vital people. No proof of harm is required to assert that a drug or an unnatural intervention carries danger. The absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

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Posts Posts

Life Is Not Rigid

Life is the distinctive quality of living entities, marked by growth, reproduction, adaptation, and the ability to respond to stimuli.

Dead are those who have ceased to exist as living beings, having experienced the irreversible termination of their vital processes, leaving behind only memories and remnants.

By definition, life is not dead. But being alive does still not mean one is truly living.

True embracers of life have the courage to take risks. They know that the environment may change. They know that their decision may turn out wrong. This is why true embracers of life possess adaptability. If necessity demands it or their spirit commands it – they change course.

This mix of adaptability and courage fosters growth. It ultimately transcends the fear of being wrong. Leading to a more vibrant and fulfilling existence.

Life is not fixed. Life is not rigid. Take the risk. Then adapt.

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Daily Posts

My Local Farmer

My local organic farmer serves as a wonderful reminder that one does not need immense wealth to find joy and happiness.

He’s living a fulfilled life. His wife shared with me that he spends most of the day in the garden while on Wednesdays and Saturdays, they sell the produce on the market.

Every day, he’s outside in the sun. He’s eating fresh organic food. This reflects on his appearance. He looks young and vital for his age. Something all biohackers and longevitists try to accomplish with so much force.

When you meet his gaze, his eyes reflect fulfillment, happiness, and inner peace.

A small organic farm is all he needs to be satisfied. This leads us to ponder, why do we believe that acquiring massive amounts of wealth is a prerequisite for happiness?

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Comments

Twitter’s Content Problem

Twitter is a remarkable platform that brings together some of the world’s most intriguing individuals. These people join Twitter to share their ideas, thoughts, and opinions, often leaving the platform better informed and potentially inspired.

The first issue with Twitter is its repetitiveness. As with other social media platforms, Twitter encourages users to gain popularity by amassing likes and followers. To achieve this quickly, people seek shortcuts, resulting in repetitive content. One idea may be shared in countless ways by numerous users, while a single video might be reposted repeatedly. Consequently, originality on Twitter suffers.

When users observe someone successfully tweeting about a specific topic, they often mimic or even blatantly copy that individual. While replicating a YouTube video requires effort, it’s all too easy to rewrite or copy a tweet and hit “Tweet.”

Repetitiveness leads to the second problem: exceptional content gets lost. Twitter is designed for real-time updates, so most tweets in your timeline are relatively new. The more users you follow, the younger the tweets in your timeline will be, meaning valuable insights can be drowned out by those who simply shout the loudest at any given moment.

As a long-time Twitter user, I believe the platform excels at providing real-time information and fostering discussions. It’s already the go-to source for live updates on global events. In my opinion, rather than competing with YouTube or Substack, Twitter should focus on developing a search engine for real-time information. Users interested in specific events, topics, or local happenings could search for unbiased, relevant live data. Additionally, those wanting to join discussions on particular subjects or articles could easily find and participate in them.

In summary, Twitter serves as a hub for real-time information and engaging debates. People visit the platform to express their feelings and thoughts. By concentrating on building a platform for real-time information and providing space for debate, Twitter can become the world’s most significant platform for freedom of speech, transforming into the largest global town hall.

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NLH Project

Water is Life

Today, it seems that too many people still believe that you can drink the water from the tap without hesitation. Often you also hear statements like: “All water tastes the same”, with the assumption that all water is the same. I, on the other hand, drink water from the tap only when there is no other way, and in a blind tasting I immediately notice the difference between alkaline and low and high mineral water.

Let’s talk less about taste and more about how important water is to our health.

The most important food

DIN 2000 is a German standard designed to ensure that drinking water in Germany is safe, clean, and free of harmful contaminants. A guiding principle of DIN 200 is:

“Drinking water is the most important food; it cannot be replaced.”

The human body consists of about 60% water, newborns even about 80%. Water is an elixir of life. Without water there is no life, which is why we should think all the more about the important aspect water plays for our health and longevity, and thus of course also about the quality of the water we consume every day.

Water plays a fundamental role in maintaining homeostasis and normal functioning of the body. Adequate hydration is important to support our metabolism, cellular function, digestion, detoxification, and thermoregulation. These processes are all critical to our health and well-being throughout life.

In the depths of our body, water is by no means a passive element that merely provides structure. On the contrary, it is a dynamic medium in which a complex interplay of salts and minerals takes place. This balance is crucial for electrolyte balance and the generation of electrical signals, which are essential for the communication and function of every single cell.

Water is also the main player in the absorption and transport of nutrients that are essential for our health. As the main solvent for minerals and vitamins, water enables their absorption and distribution throughout the body. It is the driving fluid that transports all substances, including oxygen, to their respective destinations, thus forming the basis of our physical existence.

However, the importance of water goes beyond the purely physical aspects and extends deep into the functioning of our brain. Water forms the environment in which neuronal activity and electrical signals are generated and maintained, which is crucial for our cognitive abilities and consciousness.

Another fascinating property of water is its role as an information carrier. In some ways, water is similar to the silicon dioxide that serves as a storage medium in modern computers. Water’s ability to store and transmit information is a crucial aspect of our biological communication systems and helps maintain harmonious and efficient body function.

Considering all these amazing properties, it becomes clear that water is not just a passive element in our body, but rather a source of strength, energy, and vitality. This becomes especially clear when one considers the psychological consequences of a lack of water.

A lack of water

Water deficiency, also known as dehydration, can lead to decreased cognitive performance, including difficulties with concentration, memory, and decision-making. As indicated earlier, water, and therefore adequate hydration, is critical to maintaining brain function. Even minor dehydration can cause the brain to work less efficiently and impair its functions.

Our mood is also negatively affected by a lack of water. Studies have shown that dehydration can lead to irritability, anxiety, and even depression.

Similarly, lack of water can lead to an increase in the stress hormone cortisol, which contributes to an increased stress response and exhaustion. So, to be more resistant to stress and cope with our daily challenges, we should make sure we drink enough.

Sleep can also be disrupted by dehydration, as the production of the sleep hormone melatonin is affected or disrupted.

To prevent these psychological and cognitive associated with water deficiency, adults are recommended to drink 2 to 3 liters daily. Two to three liters of water sounds like a lot to some, but it’s not at all. 8 small glasses (330 milliliters) of water already add up to 2.6 liters throughout the day. If we assume that we sleep eight hours a day and drink a glass of water directly before going to bed and directly after getting up, we will reach our goal with six more glasses a day. If we drink a small glass of water every two and a half hours, we will consume enough liquid at normal outside temperatures. As a rule of thumb, if the urine is light yellow, you have drunk enough water.

3 liters per day

If we are careful to drink enough water to keep our bodies and minds healthy, with three liters of water a day, it is also important to pay attention to the quality of the water we consume. But is tap water really as pristine as it is sold to us? Unfortunately, it is not.

Hormones and drugs

Residues of hormones and medications can be found in many municipal tap waters, which enter the water supply after being consumed by humans and excreted through the wastewater system. These residues can include substances that are difficult to break down, such as antibiotics, antidepressants, and hormones from birth control pills. If we are exposed to these residues over the long term, this will undoubtedly have an impact on our health, including hormonal imbalances and increased resistance to antibiotics.

Microplastics

Not only in the oceans of our planet, but also in our tap water, there is evidence of microplastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters. These come, for example, from cosmetic products, textile fibers, or decaying plastic waste that enters our water supply. The long-term consequences of exposure to microplastics have not been fully researched, but there are concerns that they can cause inflammation in the body and increase the risk of chronic disease.

Heavy metals

Some tap water systems, especially those with older plumbing, may contain traces of heavy metals such as lead, copper, and arsenic. These heavy metals can corrode in the water pipes over time and leach into the water. Long-term exposure to heavy metals can lead to serious health problems such as nerve damage, kidney damage, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Pesticides and herbicides

In agricultural areas, pesticides and herbicides used on fields can leach into groundwater and eventually enter the water supply. These chemicals can have a negative impact on our health by disrupting the hormonal system, weakening the immune system or even increasing the risk of cancer.

Nitrates and nitrites

These chemical compounds are often found in fertilizers and can also enter groundwater. High nitrate and nitrite levels in drinking water can be particularly dangerous for infants because they increase the risk of methemoglobinemia (cyanosis), a condition that affects oxygen transport in the blood.

Per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances (PFAS)

PFAS are a group of chemicals used in a variety of industrial and commercial products, such as non-stick coatings, water-repellent textiles and firefighting foams. PFAS are extremely persistent and can accumulate in the environment and human body. Exposure to PFAS can increase the risk of health problems such as hormone disruption, elevated cholesterol levels and increased cancer risk.

While we can hardly protect ourselves against the invisible toxins in our food and direct environment, we can certainly control the purity of the water we drink by using high quality and even inexpensive water filters and water treatment devices!

Water for health

So what is healthy water? We have already mentioned the most important thing: healthy water is free from any chemical and biological pollutants. Moreover, science defines healthy water as one with low acidity, that is, water with a basic pH, and rich in electrons, that is, water with lower redox potential and thus antioxidant properties. Thus:

  1. Free from pollutants
  2. Alkaline pH value
  3. Rich in electrons

While pollutants are obviously not healthy but harmful, not everyone is aware of the health-promoting properties of alkaline water as well as electron-rich water.

Neutralization of acidity in the body

Alkaline water helps to balance the acid-base balance in the body. An unbalanced diet, stress and environmental factors can cause the body to become over-acidic. By consuming alkaline water, the body’s pH can be regulated and brought to an optimal level, contributing to better health and a strengthened immune system.

Hydration improvement

Alkaline water has smaller water molecule clusters than conventional water, making it easier for the body to absorb and better hydrate. Improved hydration helps increase physical performance, regulate body temperature and support detoxification processes.

Antioxidant properties

Electron-rich water has a lower redox potential, which gives it antioxidant properties. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which can cause cellular damage and contribute to premature aging and chronic disease. Consuming electron-rich water can protect the body from oxidative stress and promote overall health.

Support detoxification

Alkaline and electron-rich water can support the detoxification of the body by promoting kidney function and helping to eliminate harmful toxins. Effective detoxification is important for well-being and disease prevention.

Improvement of digestion

Alkaline water can also improve digestion by helping to maintain an optimal pH level in the stomach. This can lead to better nutrient absorption, a reduction in heartburn and other digestive problems.

Water treatment

Healthy water can be produced by any normal household with water filters and water treatment processes, so we drink 3-liters of healthy water – free of pollutants, with alkaline pH and rich in electrons – every day.

Activated carbon filter

Activated carbon filters are one of the most common methods of water treatment in households. They remove unwanted contaminants such as chlorine, pesticides and organic compounds from water. They can also reduce odors and taste impairments. However, they do not significantly affect the pH of the water and have no effect on the redox potential.

Ion exchange resins

Ion exchange resins are small beads used in water softeners. They exchange hard minerals such as calcium and magnesium for sodium ions, helping to raise the pH of the water. This can produce more alkaline water. However, ion exchange resins do not affect the redox potential or antioxidant properties of the water.

Reverse osmosis

Reverse osmosis is a process in which water is forced through a semi-permeable membrane that retains impurities such as pollutants, bacteria, and viruses. This method effectively removes a variety of impurities and can raise the pH of water. However, reverse osmosis can also remove beneficial minerals and does not affect the redox potential.

Water ionizer

Water ionizers use electrolysis to increase the pH of the water and produce alkaline water. They separate the water into two streams: basic water (alkaline) and acidic water (acidic). The alkaline water contains a higher percentage of negative hydroxide ions, resulting in a lower redox potential and antioxidant properties. However, water ionizers can be expensive and are not as efficient at removing contaminants as other methods.

Distillation

Distillation is another water treatment process in which water is heated until it evaporates. The steam is then cooled and condensed to produce pure water. This process effectively removes contaminants and minerals from water. However, distilled water can have a neutral to slightly acidic pH and has no effect on redox potential.

Combined water treatment method

To obtain healthy water with basic pH and rich in electrons, a combination of different water treatment processes such as activated carbon filtration and ion exchange or reverse osmosis and water ionization is used in practice.

First, an activated carbon filter is used to remove chlorine, pesticides and organic compounds from the water and to reduce unwanted odors and taste impairments.

After pre-filtration, a process such as reverse osmosis or ion exchange is used to remove further impurities and increase the pH of the water. While reverse osmosis can remove a wider range of impurities, ion exchange resins are mainly used for water softening.

In conclusion, a water ionizer is used to further raise the pH and produce alkaline water with antioxidant properties. When selecting an ionizer, care should be taken to ensure that it has the ability to remineralize minerals in the water that were removed during reverse osmosis or distillation.

By combining water treatment processes, we can obtain healthy water that is free of pollutants, has an alkaline pH and is rich in electrons.

Professional filtration systems usually already combine several treatment methods to achieve our desired goal.

Conclusion: Water quality for a healthier life

In summary, water quality plays a greater role in our health than many people assume. Although tap water is considered safe and drinkable in many regions, there are still good reasons to think about the quality of the water we consume every day.

The myth of “worry-free healthy tap water” can be misleading, as even clean tap water can still contain contaminants that can harm our bodies over time. These include heavy metals such as lead or copper, chemical compounds such as pesticides and chlorine, or bacteria and viruses. In addition, the pH of tap water can vary and may not be optimal for our health.

Fortunately, there are simple and effective ways to improve water quality for healthier water drinking. These include filters, treatment systems and choosing high-quality mineral water. Filters such as activated carbon filters can remove unwanted contaminants, while treatment equipment such as reverse osmosis systems and water ionizers can help optimize water pH and provide alkaline, antioxidant-rich water.

By paying attention to water quality and investing in appropriate solutions, we can not only help reduce our body’s exposure to potential contaminants, but also reap the benefits of better hydrated, alkaline and antioxidant water. This can lead to better digestion, more energy, a strengthened immune system and improved overall health.

Ultimately, water quality should not be underestimated as it has a direct impact on our health and well-being. It is our responsibility to make informed choices about the water we drink and take active steps to provide healthier water for ourselves and our families. After all, healthier living starts with the quality of the water we consume every day.

Source References

This article was written with the help and inspiration of the following books:

  1. “Gesundheit ist mehr als Medizin” – Prof. em. Prof. Dr. med. habil. Karl Hecht
  2. “Warum nur die Natur uns heilen kann” – Dr. med. habil. Dr. Karl J. Probst

In addition, this article has been touched up in parts with the help of GPT-4.

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Essays Featured

Why I Work on What I Work On

When we talk about business plans, we talk about very specific plans on how to start and run a business. However, before we write a business plan, shouldn’t we define for ourselves what we want to work on in life?

I extensively thought about what I want to work on in life – in parts quite philosophically. I did not develop my plan on what to work on in one evening. It is more the result of my merged interests, projects I worked on, books I read, and people I met. Something which evolved over many years.

Over the past weeks, I tried to distill this clutter and write what you might call “My Plan for Work“. By reading it, you’ll get a great understanding why I work on what I work on. Hopefully, it will also help and inspire you to design your own “Plan for Work” as well.

Because work is a crucial part of life, I started with the meaning and significance of life itself – before we can talk about work.

The Significance of Life

Work is an inextricable part of life. There is no work-life-balance. There is only life. Work is a crucial part of it. First, before we get to the subject of work, what is life all about?

In 7.5 billion years, the thermonuclear fuel of the sun, hydrogen, will be depleted. The sun will turn into a “red giant” star which will vaporize the planet Earth we inhibit today.

It is a beautiful reminder that – in the cosmos of time – nothing we do or could ever achieve has any significance.

But we don’t have to go that far into the future to realize our total insignificance.

Off the cuff, can you name one significantly successful person of the 18th century? I can not. Less than 300 years have passed, and we cannot remember a single successful person of that time – unless we studied history.

For me, it is clear, nobody will remember my name 500 years from today. I don’t strive for it. And I believe if you strive for it, it’s megalomaniac. What is the point of wanting people, who you’ll never get to know, to know your name anyway?

All status and ego games are sheer waste of human potential and a degradation of the soul.

Because nothing I could ever achieve will be of any significance in the cosmos of time, the question of how I want to live my life – thus what I want to work on – becomes a spiritual and philosophical question.

Luckily, the question of what it means to live life is already answered within the question itself: life is supposed to be lived.

I don’t want to merely survive until I die. I want to feel alive. I want to truly live every single moment of your life.

How do I feel alive and truly live? By taking risks.

I cannot live my life to its fullest by opting for the easy, safe, and comfortable options. Only by stretching beyond my comfort zone do I truly feel alive. When I face a choice, I always try to choose the riskier more difficult option – even though the easy option might be the right choice. Why? Only by picking the riskier option do I feel the adrenaline pumping through my body and oxytocin being released. I truly live life by taking risks and stretching my comfort zone.

But is life solely about living and expressing our beauty and creativity on earth?

No. I believe to purely live life is not enough. We have to fulfill our potential. Somehow, all of us were gifted with a surprisingly high intelligence, high creativity, and high curiosity. If god only wanted us to live life, why would he have given us such a high intelligence, creativity, and curiosity? But having these qualities enables us to question everything, to solve problems we see and to invent solutions. I believe that we were born on this planet to fulfill our full potential. Not to merely survive. But to become the absolute best version of ourselves.

Becoming the best version of oneself also mean’s I have to nourish and develop my soul and expand my consciousness. How do you develop your soul? By living rightfully.

At the core of all major religions – whether it is Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Taoism, Judaism, or Hinduism – you can find guidelines on how to live rightfully.

You might summarize the core teachings from all major religions into these 10 rules which I try to abide and live by:

  1. Love and respect God, the universe, and all living beings.
  2. Treat others as you would like to be treated, with compassion and kindness.
  3. Practice self-discipline, self-control and strive for mastery.
  4. Seek inner peace and live in harmony with the world around you.
  5. Follow a moral and ethical code, including not lying, stealing, or harming others.
  6. Be humble and avoid pride and arrogance.
  7. Be honest and truthful in all your actions and dealings with others.
  8. Show gratitude for the blessings in your life.
  9. Be generous and give to those in need.
  10. Seek spiritual enlightenment and strive to live a life of purpose and meaning.

No matter which religion you follow, I believe religions should still play an important role in our society. Not because of the literal teachings but particularly because of the ethical guidelines they offer.

I always try to abide and live by these ethical guidelines. They allow me to live a principled and spiritual life full of risk and adventures.

As I’ve already mentioned, work is an inextricable part of life. This means all these principles also apply equally to what I work on. I don’t look at work and life as two separate things.

Business as a Playing Field

Work and thus business is not only about earning a living. It is what makes the world work. Everything around me – the house I’m living in, the MacBook on which I’m typing this text, the chair I’m sitting on and the Sencha tea I’m drinking – was created by an entrepreneur who took the risk and created something of value for society.

For me, business is like a giant playing field with dozens of industries, hundreds of sectors, and thousands of niches in which you can create value for society.

Within this gigantic playing field, I can choose the character with which I’d like to play the game of business.

For example, I can be an inventor, an entrepreneur, a scientist, a manager, a specialist, or an investor. I strive to be all of them – at the same time.

And because the playing field of business is so gigantic, I can also choose the location: where I want to work.

Next, I can also choose the people with which I want to work and do business with – ranging from partners to investors and employees.

Exactly because we as humans are so insignificant, I see work – and thereby business – as a game I am supposed to play in order to achieve self-mastery, to prove my character, to develop my soul, and ultimately fulfill my potential.

Mimesis in Business

The playing field of business is gigantic. The options seem unlimited. The most important task for myself is to define exactly the character with which I want to enter this playing field of business. If we don’t carefully define the playing character ourselves, we will end up imitating what others are doing.

This is explained beautifully in the mimetic theory of René Girard. It is a theory of social psychology that suggests that people imitate the desires and behaviors of others, rather than following their own individual desires and values. In the context of business, this means that entrepreneurs are influenced by the desires and behaviors of others when deciding what business they’d like to start.

For example, an entrepreneur may observe that a particular industry or type of business is currently popular or successful, and may decide to start a similar business in order to imitate that success. This can lead to a proliferation of businesses that are very similar to one another, as each entrepreneur is imitating the desires and behaviors of others rather than pursuing their own unique ideas and values.

Imagine a playing field where a small part is crowded with people, while all other parts of the playing field are sparsely populated.

The problem is that independently considering our own passions and interests is not as easy. According to René Girard, mimesis is an innate and universal human tendency that arises from our need to form relationships and social bonds, making it impossible to completely escape. Therefore, the best way to minimize mimesis seems to lie in our choice of role models. To do so, I have consciously selected those who embody the values and qualities I admire, rather than simply imitating those who are most successful or popular.

Three of my biggest role models are Alfred Herrhausen, Peter Thiel, and Charlie Munger.

Alfred Herrhausen was a prominent German banker and former chairman of Deutsche Bank who played a key role in shaping the country’s economic and political landscape during the late 20th century. His worldview centered around the importance of business as a force for positive change in society. He was committed to building bridges between the worlds of finance, politics, and culture to create a more sustainable and equitable future. Unfortunately he was murdered in a car bombing before I was born, but his biographies and essays inspire me who I want to become.

Peter Thiel is an American entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author, known for co-founding PayPal, investing in numerous successful startups, and his controversial views on various social and political issues. His worldview is characterized by his belief in the transformative power of technology, his embrace of contrarian and libertarian ideals, and his vision of the future as a space of boundless innovation and progress. His courage to stand up for contrarian standpoints and his relentless aim for real progress strongly define how I think about business and innovation.

Charlie Munger is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist, best known as the vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway and a close partner of Warren Buffett. His worldview is marked by his belief in the value of rational thinking and lifelong learning, by his focus on seeking out high-quality businesses with long-term potential, and his commitment to ethical behavior and personal responsibility. His rational approach to life and business helps me as a compass in my life and business.

Freeing Myself from Mimesis

Back to mimesis and our playing field of business. As I started to grasp the ramifications of mimesis, I sat down to define in which area of the gigantic playing field of business I don’t want to play in.

The answers surprised me. I did not want to start another startup. Neither did I want to become just another value investor who is allocating capital to undervalued businesses. Just as getting involved in finance – such as corporate finance and private equity – was turning me off. Even though I am naturally interested in writing or creating media, I had no interest in creating just another media company.

Having defined what I don’t want made it easier to define in which area of the gigantic playing field of business I want to play in.

As I reflected on my authentic self while considering the opportunities I saw at hand, slowly, things got clear, and I created a vision which I am very excited about.

My vision is to blend these seemingly contrarian philosophies of the exciting high-growth, high-risk, short-term startup-venture-capital world and the conservative high-cashflow, low-risk, long-term value-investment world.

Not in any industry, but particularly in health.

One thing I don’t want to build is a conglomerate of dozens of great businesses which are part of all kinds of different industries. Instead, I want to build a streamlined business focussed on a few selected future-proof niches within the health industry. Quasi a conglomerate within the health industry.

Why health? Ever since I can remember, I’m fiercely interested in health and longevity. In essence: How to be as healthy as possible to live as long as possible. This is why I dedicated my life to it and formulated my massively transformative purpose: “Inspire and guide humanity to reach our full potential and live a fulfilled and naturally healthy and long life.“

Combining these contrarian business philosophies in an area I’m extremely passionate about – health and longevity – gives me a purpose to wake up each morning with excitement. In the long term it will also be my edge over anyone who competes with me.

Creating a Plan

As I started to think about ways to combine these disciplines, I also looked at the overall big picture. Trends which will inevitably impact and transform our society.

The first thing I realized was it was not blockchain or artificial intelligence which is about to impact our society drastically in the near future. Rather it is the demographic change. We are entering a Silver Economy, an economy shaped by the demographic transition, in which – among others – business owners have to find a successor, or they must shut down their business. Hence, thousands of well-conducted and vital businesses will be for sale over the coming 15 to 20 years. These are businesses which are providing real value to our society today. Some of them might be described as boring and unsexy businesses – especially when compared to startups – such as home health, handicraft businesses, laboratories, or snow removal. These businesses are crucial for a functioning society. Artificial intelligence cannot yet care for your grandmother, draw blood, repair your sink, or clear the snow from our highways. Each boring business provides crucial products and services just as dozens of jobs which in turn support dozens of families.

For me, it became clear that I wanted to use this opportunity to apply and combine principles from both worlds – the value investment and startup world – to create a unique business.

First Buying

My decision was clear that, instead of founding a startup with a high failure rate, I will start by acquiring great businesses at a fair price. Businesses with a solid track record of consistent earnings growth, strong cash flows, and a clear path to continued growth.

My overall idea is to find three or four businesses in three or four niches within the health care or health technology industry. As soon we find and acquire a great business in a certain niche, we will follow up with multiple further acquisitions within the same niche. Not with the goal to create the largest but rather the best run and most profitable group within that niche. A long-term approach with a strong focus on sustainability rather than aggressive growth.

I don’t build a business with the intention to sell it. I rather invest my time and energy into building a business I can be proud of, a business which creates value for society, a business I can still joyously be the chairman of when I’m 99 years old.

To build such a long-term oriented business, I defined a strict – quite conservative –investment hypothesis:

1. Small, Excellent Businesses at Fair Prices
We buy excellent businesses at fair prices – which are too small for traditional private equity firms but often too large for employee buyouts – which excel in quality, management, and potential.

2. Healthy and Sustainable Growth
We put quality over quantity by focussing on a smaller portfolio of excellent and industry-leading businesses and by avoiding aggressive growth by acquiring mediocre businesses.

Then Innovating

By following these principles of acquiring excellent, small businesses at fair prices and by emphasizing health and sustainable growth, we will build up a healthy basis of equity and cashflow. Thus, we not only create a very healthy business, we also create a foundation from which we can develop technology and new business models to disrupt markets we are participating in. By combining stability with innovation, we create unique competitive advantages which will allow us to evolve into a monopoly within our niches.

Traditionally, one starts with an innovative bold business idea. Instead of starting with the bold idea, we stay open-minded to great businesses and opportunities in a wider range of promising, future-proof, and fragmented niches within the health and longevity industry. The market will then guide us towards three to four specific niches within the health industry through the businesses we find and acquire.

As we find and acquire the first business, we stick to this niche by seeking further great businesses to acquire within that specific niche to build a very profitable portfolio of companies within that niche.

The plan is to repeat this process in three to four different niches of the health industry resulting in a health conglomerate with three to four portfolios of extraordinary high quality businesses.

As soon we established a foundation within one niche, we will not only optimize these through digitalization, marketing, sales, and branding – but also develop new innovative business models and technology which will create unique competitive advantages and lift these businesses out of their competitive landscape into a new blue ocean.

If you know me, you’ll know that I’m nothing but short of ideas. Give me a problem or show me a business, and I’ll give you dozens of quality ideas on how you can solve it and improve it. Every day I come up with at least a dozen of ideas of how I can solve a problem, improve an existing business, or innovate. Innovation is in my blood.

By changing the order – from finding a great business first before turning on my idea engine gives me mental freedom. Instead of starting with dozens of innovative and revolutionizing ideas, I first focus on one thing: finding great businesses. Innovation comes second – with the aim is to infuse innovation into great but seemingly boring businesses to grow them and fulfill their full potential.

I’m absolutely certain that ultimately, by focussing on the long-term, I can build a unique business over the next decades, the likes of Berkshire Hathaway. And by doing so, I can attain self-mastery, build my character, fulfill my potential, and most importantly live a principled and exciting life.

What It Is All About In The End

Again, in the end, nothing I can ever accomplish will be of any meaning within the endless vastness of the universe. Nothing. This makes it all the more important that I focus my energy on living rightfully and developing my own soul and consciousness.

We spend approximately one third of our day working. Work is such a crucial part of who we are. Therefore, to fulfill my own potential, I have to strive for mastery in what I work on.

I believe that only by constantly striving for self-mastery and by applying and developing our creativity and intelligence can create progress and by doing so ultimately fulfill our potential on earth.

Categories
Value & Dividends

Explosive Potential in Value Dividend Stocks

Dear readers,

My name is Marius Schober and I welcome you to my new Substack newsletter. In Value & Dividends, I’m covering undervalued growth and dividend stocks. They fall into the value category, but exhibit characteristics of growth or dividend stocks. But before we dive into the topic, I’d like to talk about value.

Ultimately, value is what we seek in life. Not only do we seek value as investors, but we seek value in everything we do: how and with whom we spend our time, the books we read, the stocks we invest in, and the values we aspire to.

Measuring Value

When we spend our time, we want to spend every minute of it wisely. In a way that it is useful or fulfilling. Useful means we use our time in a way that we receive a return for it. Whether we are learning and acquiring a new skill, working out to maintain our health, or investing money to receive a monetary return. Ideally, the time that we spent useful also fulfills us. The good thing: If not, the time we spent useful is nevertheless valuable because we receive a return on our time. Whether it is a new skill, health, or money. Time spent useful is measurable, for example by taking a test, measuring the BMI or the weight you can bench press, how fast you can run a mile, and simply how much money is in your bank account. However, the most valuable and precious time is not measurable. We cannot measure the perceived value from love, joy, and happiness. Still, it is what we long for the most.

Defining and living according to our values – meaning how we align our actions and decisions with a set of personal or moral principles – can guide us towards personal satisfaction, fulfillment, and a sense of purpose.

What is most valuable to us – which is the sum of love, joy, happiness, fulfillment, and purpose – is the result of activities we cannot measure.

Only when we understand and respect the unmeasurable can we understand the true value of something.

Let’s make the transition to investing. Finding an undervalued stock is mostly about the unmeasurable. By looking only at facts presented to us in financial reports and AI-powered stock screeners, we locate undervalued businesses in seconds, but we will miss the whole picture.

We cannot properly value a stock without understanding the unmeasurable first. A stock may look attractive at first, but after understanding the unmeasurable, it becomes unappealing. Just as a stock may look unappealing at first, but after understanding the unmeasurable, it becomes attractive.

The Unmeasurable Value

In business and investing, most value is hidden to most entrepreneurs and investors. The greatest entrepreneurs and investors see and understand something most others don’t. They grasp and understand the unmeasurable.

The measurable includes financial data and tangible assets, such as cash, property, inventory.

The unmeasurable is more difficult to grasp and quantify. It may include a visionary CEO, brand reputation, intellectual property, company culture, and a monopolistic product serving a yet invisible future market.

What most value investors managed to master is determining an intrinsic value of a stock based on tangible criteria such as financial data and metrics. When it comes to discovering unmeasurable value – for example competitive advantages and monopolistic product offerings – the wheat gets separated from the chaff. To understand and then assess the unmeasurable value of a business one must not only understand the macro outlook of an entire industry but also understand how exponential technologies will shape our future. So, is the skill to discover and then assess the value of the unmeasurable is reserved to a selected few visionary value investors?

Predicting the Future

Cathie Woods is one prominent investor among many visionary growth investors who have a great understanding and vision of how our future will be formed by exponential technologies. As a result, these visionary growth investors are betting on certain companies which – they think – will shape the future. Cathie Woods’ investment company Ark Invest and a some other investors arguably do a superb job in understanding exponential technologies and spotting industries which are going to change forever due to disruptive innovation. Unluckily, they do so seemingly unimpressed by measurable financial valuations and – until today – a zero-interest economy where many investors got blinded by the excitement for a drastically advanced future.

Cathie Woods and many like-minded investors, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and Shenzhen have quite a good understanding of exponential technologies and how they will definitely impact our future. By following and learning from these individuals, it is not too difficult to understand what the future will look like.

Tapping into the Unmeasurable

Most investors make the mistake and put value investing and growth investing in two distinctively different categories. It is either or. To some extent, which means before the hype arrived, value investing and growth investing can work hand-in-hand. But to identify this invisible and unmeasurable value, we need new approaches to identify and evaluate these “value-growth stocks”. The reward for investors who can spot and invest in the right “value-growth-stocks” at the right time will be significant. These companies are undervalued according to value investing principles and – due to a lack of dividends or an extraordinary high dividend – are often omitted by value investors as they deem them too risky. What value investors miss – however – is that the management of these companies know something that the majority of investors miss.

Value Dividend Stocks

In a 2017 study, I looked at value stocks which either pay an extremely high or no dividend at all. The unpopular outsiders few value investors want to touch. As it turned out, both categories – undervalued stocks which pay a significantly high dividend and undervalued stocks which pay no dividend at all – outperformed on average not only the market significantly but also their respective value portfolio.

Taken from my 2017 study “Dividends for the Value Investor: Nice to Have or a Necessity” – available as a book version on Amazon.com

From the research findings, which I summarized in my short book “The Value Dividend Strategy”, we can intelligibly see that the management of these companies is aware of their undervaluation. The management understands something the average investors does not. Despite an undervaluation, these companies refuse to pay dividends, for example to use dividend cuts as a cheap source of capital to invest in profitable future projects and indicate investors that they have profitable investment and growth opportunities at hand. Companies who pay a significantly high dividend have – in the best case – already gone through multiple steps to use their free cash flow in a shareholder-friendly way, which includes reinvestment into the future growth, acquisitions, share repurchases and debt reduction.

both caries – undervalued companies which pay a significant dividend and companies who pay none – investors can find value-growth-stock gems. These are companies inherently undervalued despite having or working on a competitive advantage which guarantees them a fruitful future. I call these stocks value dividend stocks.

The Value & Dividends Briefing

In this newsletter, I am (un)covering value dividend stocks. If you are interested in specific investment ideas based on the value-dividend strategy, analysis of macro risks and chances, deep dives into very promising value dividend stocks and monthly stock picks, then I’m happy to welcome you as a free or paying subscriber.

Click here if you would like to learn more about this newsletter and the differences between the paid and free version of it.

If you want to dive deeper you can get my short book “The Value Dividend Strategy” at Amazon.

Sincerely,
Marius Schober

Categories
Posts

Our Purpose

Our purpose?

We are living on a beautiful planet among billions of stars.

This makes us often philosophize about the purpose of life.

Are we here solely to be?

Or are we here with a greater purpose?

Maybe, there is no grand purpose.

Our purpose is to be a human.

Being a human on planet earth.

Experiencing love, sadness, joy, and despair.

Tasting tropical fruits, and Greek food and wine.

Living life is fulfilling in itself.

Still, we are questioning whether there is a greater purpose.

We ask ourselves: Why are we here on this planet?

Human curiosity itself is proof that our purpose is greater.

Coincidentally, we have an intelligence great enough to go after our curiosities.

We possess intellect and creativity to solve seemingly impossible problems.

Curiosity, creativity, and intelligence brought us god-like powers.

We learned to fuse nuclei.

We discovered the double helix.

We can re-create a process that happens inside the sun.

We can rewrite cells.

Someone gave us the curiosity, creativity, and intelligence for these discoveries.

To solely exist? To be? To live?

Yes, be! Yes, truly live!

But our curiosity, creativity and intelligence are too high to limit our potential to it.

Why do we need an IQ of 120? Sometimes of 140? Sometimes 180?

Why do we have this extreme curiosity about nature and the universe?

Were our purpose to only live – our creator would’ve given us an IQ of 80 and no curiosity.

Because our curiosity, creativity, and intelligence are so great – so is our purpose.

Our purpose is to use our curiosity, creativity, and intelligence to its fullest.

Our purpose is to be all we can be.

We don’t know the limits.

Let’s go and find out.

Our purpose.

Categories
Essays Featured

Questioning Everything

Ever since, I’m well known for being the curious guy who is always asking the challenging and often uncomfortable questions. Questions about life, philosophy, religion, science, health, politics, or business. It may be to optimize my life, to innovate, to think outside the box, or to call bullshit and detect and fight corruption. Ultimately, I ask questions to find the truth.

I believe, this is something everyone should do. We all should question everything around us. Because the only solution to all of the surrounding misery is ultimately the truth. And we can only get to the truth by asking the challenging and tough questions – about everything.

Children Intuitively Question

Children intuitively question everything they observe. As they explore and try to make sense of their environment, they ask countless questions. Before we can explain why the grass is green, they dive into the science and philosophy of life, space, and time.

With the example of children, we can see that by questioning – you explore complex ideas. But not only that. You also uncover their implicit assumptions, you expose deeply held beliefs, and you recognize hidden contradictions.

As we can observe in our children, curiosity, and questioning are part of our natural intelligence. Why is it so difficult for us adults to maintain this innate curiosity to question everything around us?

Our education system is a major reason why most people lose their childhood curiosity and their innate skepticism. As soon we are six years old, we enter an education system which is entirely based on dogma. In school and later in university, we are forced to memorize facts. Nobody teaches us to question these facts and discover everything around us. In fact, challenging the facts gets punished – not rewarded. And because we only memorize and never question what we are being lectured, we never really engage with this knowledge, and thus we can never build upon it.

Instead of lecturing, we should focus on questioning – again.

Instead of lecturing, we should focus on questioning.
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Questioning from an Historical Perspective

The Buddha encouraged questioning. It is seen as a fundamental skill which is still embraced in the practices of modern Buddhists today. Tibetan Buddhist monks often have a daily practice of “debate” where one monk continually questions the other monk for an entire hour. The purpose of this practice was to train logic, mental concentration and intense exchange.

Socrates was well known as the questioner of everything. He also used questioning as a teaching method to explore the unknown and evaluate the validity of an argument. To do so, he asked questions after questions until his students arrived at their own understanding. He rarely revealed or lectured opinions or knowledge on his own, rather, he taught his students to dissect their thoughts and ideas by questioning everything. Even his death embodied the spirit of questioning every assumption, as he was condemned for death penalty because of his teachings.

Quite similar is Chavrusa, a traditional Jewish learning method. Chavrusa challenges a small group of students to analyze and explain the learning material to each other, point out errors in their partners’ reasoning, and sharpen each other’s ideas by questioning them. By doing so, they often arrive at entirely new insights into the meaning of a text they are studying.

The Chavrusa is beautifully showing how questioning takes the familiar and makes it mysterious again. There is no teacher lecturing the meaning. There is nothing to memorize. It removes the comfort of “knowing”. Instead of memorizing, you explore complex ideas on your own. You uncover their implicit assumptions, you expose deeply held beliefs, you recognize hidden contradictions. You develop your own sense, think more clearly and change the way you see and perceive reality.

Philosophy and Science as Oneness

Our current education and university system is not only focussing on lecturing facts, they are also trying to categorize everything into small categories and subjects. Scientists and educators then look at these tiny subjects only independently of each other – and ultimately miss what’s really going on.

This narrow-minded thinking leads to very abstract science and philosophies. We focus purely on terminology and thereby divide the world into logic and creativity. By separating logic and creativity, we ultimately miss the existential truth encompassing all of it.

For example, let’s assume you understand everything about the brain: neurochemistry, neurobiology and so forth. Does it mean you understand consciousness? No. Looking at a separate subject alone is not sufficient. To really understand our world, we need to look at the whole.

Separating logic and creativity is therefore nonsense. The word creativity itself comes from create. It is not only art and philosophy which you create. You also create plans, you create logical rules, you create science, and you create inventions. Science and philosophy are one – but we separated it into tiny little subjects which we only look at separately. But this is wrong and has not always been the case.

Philosophy and science were once very closely connected and inseparably intertwined. Both: logical argument and creative thinking were renowned ways to explore and explain the natural world. There weren’t many “facts” that were known for certain. The idea of using experiments and data to understand the world only started to become popular in the middle of the second millennium. Since then, science and philosophy have grown apart – both – in subjects and methodologies.

Today, you’ll rarely see scientists and philosophers exchanging ideas. But it is precisely what we need. We need philosophers questioning scientists and scientists questioning philosophers. Even more, what we need are people who integrate all the aspects of art, science, philosophy, and practical creation into one unified art of science.

Because science, philosophy, art, and spirituality are all one, you always have to be open-minded. You should never categorize yourself into one category, for example: “I’m a scientist” or “I’m an artist”. Instead, you have to be everything. You are an artist, a scientist, a philosopher, and you are spiritual. All at the same – because otherwise you will miss the wholeness as you only look at the world from a very limited perspective.

As soon we can grasp the wholeness of everything again, innovation, re-thinking, or going from Zero-to-One will become natural states of our inner-being again – not some innovation workshops we have to attend.

To innovate and discover new things, we first have to forget all the beliefs which we have of ourselves, like: ”I’m a logical person, I’m not creative”. This is bullshit.

Do everything – to discover everything: Art and science are one.

Do everything – to discover everything: Art and science are one.
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If you describe yourself today as a logical person, you might want to learn an art or craft, such as making music or painting. By being creative, you’ll learn that there is more than the logical mind.

If you describe yourself today as a very creative person, you might want to learn mathematics and physics. By doing so, you’ll learn about the significance of logic.

Question Everything!

To make new discoveries and inventions, we finally have to start thinking for ourselves again. Many people believe they are thinking for themselves, which is gigantic bullshit. From the very first second of our lives, we have been conditioned with dogma and the desires of other people. People are naturally mimicking other people and other people’s desires.

Before we can make new discoveries, we have to first free ourselves from all the indoctrinated dogma we received. We have to free ourselves from all the limiting beliefs we have of ourselves. In other words: before we can discover new truths, we must start to think critically.

We have to have skepticism. We have to doubt our own experiences, our own standards, our own concepts. By questioning our own prejudices, beliefs, and conclusions, our mind becomes clearer and more active. We free our mind from conventional wisdom, from dogma, which helps us to discover what we want in life. It prevents us from doing the same which has already been done before. It prevents us from repeating mistakes and problems. It leads us to discover great new things – for our lives and the lives of others.

Discovery doesn’t mean that we have to endlessly sit and do research. For some people, yes. But for other people, discovery can also mean a practical mission to materialize things you envision.

This discovery process is a journey of life. In this journey, you need to be humble. Ultimately, it is about arriving at the truth. Still, we all have egos. Pay attention to it. People always want to be right. But trying to have the better argument prevents us from discovering truths.

Again: Question everything!

We are often afraid to ask the most challenging questions because when we challenge the core of our beliefs, we will have to admit to ourselves: “I know nothing and I have to start all over again.”

Questioning everything and being honest about it will hurt. It is worth it.

Ultimately, by questioning everything we see, read, know, and believe, we will enter a new age of great discoveries and thereby an abundance of prosperity and – most importantly – a lot of joy.

Categories
Posts

Bullshit Detector

One thing which is serving me every day in my life is my internal “bullshit-detector”. It’s a fifth sense with which I immediately sense whether a person is full of shit or whether a person is authentic and honorable.

I can detect bullshit from a wide distance: By the way a person dresses, by the way a person is moving through the room. Before a person is close enough to talk to me, I have already evaluated his level of bullshit.

When they are close enough, their smell, the way they shake hands, how they introduce themselves, their tone of voice, and the way they speak and what they say give me the last hint I need to assess whether this person is full of shit or not.

It has served me well in the past. It protected me from people with ill intentions, from crypto scammers, from vaccinations with unknown side effects, toxic relationships, bad restaurants, soul-less jobs, bad investments, from narcissists, and bad sex.

My bullshit detector is detecting the energy a person is radiating. It is impossible for me to decipher how it works exactly – I just learned to trust it.

However, one prominent factor of my bullshit detector is authenticity. Most people can detect whether a person is authentic or not. When you sense that a person is not authentic, you have to be careful and pay attention. Inauthenticity always means that a person is faking something. An inauthentic person is an actor. For example, a introverted person acting extroverted. A poor person driving an expensive car. Billionaires in private jets fighting climate change. Per exemple.

One big factor within authenticity is self-confidence. There are people with high self-confidence, low self-confidence, and even people without any self-confidence. There are people without self-confidence who are absolutely great and wholeheartedly person. Just as there are high self-confidence people who are genuinely good individuals. But as soon there is a mismatch, there’s a red flag. For example, a person can act confident, but deep inside they are unconfident. I can sense it in the way they talk, move, smell, smile.

Another obvious factor within my bullshit score is their level of virtue signaling. You can detect virtue signaling quite easily. Virtue signaling means someone is supporting a cause not because of the cause of it but solely to be perceived by other people in a certain way. These are the people who use syringes and Ukraine flags in their social media accounts. Virtue signalers talk publicly and prominently about their cause. People who do real good, rarely talk about it. Virtue signalers are the opposite, they always talk about it, but they rarely do any good. A general rule of thumb: the more a person talks publicly about the good things he is doing, the more full of shit he is.

Correctly assessing authenticity is the key for detecting actors, fakers, deceivers, and liars. Honesty can help you when assessing authenticity. Individuals who are brutally honest – with themselves and others – are always authentic. If a person is brutally honest about what he believes to be the truth, then he is authentic. On a bullshit scale from 0 to 10 (with 0 = no bullshit and 10 = full of shit), a brutally honest person is always very close to 0.

If you are not sure, whether a person is full of shit, you ask him challenging and uncomfortable questions and assess whether he is brutally honest in his answer. Developing an internal detector for authenticity and bullshit is the ultimate way to live a good life.