Work & money · Collection guide · 5 stops
Put money in perspective
This path asks what you want money to make possible. It moves from independence to changing expectations, inherited advantage and the limits of reaching a financial goal, then returns to a practical conversation about value. Use it to clarify priorities and questions rather than choose investments.
Browse this collection in reading order →Suggested routes through material saved to explore. I haven’t read or watched everything here yet. The order and prompts are editorial suggestions based on available source text, excerpts, descriptions and synopses; they are not personal ratings or claims of completed viewing.
Name the freedom you want
Collins’s F-You Money essay frames money as the ability to refuse or leave an unwanted situation. Begin with the specific freedom behind the financial goal rather than a number chosen for its own sake.
Pause & try
What would you like to be able to say no to? What ordinary decision would become easier if you had more room to choose?
Examine how expectations move
Articles · Est. 7 min
What is Hedonic Adaptation and How Can it Turn You Into a Sucka? →
Collected by The Unintuitive ↗
The hedonic adaptation essay asks how an improved lifestyle can become the new normal. Follow the independence question with a check on whether your definition of enough keeps moving without a clear reason.
Pause & try
Compare a purchase or upgrade you anticipated with how it feels now. Which benefits remain useful, and which have faded into the background?
Look beyond an individual success story
The One Percent examines wealth and inequality from within an affluent family context. It broadens the route to inheritance and social position, which can disappear in advice focused only on individual habits.
Pause & try
Name one advantage or constraint in your own starting position. How should it change the comparisons you make with other people?
Ask what happens after the target
Articles · Est. 4 min
I am rich and have no idea what to do with my life →
Collected by The Unintuitive ↗
The account of being rich without knowing what to do next tests the assumption that a financial result automatically supplies direction. Read it with the first step’s desired freedom in view.
Pause & try
If the financial target were met, what would you want a normal week to contain? Identify one small part you could make room for already.
Prepare a concrete conversation
Articles · Est. 35 min
Salary Negotiation: Make More Money, Be More Valued →
Collected by The Unintuitive ↗
McKenzie’s negotiation essay brings the route back to something practical: discussing the value of your work. Consider the suggestions in the context of your role, available evidence and alternatives.
Pause & try
List the outcomes you contribute to and the question you want answered about compensation or scope. Prepare for a conversation rather than choosing a number without context.
After the five stops
Take it into your own life.
Write a short definition of enough in terms of security, choices and daily life. Record which assumptions need checking and one conversation you can prepare. Revisit the definition when your circumstances change, rather than only when somebody else’s lifestyle resets the target.
Continue exploring
Items 1–5 are the guided route above. The remaining items are listed alphabetically below; choose what interests you next. These numbers match the collection shelf.
- $1 Million, 10 Years, Zero Excuses - WSP → Find on the shelf: $1 Million, 10 Years, Zero Excuses - WSP →
- Agnelli → Find on the shelf: Agnelli →
- Anton Kreil - Respect Money & Be Indifferent Towards It → Find on the shelf: Anton Kreil - Respect Money & Be Indifferent Towards It →
- Cocaine Cowboys → Find on the shelf: Cocaine Cowboys →
- Felix Dennis Words Of Wisdom Can You Get Rich? → Find on the shelf: Felix Dennis Words Of Wisdom Can You Get Rich? →
- GOLDEN RULES FOR MAKING MONEY - P.T. Barnum → Find on the shelf: GOLDEN RULES FOR MAKING MONEY - P.T. Barnum →
- Icahn → Find on the shelf: Icahn →
- Inside Job → Find on the shelf: Inside Job →
- Investor and Operator Resources → Find on the shelf: Investor and Operator Resources →
- Jim Simons - Numberphile → Find on the shelf: Jim Simons - Numberphile →
- The Man Who Ate Hollywood - Mark Seal → Find on the shelf: The Man Who Ate Hollywood - Mark Seal →