Working remote means autonomy to many. But full autonomy to me means the ability to work remote but also the ability to decide when and how much.

Which basically means working for yourself.

I’m pretty sure, that’s the ultimate autonomy people are seeking even if they haven’t realized it yet.

And you might get there quicker and be able to sustain that lifestyle longer by spending time in the office.

The 2020 go remote lifestyle looks like it might last for a while

There are a lot of people out there right now looking to take advantage of their work from home freedoms.

Now, that companies are allowing people to work from home, people ask. “Ok, well then why not from Mexico, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or Banff?” …

Have more cash at the end of the year. Plus 2021 IRS contribution limits for your 401K, IRA and HSA.

If you’re planning on saving some money in 2021 for retirement you might as well do it in the most tax efficient way. For the very simple reason that you actually increase the amount of cash you get to keep at the end of the year.

I don’t think most people can really conceptualize this when deciding between their traditional and roth 401K.

But it’s quite true.

FYI, this article is focused on the U.S. …

Government has given out trillions in stimulus to businesses and corporations and just allowed crumbs to individuals.

We need to put guardrails in place so that Government cannot do this again. Never again should we let our politicians provide Government assistance to companies instead of people.

What we learned from the stimulus

The approach we know that politicians and pundits always push is that we cannot let businesses fail. We can’t let the banks fail. We can’t let the airlines fail. We can’t let corporations of any kind fail. As far as I can tell from what the politicians and pundits tell us that is for two reasons. …

I reached a point in my career where a couple of things happened that turned me into an asshole.

• One, I got good at my job. I had been doing it over a decade and became comfortable that any and everything thrown my way I could take care of.
• Two, I started becoming fed up with office politics, red tape, bureaucracy, the constantly evolving regulations of my profession, and the constant need to focus on the unimportant.
• Three, I started acting like someone you might expect to act based on points one and two.

I was at a point in my career where I needed a change. Perhaps a new job, perhaps a complete career change. …

Tesla famously has zero sales and marketing budget yet has some of the best marketing of any company

Have you ever seen an add for Tesla on TV? Heard one on the radio? Seen one on Facebook, or off to the side in your Google search?

Nope, that’s because Tesla does not do any paid advertising. Similarly, they don’t have a network of auto dealerships with ads all over your local TV, and clowns and banners and those dancing wind puppet thingies.

Let me tell you how absurd this sounded to me when I first heard it especially given my last job in the SAAS world where this ratio is king. …

But it’s hard to get started when you don’t have any money

To me minimalism is a beautiful concept. As someone who has adopted it I can tell you there is a progression to adopting it.

Here is the progression that I think most people follow.

1. Possessions

Initially when you first discover minimalism you apply it to your possessions.

You realize your wardrobe is overloaded and half or two-thirds of your stuff you have not used in over a year. So, you start throwing away clothes first and cleaning up your closet.

Then perhaps you move onto your garage, then your kitchen, and so on. …

College costs have been increasing at a faster rate than wages for the last forty years. The reason many of us are still willing to pay the increased tuition cost is that we perceive these institutions as brand names.

Has Bezos left an opening?

Shopify and Fedex could take down Amazon together.

How Amazon won

The reason Amazon has become so successful is exactly how they will be taken down.

And no, I’m not talking about customer focus. I’m talking about this simple quote from Jeff Bezos in 2014.

“Your margin is my opportunity”

What that meant was that for all of his competitors. The Wal-Marts, Targets, JCPenney, Sears etc. of the world. He knew that he could take away their market share by simply accepting that Amazon would have basically zero margin.

This is how Amazon won. They undercut their competitors for so long and just consistently over many years captured market share. …