Shortform Books

How to Financially Prepare for a Recession Without Money

Wondering how to financially prepare for a recession? How can you prepare if you’re living paycheck to paycheck? For more than a year, economists have predicted that the U.S. will enter a recession. Many Americans, through no fault of their own, don’t have the financial means to take the steps that many financial experts recommend to navigate a recession. Read on to learn how to financially prepare for a recession without an emergency savings fund.

What Is Self-Justification? Definition and Causes

What is self-justification? Why do we try to justify our wrong actions? Self-justification is when we try to justify our beliefs or bad things we’ve done. Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson explain this process in their book Mistakes Were Made (But Not By Me) and how we do it to convince ourselves we’ve done the right thing. Keep reading to learn what self-justification is, with an example.

The Disadvantages of Mutual Funds: Everyone Can’t Win

How to Invest Wisely in the Stock Market

How do mutual funds work? Why do mutual funds underperform index funds? Mutual funds generate profits for their investors by beating the market-average returns. According to John Bogle, the author of The Little Book of Common Sense Investing, doing so is a zero-sum game: For every investor whose returns are above-average, there must be another whose returns are below-average. Keep reading to learn about the disadvantages of mutual funds.

Teasing vs. Bullying: A Real-Life Example of the Difference

What’s the difference between teasing vs. bullying? What are some examples to explain the difference? In comic artist Raina Telgemeier’s autobiographical novel Smile, she depicts the struggles of adolescence, including preoccupation with appearance and low self-esteem. Her novel shows how teasing can become bullying when Raina endures a difficult time in middle school. Read on to learn more about teasing vs. bullying, based on the examples from Telgemeier’s Smile.

The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Investors & Managers

What is the book The Essays of Warren Buffett about? What is the key message to take away from the book? Compiled from Buffett’s annual reports to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, The Essays of Warren Buffett provides a glimpse into the mind of a man whose ideas contrast with those of the typical Wall Street mogul. His insights on investing are simple yet difficult to put into practice, while his thoughts on the culture of the wider business world shine a light on the values that shape modern finance. Below is a brief overview of The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons

Inauthentic Behavior: Do People Know the Real You?

Does your behavior in social situations reflect your true personality? Or do you hide behind a mask? Everybody wears a mask to some extent. However, if the gap between who you are and who you present to the world is too great, you’ll eventually feel out of touch with yourself, which can lead to a psychological crisis. Keep reading to learn about the psychological consequences of inauthentic behavior.

Cliques in High School: An Experience of Social Exclusion

How do cliques in high school affect children? What are some examples of high school cliques? In Smile, graphic artist Raina Telgemeier recounts her adolescence, including the struggles of trying to fit in when she felt self-conscious and excluded. The novel depicts her encounter with cliques in high school and Telgemeier’s experience of social exclusion. Keep reading for an example of Telgemeier’s account of high school cliques from her novel Smile.

Team Topologies: Platform Teams Support the Organization

Does your organization have a team that’s dedicated to infrastructure services? Could your organizational resources be handled more efficiently? In Team Topologies, platform teams are one of the four team types recommended by software engineers Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais. These teams handle underlying organizational functions such as cloud storage and internal security. Keep reading to learn about the purpose and design of platform teams and how they intersect with all aspects of the organization.

5 Roland Barthes Quotes From Mythologies to Think About

What images, objects, and stories have you seen or heard today? What’s the real message of each meme, advertisement, and headline? In Mythologies, 20th-century French philosopher Roland Barthes says that all of these contain subtle messages that subconsciously shape the way you view the world. He calls these messages myths. Keep reading for a few Roland Barthes quotes from his essays in Mythologies, along with some context and explanation.

Manifesting Positive Energy: The Key Is How You Interpret Reality

Which version of reality are you feeding with your energy? What if you just chose to be positive? Multiple realities exist, and you materialize the one you feed with your energy—positive or negative. That’s the view of Vadim Zeland, who argues that you can choose to consistently interpret experiences in a positive way and, thus, move toward your ideal reality. Keep reading for Zeland’s advice on manifesting positive energy, along with six tips from The Happiness Equation.