Mitch Bassett @mitchness

@bryan_johnson Look within. Study your own true nature. Study Vedanta. It will change the game fundamentally for you. All you seek is within you.

@bryan_johnson Wrong anchor. Science says fix your WAKE time, not bedtime. Cortisol rhythm is triggered by morning light, not when you close your eyes. Vedanta agreed 3,000 years ago: Brahma muhurta exists at dawn, not dusk. Control the rise. Bedtime handles itself.

The most advanced physicists on the planet are now saying what ancient mystics wrote thousands of years ago. Reality is not what it appears to be. And the people in power have known this for a very long time. Here are 7 THINGS they figured out about the nature of reality that never made it into your classroom:

@fandompulse Preach

@bluewmist Sauna and ice bath. Nothing hits as good as your bodies responses to extreme heat and cold. So relaxed

x.com/i/article/2027…

RE: Fraud in Minnesota I’m not sure that most Americans understand that in large swathes of humanity, there is no actual concept of “fraud,” particularly fraud against the government. Instead, there is a belief in the virtue of getting away with what you can to help yourself and your tribe. I spent a lot of my life in the Middle East and Central Asia, working closely with foreign contractors and foreign governments to provide support to American military operations. As a US Army officer with a big checkbook courtesy of Uncle Sam, I can’t really count the sheer number of times I was offered bribes to award a contract, or falsify records to do things like create larger (fake) headcounts at places like dining facilities, or to just simply be on the take for future illegal requests. Of course I had enough sense to never comply with such requests. Moreover, they were never explicitly structured as “bribes”; instead it was usually along the lines of “Here I have these Rolexes as gifts for you and your wife to show our friendship.” (Unfortunately, too many US officers and NCOs succumbed to this siren song and ended up breaking rocks in Leavenworth.) The weird thing about this to me was that whenever I turned down such an offering, it was treated as a grave insult. I was the one in the wrong, and not the fraudster trying to bribe me. They considered it rude that I was in their country and refused to accept how things got done. After all, why did I not want to help my tribe by helping their tribe? Let me repeat: in these cultures, FRAUD IS NOT EVEN A CONCEPT. There is only what helps your tribe. Such thought processes are so alien to Americans and much of the West. We are raised on the presumption that our institutions are valid, that the rule of law always prevails, and that integrity is universal. We need these presumptions to have working governments and economies, and without those presumptions—without the mental barrier that causes us not to accept outright fraud—our nation would quickly descend into the economic and social hellscape of countries like…. ummm… you know…. SOMALIA! So when we import people en masse from cultures that accept bribery and fraud as routine, acceptable ways to advance one’s tribe, we should not be surprised that things like the $8 BILLION fraud schemes of the Somali population in Minnesota happen so easily. Introducing a fraud-based culture based on tribalism into America is like introducing some sort of lethal virus into a population that has no natural immunity. The virus will spread and grow, unchecked, because it is so alien to the host. Similarly, a culture of fraud is anathema to American thinking, and it must be cut out before it consumes the host. So when you see and hear patriotic Americans decrying what is happening in Minnesota or elsewhere, and when they seek deportation of the offenders, it is not “racism,” it is not “bigotry,” it is not “xenophobia”; instead, it is preserving the American tradition of responsible institutions and national integrity.

I’ve found this Deep Research prompt to be a decent way to get up to speed on any company. Very little focused on valuation, more of a holistic overview I can’t for the life of me remember where I found the original seven-point framework/template but I fleshed it out to 13 to hit the areas I felt were important. If anyone recognizes it, please link/tag the creator ————— Analyze [Ticker] using the 13-point framework below. - Use only verifiable, factual information (annual reports, investor presentations, filings, earnings transcripts, and reputable financial sources). - Be concise, analytical, and concrete, with no filler or marketing language. Output format (exact structure required): Executive Summary (about 150–200 words) Summarize in plain English how this company makes money, its economic quality, and where its edge and risks lie. End with one sentence that describes the business to an investor in one line. 1. What They Sell and Who Buys * Describe the main products or services. * Define target customers by type, segment, and geography, and why they buy, including the main pain point or motivation. 2. How They Make Money * Explain the revenue model and pricing logic. * Clarify whether revenues are one-time, recurring, transaction-based, or hybrid. * Include key revenue segments and their share if available. 3. Revenue Quality * Assess how predictable and diversified revenues are. * Break down recurring versus one-off components, customer or segment concentration, and exposure to economic cycles.
 4. Cost Structure * Outline major cost drivers, such as COGS, labor, logistics, marketing. * Include gross and operating margins where possible. * Comment on scalability, fixed versus variable costs, and how margins move with growth.
 5. Capital Intensity * Describe the assets needed to run and grow operations. * Include capital expenditure levels, working capital needs, and cash conversion efficiency.
 6. Growth Drivers * Identify the main levers for revenue growth, such as volume, pricing, product mix, geographic expansion, or acquisitions. * Clarify whether each driver is structural and long term or cyclical and short term.
 7. Competitive Edge * Explain what protects the company’s economics from competition, such as brand, cost advantage, switching costs, regulation, network effects, data, or intellectual property. * Discuss how durable and testable this moat appears, using financial evidence such as margins, ROIC, or customer retention.
 8. Industry Structure and Position * Describe the industry value chain and where profit pools sit. * Explain market structure, for example fragmented or consolidated, presence of pricing power, and key regulatory factors. * Place the company within this context, including market share, relative scale, and whether it acts as a price setter, a price taker, a niche specialist, or a platform. 9. Unit Economics and Key KPIs * Present unit economics at the relevant level, such as per customer, store, device, transaction, or cohort. * Include metrics such as CAC, LTV, churn or retention, ARPU, utilization, occupancy, and payback periods where applicable. * Comment on whether these unit economics and KPIs are improving, stable, or weakening over time.
 10. Capital Allocation and Balance Sheet * Summarize historical capital allocation across organic investment, acquisitions, buybacks, dividends, and debt reduction. * Describe balance sheet strength, including leverage, debt maturity profile, liquidity, and any major off balance sheet obligations. * Assess whether capital allocation has likely created or destroyed value. 11. Risks and Failure Modes * Identify key risks, such as competitive, technological, regulatory, macroeconomic, customer concentration, or currency exposure. * Describe in simple terms how the equity story could fail, and what would need to happen for this to occur. * Highlight areas where uncertainty is especially high or information is limited. 12. Valuation and Expected Return Profile * Compare current valuation with the company’s own history and with peers, using the metrics that best fit this business, such as P/E, EV/EBIT, EV/Sales, FCF yield. * Provide a simple scenario framework with bear, base, and bull cases, including rough assumptions and implied upside or downside. * State explicitly what must be true for the current price to be attractive, fair, or expensive. 13. Catalysts and Time Horizon * List near and medium term catalysts, such as product launches, margin inflection, regulatory events, refinancing, or index changes. * Note any slow building catalysts, such as mix shift or operating leverage that accumulates over time. * Explain the expected time horizon for the thesis to play out and how the market is likely to recognize the value if the thesis is correct. Tone: Analytical, neutral, precise. Goal: Produce a concise yet rich narrative that lets an investor understand how this business works, how resilient and valuable its economics are, and whether the stock looks attractive at today’s price.

Today I turn 55. I’m the fittest, sharpest, and happiest I’ve ever been. If I’m an outlier, it’s not because I’m built different or discovered a secret formula. The truth is far less glamorous: It’s a million tiny choices, compounded over decades. Here are 55 of them: 1. Walk 15+ miles a week, even if you do other exercise. Humans are uniquely made to move slowly over long distances—it’s critical to longevity. 2. Develop a writing practice. It’s the single best way to sharpen your mind. And remember, you don’t have to be a good writer to write. Start with 10 minutes a day. 3. Swap out your toothpaste, deodorant, lotions, soap, shampoo, and other personal care products for natural versions. Here’s a rule of thumb: Don’t put anything on your skin that you couldn’t safely eat. 4. If you have a positive thought about someone, don’t keep it to yourself—share it immediately. Encouragement defies the laws of physics: When you give energy, you also receive it. 5. Wear shoes with a wide forefoot (I like Topo Athletic) and wear toe spreaders around the house (search “yoga toes” on Amazon). Spine health begins with the feet. 6. Get sunlight regularly. Moderate sun exposure (without sunscreen) is hugely important for overall health. 7. Do a 3-minute deep (“ass to grass”) squat every morning. Deep squats are often called the anti-aging exercise. It’s been said that, “It’s not that you can’t do deep squats because you’re old, it’s that you’re old because you can’t do deep squats.” 8. Explore minimalism (it’s not what you think it is). 9. Set boundaries on toxic relationships. We tend to cling to relationships past their expiration date, and it takes a bigger toll on our health than we recognize. 10. Eat real food. Not too much. Don’t eat garbage. Binge occasionally. Fast occasionally. That’s the diet. 11. Learn about FIRE. It’s a great framework for financial success. 12. Don’t take antibiotics except in emergency situations. They’re massively over-prescribed and aren’t needed in most cases. Antibiotics have done untold damage to our guts, which is where health begins. Great natural alternatives are out there. 13. Get 8 hours of quality sleep each night. To optimize sleep: —Don’t eat after 6pm —Get blackout shades and cover LEDs with black tape —No screens 2 hours before bed —Try ashwagandha (an herb) to calm the nervous system 14. Stop drinking, even in moderation. People find all sorts of ways to justify drinking, but there’s no escaping the simple fact that alcohol is a toxin and it limits your potential. 15. Travel as much as possible. Nothing expands the mind like seeing the world. And travel doesn’t have to be expensive—the best experiences happen outside of fancy resorts, when you live like a local. 16. Let go of resentment. When you forgive someone, you release the prisoner, and the prisoner isn’t them… it’s you. 17. Show up on time, every time. Poor time management limits success more than most people realize. If you struggle with punctuality, stop everything else and fix that first. 18. Spend lots of time in nature and touch the earth. Humans evolved over 300k years to live in harmony with nature, and only recently have we retreated indoors. If you don’t spend time outside, you’re fighting biology (hint: You won’t win.) 19. Stop doing dumb things. As Leo Tolstoy said, “People try to do all sorts of clever and difficult things to improve life instead of doing the simplest, easiest thing—refusing to participate in activities that make life bad.” 20. Find your happy place and (eventually) move there. Most people live where they live because... that's where they live. We are products of our environment—choose yours carefully. 21. Find a hobby and pursue mastery. You can’t have a happy life without a passionate pursuit that isn’t your vocation. Your work—even if you enjoy it—isn’t enough. 22. Avoid mainstream medicine except as a last resort. The results are in—our healthcare (or more appropriately, sick care) system is badly broken and only makes people sicker. 23. Have a mindset of abundance. There is no advantage to being a pessimist—even if you’re right, it’s a miserable way to live. In a very real way… whatever you believe, you’re right! 24. Do hard things. Choose courage over comfort. Everything you want is on the other side of fear and hard work. As Jerzy Gregorik said, “Hard choices, easy life. Easy choices, hard life.” 25. Ignore haters. Hurt people hurt people. Negative/toxic people live in a prison of their own design. Don’t join them! 26. Say no. Protect your time and energy like it’s your most precious asset… because it is. 27. Become a water snob. As an alien said on Star Trek, humans are “ugly bags of mostly water.” You are what you drink—literally! We have Mountain Valley Spring water delivered in glass 5-gallon jugs and also have whole-house water filter (Aquasana Rhino). 28. Stop drinking sodas and sugary energy drinks. After a few weeks you won’t miss them, and a few months later they’ll seem disgusting. Refined sugar causes inflammation, which is the root of most disease. 29. If you’re over 35, find a good functional/longevity medicine doctor and start tracking your hormones. Modern life is hell on the endocrine system and restoring healthy hormone levels can change your life. As we get older, we either accept a slow decline in performance or we do something about it—choose the latter! 30. Develop a morning routine and follow it faithfully. Win the morning, win the day! 31. Invest in experiences, not things. People frequently regret buying things, but rarely regret investing in great experiences (especially when shared with loved ones). Remember, there’s nothing you can buy in a mall that you’ll remember in ten years. 32. Explore spirituality. It’s arrogant and small-minded to believe there’s nothing going on in our universe that is beyond our comprehension. We know less about our universe than an ant meandering on a sidewalk understands about this planet. 33. Have a strong bias toward action—doing rather than talking. If you ask a bunch of old people about their regrets, they’ll talk about the things they *didn't* do—the shots they didn’t take—more than the things they did do (even if it went wrong). As Wayne Gretzky famously said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Most people don’t take enough shots. 34. Stay lean. Men in particular are obsessed with muscle mass these days, but bulk doesn’t age well. The goal is to be strong but lean. The fittest guys in their 50s and beyond aren’t meatheads, they’re lean guys who are serious about a sport. 35. Curate your inner circle carefully. Surround yourself with people you admire and who challenge you to grow. Remember, we’re the average of our 5 closest relationships. 36. Be the fittest version of yourself. Your body is your only vessel for experiencing life—so treat it as such. Fitness isn’t working out a few times a week, it’s a lifestyle. The older you get, the more time you need to devote to your health. 37. Take the time to appreciate art and beauty in all its forms. 38. Think globally, but act locally. Too many people put their energy into far-away problems they don’t understand and can’t impact, while ignoring problems right under their nose. Want to change the world? Start at home. 39. Try psychedelics. It’s one of those things everyone should do at least once, and it might be the breakthrough you’ve been looking for. 40. Limit bad habits, including unhealthy thought patterns. We all have them—practice avoidance and find substitutes. Get professional help if needed. 41. Be a lifelong learner. Your brain is just like a muscle—if you don’t feed and flex it regularly, it will atrophy. 42. Find your purpose. People with a strong sense of purpose are happier and live longer. Lack of purpose sucks energy and magnifies depression. 43. Only take advice from people who embody the traits you want to have. Talk is cheap—emulate those who have DONE it. 44. The goal is not to retire and do nothing, it’s to build a great day-to-day life that you don’t need to escape. A life of leisure is a slow death. Happiness isn’t possible without a little struggle, uncertainty, and skin in the game. 45. Have fun! Do frivolous and silly things that make you smile. As George Bernard Shaw famously said, “We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 46. Whatever you want to do or achieve in life, start NOW. Don’t fall victim to “someday thinking” because someday never comes. 47. Accumulate assets—things that grow in value over time. It’s the #1 habit of rich people, and it can be done in tiny chunks. Instead of spending $100 on an impulse purchase that has no lasting value, put that money into an index fund or Bitcoin. It becomes addictive (in a good way). 48. Don’t ignore the big 3 canaries in the coal mine for health: —Low libido (and ED) —Frequent sinus & respiratory issues —Depression These usually aren’t medical conditions in themselves, they’re symptoms of an underlying problem. Find a good doc (outside of the mainstream) and figure out the root cause. 49. Have a clear vision for your future. How can you decide which direction to go if you haven’t clearly defined the destination? It sounds obvious, but 95% of people haven’t defined their “Ideal End State” in detail and in writing. (Check out my thread on this topic.) 50. Make your own decisions. We live in an era where most of what society tells us is wrong. Don’t be afraid to break from societal norms—if people say you’re crazy, it’s a sign that you’re doing something right. 51. Get hardcore about mobility exercise. As you age, it’s usually the knees, hips, and lower back that limit physical performance. 30 min a couple times a week can spare you a lifetime of pain. YouTube is a great resource. 52. Go all in on family. Get married, stay married, have kids. Burn the boats. In the end, family is all that matters. 53. Be ruthless with your time. Money comes and goes. Time only goes. Audit your calendar ruthlessly—cut the trivial, double down on the meaningful, and spend your hours like your life depends on it. (Because it does.) 54. Have a strong bias toward action. Be curious, try things, meet people—it’s how you increase your surface area for serendipity, the most powerful unseen force in our lives. 55. Reinvent yourself every decade. Over time, we slowly drift off course from our priorities, values, and true identity. Take stock and don’t be afraid to hit the reset button. Bold, calculated moves made for the right reasons almost always pay off—usually even more than you can imagine. 🎁 P.S. If you enjoyed this post, would you give me a birthday gift? Repost or comment with the item number(s) you liked best?

@dannkky @financedystop Agreed. Where’s the furniture? I bet it was about to be demolished and owner let kids destroy it for fun before demo day.

"My name's Raymond. I'm 73. I work the parking lot at St. Joseph's Hospital. Minimum wage, orange vest, a whistle I barely use. Most people don't even look at me. I'm just the old man waving cars into spaces. But I see everything. Like the black sedan that circled the lot every morning at 6 a.m. for three weeks. Young man driving, grandmother in the passenger seat. Chemotherapy, I figured. He'd drop her at the entrance, then spend 20 minutes hunting for parking, missing her appointments. One morning, I stopped him. "What time tomorrow?" "6:15," he said, confused. "Space A-7 will be empty. I'll save it." He blinked. "You... you can do that?" "I can now," I said. Next morning, I stood in A-7, holding my ground as cars circled angrily. When his sedan pulled up, I moved. He rolled down his window, speechless. "Why?" "Because she needs you in there with her," I said. "Not out here stressing." He cried. Right there in the parking lot. Word spread quietly. A father with a sick baby asked if I could help. A woman visiting her dying husband. I started arriving at 5 a.m., notebook in hand, tracking who needed what. Saved spots became sacred. People stopped honking. They waited. Because they knew someone else was fighting something bigger than traffic. But here's what changed everything, A businessman in a Mercedes screamed at me one morning. "I'm not sick! I need that spot for a meeting!" "Then walk," I said calmly. "That space is for someone whose hands are shaking too hard to grip a steering wheel." He sped off, furious. But a woman behind him got out of her car and hugged me. "My son has leukemia," she sobbed. "Thank you for seeing us." The hospital tried to stop me. "Liability issues," they said. But then families started writing letters. Dozens. "Raymond made the worst days bearable." "He gave us one less thing to break over." Last month, they made it official. "Reserved Parking for Families in Crisis." Ten spots, marked with blue signs. And they asked me to manage it. But the best part? A man I'd helped two years ago, his mother survived, came back. He's a carpenter. Built a small wooden box, mounted it by the reserved spaces. Inside? Prayer cards, tissues, breath mints, and a note, "Take what you need. You're not alone. -Raymond & Friends" People leave things now. Granola bars. Phone chargers. Yesterday, someone left a hand-knitted blanket. I'm 73. I direct traffic in a hospital parking lot. But I've learned this: Healing doesn't just happen in operating rooms. Sometimes it starts in a parking space. When someone says, "I see your crisis. Let me carry this one small piece." So pay attention. At the grocery checkout, the coffee line, wherever you are. Someone's drowning in the little things while fighting the big ones. Hold a door. Save a spot. Carry the weight no one else sees. It's not glamorous. But it's everything." Let this story reach more hearts.... Credit: Mary Nelson

Your assumptions are your windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in a while, or the light won't come in. -- Isaac Asimov

What amazing fortune To be 1 of the 100 billion homo sapiens sapiens that have ever lived And to be alive at this the moment of the great inflection Not to be 1 of 50 billion that died of mosquito borne disease Nor to be 1 of 30 billion that died before age 5 Nor 1 of 10 billion killed in an act of violence Instead to witness this ahistorical moment, to contribute in whatever small way in our outward expansion and proliferation, To stand on the cusp of history: What amazing great good fortune

i hate small talk. i wanna talk atoms. death. aliens. sex. the meaning of life. teleoperation. being monogamish. what makes a banger. ur childhood. what keeps u up at night. i like people with depth. i dont want to know "whats up"

Technological innovation can be a form of participation in the divine act of creation. It carries an ethical and spiritual weight, for every design choice expresses a vision of humanity. The Church therefore calls all builders of #AI to cultivate moral discernment as a fundamental part of their work—to develop systems that reflect justice, solidarity, and a genuine reverence for life.

Everyone should read this. If you align “hard” with a political party you have turned off your brain and outsourced your thinking to others. Data is clear on both sides of aisle. Think for oneself.

Steve Stewart-Williams @SteveStuWill

10 months ago

Warning: Political Ideology May Impair Your Ability to Reason “[I]f you’re not careful, ideology won’t just shape your opinions; it’ll hijack your ability to reason altogether.” [Link below.]

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Warren Buffetts’s solution to end the US government shut down: "I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of more than three percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election." Do you agree with him?

"You've never heard it till you've heard Eddie Vedder sing it." Such respectful lines by Tom Petty, then he invites Eddie Vedder to stage. There you have a beautiful performance of a song called 'The Waiting' live in 2006. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and Eddie Vedder, the frontman of Pearl Jam, performing a great rendition of The Waiting. This is what the internet was invented for.

Feedback from other people is fake. Awards are fake. Critics are fake. Real feedback comes from free markets and nature. Did your rocket launch? Did your drone fly? It’s impossible to fool Mother Nature.

Naval Ravikant: “The smart and leveraged are getting richer” “I’ve been saying this for a while, but the leverage in the system is insane,” Naval begins. “Leverage is a force-multiplier for your work. The oldest form of leverage is labor (you have people working with you or for you). Then it was capital (you’re investing money behind a problem). Then it was media (you’re writing a book and people are listening to you and your words are moving many people to do things)… Then code came along. Code is this incredible, permissionless form of leverage where you have robots and data centers cranking away for you. And now the leverage is increasing through AI, agents, robots, supply chains, 3D printing, and all the things you can do to amplify your work.” Naval reflects on the claim that there will be 1-person, billion-dollar companies and points out that there actually already have been: Minecraft and Bitcoin were both 1-person projects. “The leverage will just continue to increase, which means non-linear returns.” Naval explains. And he points out that this has important societal implications: “Society is just not built to handle that. You can see all of the outcry against the rich getting richer and billionaires and all that, but it’s not really that the richer are getting richer. It’s that the smart and leveraged are getting richer. If you’re smart, and you’re highly-leveraged, you’re knowledge-creation power (earning-power is downstream of knowledge) is so much higher than your peers that you may have left behind in college and they just have no idea what’s coming. It’s going to be a kind of crazy time.” Video source: @zfellows (2025)