Christopher Pierznik is the author of 9 books and has contributed to numerous websites on a variety of topics including music, sports, movies, TV, personal finance, and life. He works in corporate finance and lives in northern New Jersey with his family. His dream is to one day be a member of the Wu-Tang Clan.
The same day I bought and discarded a new lock because I couldn’t recall the combination, I found my old lock and, after giving it some time, remembered that combination.
There’s a metaphor for life in there somewhere.
Eminem is one of the all-time greats, a surefire future hall of famer. He’s one of the most commercially successful musicians ever, the second highest-selling singles artist of all time with over 220 million records sold worldwide and nine consecutive number one albums (including his greatest hits collection). Six of his major label releases have won the Grammy for Best Rap Album (he has fifteen in total).
There’s no need for a preamble. Let’s just say it: Scottie Pippen was fucking great. Not good. Not really good. Not very good. Great. Great great.
Since I’ve pretty much abandoned Twitter, the only place to get my incredibly insightful and well-researched thoughts on a variety of topics is through my newsletter. Subscribe and be fulfilled!
As Ryan Holiday writes in Ego Is the Enemy, John Boyd is “one of the most influential strategists and practitioners in modern warfare,” yet he’s “someone most people have never heard of.”
The fact that Boyd is unknown is fitting, because his lasting legacy is a speech he gave to scores of young officers that has come to be known as the “To Do or To Be” speech:
Let’s talk about money.
Most of us have some sort of financial concern. Some estimates show that nearly 80% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and 61% can’t cover a $1,000 emergency. Wages have stagnated, but the cost of everything else has continued to rise meaning that purchasing power hasn’t really moved in four decades.
It takes an annual income of one-third of a million dollars to buy a home in San Francisco, which is fascinating considering the median household income there is about $83,000. It’s not just the coasts, either. Real median household income in New York City is just under $51,000 but in the entire country it’s $59,000. Considering how expensive everything — housing, food, transportation — is, that’s not very much.
Have you ever felt like if you had just a little bit more money it would make an enormous difference? The problem with that thought — one that I’ve had many times — is that the goalposts continue to move.
Dear iPod Classic,
You’re lying next to me as I type this, but it’s easier for me to write what I feel than it is to say it to you.
I just wanted to let you know that I value and appreciate you. You have now been by my side for a decade and although we’ve had a few rough patches (remember those dark times you said “iPod sync is complete” but there were actually no songs?), we’ve stayed together and I think our bond is stronger than ever.
I’ve recently revamped my monthly newsletter to be a collection of all my random thoughts on things as well as the book reviews. It’s the eighth-best thing you can get in your inbox! Subscribe!
The June edition of my monthly newsletter, including book reviews. Please subscribe!
If it’s going to take years for something to happen, it better be worth the wait. With that in mind, for my first podcast appearance, I was lucky to have the opportunity to talk about my absolutely favorite album, Wu-Tang Forever.
The Passion of Christopher Pierznik 