Substack Library
GlossaryWhen Facing Tribulation
January 11, 2023We all encounter tough challenges along the way. Everyone. The question is how to struggle through them with a degree of grace and poise such that it draws people in rather than repels them and isolates you.
Asphyxiating the Economy
January 7, 2023Welcome! More about me here. Questions? Write me: paul@paulpodolsky.com. Still Press produces books, podcasts and these essays.
The Flow and Eddies
December 23, 2022This year’s posts began with The Barbell as Medicine and will end on a metaphor—we are all in a river with eddies. The goal is to get as much out of the ride down the river as we can and do our best to avoid those eddies. The river flows at a fast clip, there is a waterfall at the end. That’s true in our own lives but also for countries and investing.
The Detour Is The Path
December 9, 2022“In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.” Abraham Maslow (1908-1970), creator of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
Letter From Mississippi
December 2, 2022Monday was warm and sunny in Belzoni, Mississippi. As I turned a corner in a downtown pocked with empty buildings, I was greeted with a genial “good morning” by a man with a holstered weapon on his hip, legal in an open-carry state. The post-Civil Rights Delta is a juxtaposition of amiable people, violence, progress and dysfunction.
Russia’s Post Putin Future
November 18, 2022It takes a while for hype to converge on fair value. But eventually the physics of frauds, fads and fanatics plays out. That’s been true of technology stocks twice in my life, true with artists and bitcoin and true with leaders, including Vladimir Putin, once viewed as a real-life Darth Vader and now revealed to be an impulsive, reckless tyrant.
The Storm Ebbs
November 17, 2022An accurate picture of the world balances a longer-term view against the short-term oscillations. The short-term is looking much brighter, for reasons I describe below. The long-term is a pitched but slow-moving battle around whether the current wave of disruptive technology will be used more for good or evil. This battle touches our jobs, politics, communication, finances and international relations.
The Psychology of Extremist Leaders
November 17, 2022“Narcissists thrive in chaotic times.” —Michael Maccoby, Narcissistic Leaders, the Incredible Pros, the Incredible Cons, Harvard Business Review.1
Our Problem-Solver Within
November 17, 2022Our brains do the work we give them. How is complicated, even mysterious, and the unconscious plays a critical role, particularly in creativity. With surprising speed, as the work shifts brain function shifts, evidenced by Ukrainian software engineers who rapidly went from coding to killing. Since leaving the corporate world, I gave my brain a different problem to solve and I suspect what I’ve observed since provides a lesson for anyone trying to tap their own creativity, which is what today’s post is about.