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Stoic Street Smarts

Teaching hard lessons from the hurt business

Teaching what I've learned from the hood, the ring, and everything in between. Join 35k other readers to learn how to manage risk, build relationships, and confront reality.

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The Invisible Puppet Masters: How social influence and self-serving bias rule us all

No matter how much of a free thinker you believe yourself to be, the people around you heavily influence you—even if you aren't aware of this influence. Humans don't exist in a vacuum. Unless you live "off the grid," in which case you wouldn't even be reading this, this also applies to you. Social influence is a powerful, often invisible force that shapes our behaviors, decisions, and perceptions in countless ways, even though we tend to underestimate its impact on ourselves. Each member of...

21 days ago • 8 min read

This past week, I submitted my first manuscript, "Hard Lessons From The Hurt Business." This is a tremendous occasion because now I get feedback directly from the person who will sign off on my book. I celebrated by having tacos and reflecting on the challenges of writing this book over the past year. I've already talked about those challenges, but for people new to the newsletter, the abridged version is "new baby and moving." I made it happen, and most importantly, I made it happen without...

about 1 month ago • 8 min read

Hello. I’m Ed Latimore, and this is the Stoic Street Smarts newsletter. Keep reading to learn how to manage risk, develop relationships, and face reality. Quick summary of today's newsletter: The "Big Stick Policy" and game theory's "Prisoner's Dilemma" offer valuable insights into strategic decision-making and cooperation in interpersonal relationships. The best defense is a willingness to be offensive Snitches get the worst of both worlds Cooperation beats competition in almost every domain...

3 months ago • 9 min read

Watch today's newsletter. Or, just like, leave a comment and share with someone who'd benefit from this message. December 23rd, 2023 marked ten years of sobriety for me. I haven't felt the urge to drink in quite a long time. I can sit in a bar with the smell of booze and feel nothing at its strongest pull. But most of the time, I feel a combination of mild disgust and gratitude. Me before getting sober I wrote a book to help if you're struggling with drinking. Learn more here. The disgust...

3 months ago • 3 min read

Today's newsletter at a glance The 70% rule states that if you have 70% of what you need to succeed, execute the plan. Preparation is important, but at some point, you must take action to avoid missed opportunities. The remaining 30% is where adaptation, improvisation, and creativity come into play. Find your personal 70% level of readiness by asking yourself key questions about worry, focus, and preparedness. Before getting into today's newsletter, I have some program updates and questions....

3 months ago • 7 min read

Today's newsletter covers the idea of personal leadership. Many people only think of leadership in terms of directing others, but today, I give you the four components of leading yourself along with personal examples. Good morning! Updates and news for the week. I continue to find new uses for AI as a writer, speaker, and all-around content creator. This week, I used it to GREATLY reduce the time required to fill out applications for speaking jobs. I also used it to help me streamline the...

3 months ago • 8 min read

Today's newsletter was motivated by a post on Facebook promoting the idea that life is all about pleasure, fun, and good feelings. If you've been reading me for a while, you know that I disagree. While I don't think life should be full of suffering, I know the most valuable and fulfilling parts of life are found on the other side of pain and challenge. Before digging into the newsletter, I must tell everyone that the first AI Content Creator Accelerator was a big success. It all went great...

4 months ago • 8 min read

I've figured out how to be a happy person despite dealing with setbacks. In today's newsletter, learn how to increase your happiness or get it back if you've been knocked down. But first, the news and a word from today's sponsor... In the news for this week, March 1st starts the 5-day cohort/challenge I'm running to teach my method for quickly creating natural-sounding, highly engaging, content for multiple platforms using AI. While I'll teach a few prompts, the cohort is specifically...

4 months ago • 4 min read

Summary and updates In this issue of the Stoic Street Smarts Chronicle, I discuss the nature of luck, how to get more of the good kind, and most often overlooked, how to get less of the bad kind. I've also opened up my Stoic Book Notes Club. It's a hybrid of a book club and book summaries. In the Stoic Book Notes Club, I've archived the complete notes for the books I've read and will continually update the notes I take on the current read (Power vs Force by David R. Hawkins). The books I'm...

5 months ago • 4 min read

Today's newsletter is about the experiences and insights I've made on what makes a strong, happy relationship. My readers are a mix—some of you have 20-year+ marriages. Others are single. I don't claim to be an expert. I just know what's worked for over the past 11 years. No matter where you are, there's some value for you. Before we get to that, a brief announcement in the form of today's "sponsor" Write Your Way To 5k is a month-long online summit for people who want to learn how to make a...

5 months ago • 3 min read
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