3 Beliefs I Needed To Run 1,100 Miles This Year

1,100 miles gives you a lot of time to think about things. Roughly New York to Orlando. The how, what, who, where, and when of the equation is fairly simple, and is in large part due to the family, friends, and colleagues who supported me along the way. The 'why' is something I have yet to fully process and may need a few more years to effectively articulate. But in the spirit of capturing the final sentiments of 2015, I can say with some certainty that the answer isn't as simple as 'Gosh, I just love running!'. At least not to the extent that I love cheeseburgers, IPAs and the band Kings of Leon.

If one accepts the first law of thermodynamics, which states that energy cannot be created or destroyed, then it is far more useful to question what beliefs had to change in order to result in a healthier redistribution of energy. In the past 6 years, my journey toward adulthood has been characterized by incredible fortune, success, and happiness, but not without angst, disappointment and frustration. During the same time, those privileged enough to enter the real world with a college education have been derided for having blind idealism and overconfidence in themselves. It is for this reason that my reluctance to accept a much more complicated and unforgiving world is less remarkable than the means by which I've learned to cope with it.

Here are 3 beliefs that led me toward healthier forms of self-medication that include running:

Far more people are comfortable with the status quo than we appreciate. And while those people can be influenced, it is rare that can they be changed. One may have revolutionary ideas on business, relationships, society, religion, or art. Their ideas may even be good ones. And while the world will need such ideas, talent, energy and creativity to solve its most challenging problems, it is difficult for many people to embrace change that pose risks to their livelihoods, reputations and families, especially when they lack the personal experience or vision to suggest its even possible. These changes may also run counter to beliefs and habits that have resulted from years and years of self-reinforcement. Instead of seeing this as a limitation, understanding this can enable us to direct energy toward more fruitful pursuits.

Bearing responsibility for our behaviors is more practical than bearing responsibility for our circumstances. We are already fortunate enough to live in the most peaceful era of human existence. And if you used a toilet in the past 24 hours, you are among the privileged 50% of people that have access to sanitation in this world. This fortune is compounded when you consider the many other things over which we have little to no control of or responsibility for. At some point, it is with certainty that we will experience unhappiness with our job, our home, our government, or our relationships. While its tempting to take on these challenges all at once, it is in the best interest of our sanity and health to revert the focus to our own actions as much as possible. Making oneself a slave or master to anything else leads to a dead end.

Forgiveness is one of the greatest gifts we can give anyone- including ourselves. It is natural to spend hours, days, or even years devoting negative energy toward how much someone did us wrong. Or how much we failed to realize our potential. Or how much we disappointed someone. But the future depends on people that can accept how imperfect people are, especially as their younger selves or those in less fortunate circumstances, and find ways to reconcile with it and move on. Whether it's a conversation with the person, God or with ourselves, making this a regular habit can transform many areas of our lives.

Sold on running? You can read my top tips for first time marathoners here. 

Enjoy music? The 12 songs that defined the year are available here.

The status update as a status update

So many of us can tie up our sense of validation to our external environment: our job (or school), who we associate with and what people think of us, the things we buy, our bodies, the things we can share on Facebook, any of the conventional indicators of social status. What's even more challenging is that one's job has historically been the foundation upon which humans build their families, communities, and lives. In environments where jobs are no longer a given, our generation has been left with the status update as our status update.

The more challenging journey, but more rewarding one, is finding ways to create an internal environment that we're proud of: one that doesn't let people control our emotions, that isn't a slave to the emotions that cause us to use food, drugs or alcohol as self-medication, an environment that acknowledges how little is in our control, and how unrealistic it is to bear the burden of being responsible and at fault for everything bad in your life. One where we can cultivate habits that make us humbly serve and celebrate others, and in as many moments as possible, be thankful that the universe permitted us the chance to be alive and to do it.

I'm not there yet, but this is beyond the desert I'm walking through.

Couch to IRONMAN: 3 Lessons From Completing ‘The Hardest Day In Sports’

Each year, athletes worldwide compete in ultra endurance triathlons called IRONMAN, which consist of a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run in a single day. As someone who had never played a varsity sport, here are the lessons and moments that defined my journey.

Up until very recently, the life of a human on this planet has been a complete drag. It was 110 degrees when I stood in the master suite of an enormous castle in Hyderabad, India and realized ‘I’d rather be the poorest person today than the richest person 500 years ago.’ We still have work to do, but even some of our poorest have better access to sanitation, healthcare, instant answers to questions from most of recorded history, protection from far less violence than the media might like to portray, and of course, air conditioning.

Despite our fortune, so many of us choose less comfortable lifestyles. The path to where I am took thousands of hours of strenuous physical exertion in rain, sleet and snow. There were moments when ankles were sprained, toenails turned black, and shirts were soaked with blood. There were opportunities missed that might have made me closer with my family, more successful in my career, or more prosperous in the elusive ‘lady department’. Days that included 6 hours on a bike saddle or 4 hours hitting pavement in 90 degree heat were not uncommon.

It’s difficult for any person to truly appreciate their deepest-held assumptions on life and how the world is ‘supposed to work’ until those assumptions prove themselves utterly incorrect. For several decades, an entire generation of children were beaten over the head with the notion that good grades and expensive degrees that certify one’s ‘passions’ were the most appropriate paths to success. And why not? By the time our economic growth peaked in 2000, we had federal budget surpluses, lucrative prospects for internet startups, and a very healthy S&P 500.

The tragedy of these and other assumptions didn’t become clear to us until the successive economic crises of the 2000s, when we began to discover that not all internet companies are worth more than their tangible assets, not everyone is economically suitable for a home or student loan, and that financial institutions and utilities don’t always behave in the best interests of the economy, or even of themselves. And beyond economics, we also learned that the developed world cannot be a bystander for the poorest areas where violence breeds.

Three years ago, I stood 20 minutes from the scene and watched newscasters describe the violent deaths of 20 small children and 6 adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. Despite not knowing anyone personally, I joined rest of the country in having difficulty detaching from the tragedy. From a park bench a few weeks later, I wrote the heading ‘Lowest point ever?’ and listed the words ‘car stolen’, ‘root canal’, ‘overweight’ and ‘marriage proposal declined’. As a master’s degree laureate, an employee at a respected international company, and a trusted friend to many, I wondered if these were the right outcomes for an idealistic young person who always did his best to please the people around him.

Those who have experienced trauma know that it can be a powerful catalyst for change, and the question ‘what am I willing to ask from myself?’ had yet to occur to me. My ambitions began modestly with 30 minutes of continuous running, and never exceeded the next milestone. As I developed healthier habits and sought interesting events to participate in, I met giants whose shoulders I could stand on. I got know a former Division-1 runner well. Around the same time, I had the opportunity to work for an IRONMAN finisher. In 2014, I met someone who completed it with one leg. Steve Jobs said ‘You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future’ and with each mentor, run or ride, the excuses began to fade and the dream became reachable.

Success rarely comes without failure or temptations to quit. A number of loved ones took great expense to attend my first attempt at IRONMAN, which took place in August 2015 at an elevation of 5,400 feet in the foothills of Boulder, Colorado. While the swim and bike portions went exceedingly well, I began to experience convulsions in my calf muscles in the 8th mile of the marathon that gradually spread throughout my legs and rendered me unable to stand. After 10 or so hours and their fourth intervention at mile 13, the medical team dismissed me from the competition citing severe cramping from insufficient sodium intake and elevation.

While the pursuit nearly lost its significance, I had to recognize the uncertainty of having the unique combination of health and means to attempt the race again. Voices of doubt remained through mile 130 of the Cozumel event three months later, but the mind has a tendency to be a terrible master. Despite minor injuries, I was warmly greeted by thousands of cheering Latinos as I crossed the finish line at a modest trot at the 13 hour and 32 minute mark. At this moment, ‘delayed gratification’ bore a new meaning.

In these challenging years, I have embraced the position that character must begin from within and work its way out, as opposed to the materialism that so many pursue in its place. There is no question that I still want the trophy wife, the luxury sedan, and the colonial style home, but pursuing them will only interfere with my journey towards success. I've seen happiness in the slums of Mumbai. And I've seen millionaires ride subways in New York. What I truly admire in others is the kind of maturity that only emerges from endurance of the mind, body, heart and soul. To be powerful, yet benevolent. To be admired, yet enable others to be just as much or more.

Aside from a hefty medal or bumper sticker, the ultimate reward is what you will discover about yourself. Here are three lessons from my journey to IRONMAN:

1. Positive habits have compounding properties. Every day, our inertia challenges us to be less than we are capable of being . To eat less healthy. To distract ourselves. To respond hastily to things that upset us. To sit. The war will not be won in a day, but each of us has the ability to pick a battle with ourselves. And once we begin to win them, it makes way for the habits that can define our victories.

2. Extraordinary things can be achieved without extraordinary abilities or resources. I did not have the coaching or club team to prepare for this, nor the experience or evidence to suggest it was possible. But research from individuals like Malcolm Gladwell suggests that the wealth and fame from which multi-billionaires and world class athletes benefit can be reduced to a combination of remarkable effort and circumstances. Unfortunately, many of us only have immediate control over one of those factors. A disciplined exertion of effort can become easier if we are able to…

3. Quiet the noise. Whether positive or negative in their intent, most of the external stimuli that we experience on a day-to-day basis at work or at home represent how other people believe we should think or behave. Should we succeed in asking of ourselves and limiting external influences, each of us has the ability to do things that inspire others.

In doing so, it helps us to find the good.


(Completing an IRONMAN would not have been possible without the support of colleagues at Corning Incorporated and Sikorsky Aircraft, my parents Wanda and Wayne, Marc, Jessica, Sylvia and all of my friends, siblings and family. Being in your lives has been my greatest blessing — thank you for turning a dream into a reality!)

How We Emerge From Consumerism

It was a brisk January morning in Paris in 1918, and President Wilson and his staff were unsure of what kind of reception they might receive on their way to the Palace of Versailles. Just a few months prior, several hundred thousand troops from the German Empire were within 80 miles of capturing the city and had caused some residents to flee their homes. The war had since ended, but those in attendance at the Paris Peace Conference could be excused from not appreciating the first US President to ever travel to Europe while in office, or recognizing his role in leading a postwar world.

As it turned out, the reception for President Wilson was that of a hero. Wilson’s staff had spent a significant amount of effort with the press in the weeks leading up to the event in order to portray the United States as a harbinger of democracy to all of Europe, rather than a restorer of the old empires that came before it. The messaging was designed to appeal to the deepest desires and aspirations of a group of people who had suffered centuries of oppression and war as the result of the belligerent ambitions of a privileged aristocracy. The architect of this campaign, a young press agent named Edward Bernays, needed no additional evidence of the influence of a force we refer to today as mass marketing.

While applications like these were profound, Bernays owed much of his success to the work of his uncle and Viennese psychologist Sigmund Freud. Over the course of his career, Freud methodically deconstructed the inner workings of the subconscious mind, as well as its associated beliefs and desires. Rather than the previously-held belief that the conscious mind dictates human functionality, Freud suggested that the conscious mind was actually the result of a much more complex set of forces stemming from our experiences and biology. While a number of his more notorious theories have been disproven, especially those associated with human sexuality, most psychologists still consider Freud’s work to be among the most significant contributions to our modern understanding of how the mind works.

Bernays would return to a postwar American society with this proof in hand to lead similar efforts to sell products and services for more than 30 years on behalf of corporations. These businesses, which had scaled their operations to unprecedented levels in support of war efforts, were seeking ways to encourage greater levels of consumption by Americans during peacetime. Bernays’ differed from predecessors in that he leveraged emerging communications vehicles like radio and television to appeal to the deepest desires and aspirations of large groups of people. In one such campaign, Bernays partnered with the American Tobacco Corporation to reach a generation of women seeking independence by promoting their use of cigarettes at culturally significant events, which was considered socially provocative and a taboo at the time.

We continue to live with the legacy of Freud, Bernays and the ‘mad men’ era that their work would usher in.

While the efforts of government and industry to promote behaviors centered around self-interest would lead to one of the largest and most successful middle classes in history, we are learning that the impacts on our health and the environment were of limited concern or even basic understanding. In 1930, the population of the United States was nearly split between rural and agricultural communities, and each economic model functioned without the widespread use of an automobile. Yet efforts in the 20th century to make home ownership desirable on the part of industry and obtainable on the part of government has created an environment where most Americans live in suburbs, and no longer consider walking a viable or convenient means to meet their most basic economic or physiological needs. Further to this, our transition to a knowledge economy has led to a situation where, according to a 2008 study, most adults spend 50 to 70 percent of their waking hours sitting.

Appealing to inner aspirations as a vehicle toward profit has not only prevented millions from leading more active lifestyles, but has also contributed toward an obesity epidemic. A committee led by US Senator George McGovern released its findings on the state of the American diet in 1977. The report, which argued that high sugar and fat were contributing to poor health, was largely rejected by the egg, sugar and meat industries, and re-written to encourage greater consumption of leaner and lower fat products. For the subsequent thirty years, the rate of obesity in the US doubled as the food industry promoted 'low fat' products as a means to lose weight, supplementing these products with significant amounts of sugar to make them more palatable. As a result, the average American consumed 19 teaspoons of sugar per day in 2008 or more than twice the amount recommended by the American Heart Association.

While western industry enabled protection from external threats in the 20th century, it became an internal threat by leveraging government influence to reinforce claims. Organizations such as the USDA were unable to resolve the conflicting interests of promoting agricultural industries such as corn, sugar, diary and wheat while promoting the health of American citizens. Beginning in 1980, the organization partnered with industry to issue dietary guidelines that promoted a diet heavily based on carbohydrates, as evidence continued to mount that a diet rich in carbohydrates is counter to the goals of a healthy lifestyle. With 65% of Americans reported as obese or overweight, one may question the ability of the country's economic engine to continue to prosper.


Fortunately, the effects of these influences have not gone unnoticed, and the old model of self-interest is slowly making way for a renewed spirit of collectivism. Scientists have questioned how humans were able to substantially differentiate themselves from the rest of the animal kingdom. The results suggest that progress was not a result of a substantial leap in brainpower, but because of their ability to use tools and to transfer knowledge to future generations.  In the past few years, major technology companies likes Tesla, Facebook and Google have announced plans to deploy internet access to every human on earth, connecting an additional 2 billion people with all of recorded knowledge. The American artist Andy Warhol once quipped about the significance that a product like Coke is enjoyed the same by those at the top of society and those at the bottom. With the increasing affordability and ubiquity of mobile computing, we can remain optimistic that future societies will have the tools and information to make substantial improvements in our sustainability, our health, and our efficiency.

4 Lessons From Marcus Aurelius and The Billionaire Trying to Save The World

In many ways, the industries admired most for their contributions to innovation have become utterly boring.  Some of the best minds of Silicon Valley, a region that brought utility to the internet and access to mobile computing for millions,  apply themselves to sell advertising through services like Facebook and Twitter. Those who grew up enamored with the prospects of exploring space now enter a workforce where the most advanced space faring organizations rely on a soviet-era capsule to get people into orbit- complete with mechanical knobs and computer screens that appear unchanged from its inaugural 1966 flight. Those who wish to design the cars of the future might also be disappointed to see companies using ‘sign and drive’ promotions as primary selling points - opportunities for a slightly less miserable buying experience.

Companies led by Elon Musk, which include privately-held rocket company SpaceX and electric car maker Tesla Motors, are among our best hopes to reinvigorate innovation in America, and the intriguing story of their founder is one characterized by risk, failure, vilification, and vindication. In the book ‘Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future’, New York Times tech reporter Ashlee Vance follows the journey of a man as he emerges from a family of adventurers and a childhood filled with torment to become tougher and more confident after a series of near catastrophic business failures.  The authorized biography gives a deeper and more honest portrait by meeting the people who feared, loved, loathed, and admired a man emerging from Silicon Valley as a millionaire, and risking his fortune on risky business ventures only to persevere as a billionaire.

In our own efforts to become better, biographies such as these give us a tremendous opportunity to learn from the trials and tribulations of others and apply them toward ourselves. Elon Musk joins figures such as the first century Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius in demonstrating the philosophy of stoicism and a commitment to finding moral and intellectual perfection. Here are a few examples:

	Marcus Aurelius	Elon Musk
On seizing the moment…	'The present is all you have, and what you do not have, you cannot lose.'	‘I expect our revenue in ten years to be ten million dollars a day. Every day we are slower to achieve our goals is a day of missing out on that money.”
On ignoring what people think…	''Is it your reputation that's bothering you? But look at how soon we're all forgotten. The abyss of endless time swallows it all.'	‘I will spend my last dollar on these companies. If we have to move into [my wife’s] parents’ basement, we’ll do it.’
On remaining focused through hardship…	‘Concentrate on what you have to do. Fix your eyes on it. Remind yourself that your task is to be a good human being’	Equity partner Antonio Gracias “What he went through in 2008 would have broken anyone else. He didn’t just survive. He kept working and stayed focused.” That ability to stay focused in the midst of a crisis stands as one of Musk’s main advantages over other executives and competitors.
On emotion as a poor servant….	‘The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.’	On the death of his infant son “I’m not sure why I’d want to talk about extremely sad events. It does no good for the future. If you’ve got other kids and obligations, then wallowing in sadness does no good for anyone around you.”

Leave Yourself Open

Without realizing it, the experiences that leave us feeling tired, hurt, disappointed, or frustrated end up influencing our view on the outcome of future experiences. If your days at work leave you feeling unfulfilled, you are more likely to expect an unfulfilling day once you begin a new one. If someone in your life consistently drains you of energy during your interactions, you are more likely to expect an interaction with that person to be anything otherwise. If you recently made a commitment to start exercising, and found the first few workouts to be absolute misery, you are going to find excuses for why you won’t be able to do it again. Pain avoidance is a natural and important heuristic that humans have developed in their evolution to survive in a challenging environment.

The problem with pain avoidance is that it assumes that our environments won’t change. In the 1960s, a psychologist in the US named Martin Seligman ran an experiment where dogs were administered with a series of painful shocks. At first, the animals would test and try different methods to avoid the shocks. But after receiving enough of them, they simply endured the pain. Even after they were presented with ways of escaping the pain and the circumstances of their environment changed, the dogs took no action. This behavior was later referred to as learned helplessness.

If we are to live lives of presence, fulfillment, and compassion, the notion that our environment can’t change without our intervention could be considered learned helplessness. Beyond the dynamic changes you may have experienced in your relationships and growth in the past several years, consider the pace of technology and how it may have affected your life. Magical pocket computers that give us access to all of the world’s information have only been in use by most Americans since 2013. Uber, the world’s largest taxi company, owns no vehicles. Facebook, the world’s most popular media owner, creates no content. Alibaba, the most valuable retailer, has no inventory. And Airbnb, the world’s largest accommodation provider, owns no real estate.

What forgone conclusions of struggle or disappointment have you made in your life?

By closing ourselves to the possibility that we can change someone’s life or transform our own in a given moment, the parameters of our past become barriers to our development in the future. Each day is an opportunity for us to acknowledge that while we have limited influence over the people, resources, and circumstances of our lives, we cannot control them entirely. And since we’re still here, in a mind-numbingly complex arrangement of space and time, perhaps we can consider each and every moment an opportunity to become our best selves.

Don’t kill your inner child

The photos that had been lining the walls of Christine’s modest home in the New Jersey suburbs depicted a successful partner, caregiver, and working professional. A cherished person who could always be counted on to get mindless tasks done at the request of a busy colleague, to always have things around the house in order, or to lie restless every night and bear the emotional burdens of others’ poor decisions. The smiles in these photos may have implied a fulfilled person, but the eyes were those of a person made tired from years of being taken for granted.  

One evening she came across a wallet-sized photo of herself as a 5 year old. Buried deep in the lower drawer of a long neglected writing desk, this photo depicted a much different picture. The delicate red gingham dress that she was wearing attempted to show a delicate and compliant lady, yet it was no match for an aggressive stance and dirt-covered face. The smile of this menacingly adorable child was as wide and gritty as always, but her eyes were wide and intentional. It depicted a person of uncompromising determination and unwillingness to let anyone stand between her and her destination.

As her eyes filled with tears, she wondered ‘With all of this maternal instinct, have I been allowing this small child to die?’

Our journeys to adulthood are filled with curious moments when we are presented with made-up rules, norms, parameters, constraints, and expectations. For many of us, our imagination remains, but rather than it opening us up to new possibilities and experiences, it traps us into fear of failure and into learned helplessness. Our preoccupation with making sense of an entropic world eventually exceeds our efforts to make an adventure out of it. Like the tree in Shel Silversetin’s classic children’s book, givers like Christine stop holding themselves and others accountable to become better and to reach their own potential.

After holding a series of critical conversations with limiting people and actually having to seek protection with law enforcement, Christine is reconnecting with the small child from the photo and has made it her mission to bring her back to life. People like Christine remind us how easy it is decrease our sense of significance as our understanding of the world increases. Many parents assume their roles without a clue of what children need, but quickly find that their children will invariably articulate them in one form or another. Children remind us to never stop championing our own needs and aspirations because expecting others to do so is futile. 

10 Podcasts For The Screen Saturated

Between TV, computers, smartphones and tablets, recent estimates suggest that Americans spend 7.4 hours looking at screens every day. You have to wonder if even 50% of that activity is productivity-related, and what role this addiction may have in obesity and mental illness epidemics. Though we’re all seeking ways to become smarter and more connected, we have to question whether or not this kind of behavior is sustainable in a world that still benefits from human connection, physical activity and community service. Further to this, and as someone who grew up with the internet, I was personally disillusioned with the notion that I’m to pay $100 a month for a prescribed set of channels by a soulless corporation with nearly 1/3 of their airtime supported by noisy, expensive commercials that increase the prices of the other products I buy. Television, I’m breaking up with you.

Is closing our eyes and opening our ears the answer? From where you might least expect, a new golden age of audio journalism and entertainment may be upon us. Imagine having access to immensely larger selection, more artistry, and far less advertising while not being enslaved to a screen. While big players like Apple and Spotify try to get a cut of the action, you don’t have to wait to participate on their terms. A number of free mobile applications such as Pocket Casts allow an intuitive browser, automatic syncing over wi-fi, and uninterrupted listening between the car, gym, and home. After a few years of regular consumption of podcasts, here are the ones that have proven their production value to the curious mind and become my mainstays:

99% Invisible – Did NYC really have tunnels dedicated to cow transportation? From airport carpet to state flags, join Roman Mars during these short stories to find out who got things right and who got things wrong in the surprisingly wide world of design.

This American Life – How did plagiarism help a poor Bosnian immigrant become an award-winning economist? Led by the incomparable non-fiction storyteller Ira Glass, TAL is a loosely themed exploration into various parts of society, and as far as podcasts go, is considered by many as the granddaddy of them all.

Radiolab – How did Oregon become a target for explosive balloons during WWII? Investigate the history and future of science and technology with thoughtfully edited interviews, audio effects and music.

TED Radio Hour – Why is more than 85% of Wikipedia authored by men? Many of us have had our world perspectives altered by an online-hosted TED talk, and fortunately, we have an equally curious host in Guy Ross to navigate the immense TED archive and meet the people behind them.

Freakonomics Radio – What would happen if the US merged with Mexico? Few people have been able to propose such absurd questions to such esteemed minds in economics, policy and academia quite like Stephen Dubner.

Marketplace – Grexits, fiscal cliffs, irrational exuberance, housing crises – what exactly is happening in the financial world? The smooth talking former fighter pilot Kai Rysdall focuses in on the human element of financial journalism in this timely, well-rounded daily news program.

The Moth – One of the victims lost in the noise of sensational mainstream media is the humor and drama of everyday people living everyday lives as parents, children, cancer survivors, or dreamers. Told intimately and live in the presence of real audiences, meet people you’ve never heard of telling exceptional stories from their lives.

Stuff You Should Know – There are so many obvious things you’ve encountered in the world, but may know next to nothing about. The impossible-not-to-like hosts Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant dive into pyramids, mummies, quicksand, and other arbitrary topics to explore their history, key people, and role in shaping society.

Serial – What role did Adnan Syed have in the 1999 death of Hae Min Lee? Host Sarah Koening investigates the mysterious and hasty murder trial of a Baltimore teen who continues to plead his innocence today in this 12-episode docudrama  

Fresh Air – For more than 40 years, Terry Gross has been interviewing leading minds in entertainment, politics, and business, and has solidified her reputation as one of the best. If you ever wanted to see what truly makes someone tick, let Terry talk to them during these blissfully unstructured conversations .

The Fastest Guys In The Room - Thoughts on ‘Flash Boys’ (2014) by Michael Lewis

The past 15 years have been a fascinating and fertile period for one to first develop their interest in business, economics and investing. From housing market crashes, tech bubbles, rampant institutional fraud by the likes of Bernie Madoff and Enron, unprecedented levels of unemployment and college debt, and a recession that hadn’t been seen for 80 years, contemporary subject matter spans wide and deep. While burdened with a global war on terror, the American people were dually forced to absorb the consequences of short-sighted decision-making by the auto and financial industries through the use of bailouts. With every proven principle, financial instrument, and case study that I was learning about in school and at work, it seems that the entire world- including my professors and bosses- were collectively learning about new ones.

Given the rising complexity of the infrastructure of the financial system, and instances of ethical lapses and myopia on the part of many of those who participated in it, it would seem reasonable for students of these industries, let alone the American public, to develop a healthy level of skepticism for the financial sector and the business leaders that serve it. On the part of the intermediaries that are involved in major financial transactions by the average American, fraud has been exposed. With respect to the 20th century, college is a decidedly less predictable path towards a certain standard of living, a mortgage is a less stable, trusted way to home ownership, and saving for one’s retirement through securities may not be as risk free of a strategy as previously thought.

Of the many ways one might seek to better understand how policy and industry have failed to better serve the interests of the American people, ‘Flash Boys’ by Michael Lewis is a portrayal of the emergence of High-Frequency Trading (HFT) practices that emerged as a dominant means of trading by the end of 2012. The narrative follows the journey of Brad Katsuyama, who began as his career as a business analyst with the Royal Bank of Canada. In 2008, the bank was seeking a more competitive edge in American markets and had identified an HFT firm as an acquisition target and as a means to better develop their competencies in an emerging field. After the acquisition, Katsuyama was sent to Wall Street on RBC’s behalf to run the integration of the firm.

Throughout the process and almost by accident, Katsuyama discovered that the markets had reached a level of speed and complexity that seemed to undermine any action that he might undertake manually. Like a rigged machine at a casino, he would attempt to use the firm’s incumbent systems and enter an order for a stock at a certain price, only to find that it would consistently process the order at a higher price. Most surreally, he found that he could single handedly raise the price of the entire market for a given security at an instant- simply through his actions as a single individual. The troubling nature of this environment, which would be impossible for an outsider like RBC to successfully participate in, led Katsuyama on a several year journey to uncover the true workings of the high-frequency trading community. Developing a complete picture of this environment was not easy for Katsuyama, as many of those who truly understood it were profiting immensely from the status quo.

Over that period, he uncovered a community of technically savvy insiders that were leveraging proprietary communications networks, geographic proximity to exchanges, and automated algorithms to undermine the means by which big banks and everyday investors had used to generate market prices from public exchanges (ie NASDAQ, BATS) and private exchanges (proprietary ‘dark pools’ administered by big banks). Coincidentally, it also undermined legislation preventing such behavior. Some estimates put annual earnings by HFT firms in the tens of billions of dollars and accounted for over 70% of daily trading volume by 2012. By building a diverse team of experts who understood the lack of sustainability for the model, and by generating support with big banks and investors who had experienced a frustration similar to Katsuyama, he was able to successfully introduce a new exchange that sought to level the playing field among investors by significantly reducing the advantages that HFT firms were exploiting within a matter of a few microseconds — or a millionth of a second.

‘Flash Boys’ is one of several works from the past several years that effectively uncover some of the reasons that markets and regulation have not better served the American people. For a better sense of our failings to effectively regulate industry, ‘The Secret Recordings of Carmen Segarra’ is a 1-hour podcast produced by Pro Publica and This American Life that portrays the Stockholm Syndrome-esque culture of the Fed as it attempted to regulate Goldman Sachs in 2008. For an understanding of how investment banks managed reap rewards and pass the risk of their unsustainable behaviors to the American people, the 2010 documentary ‘Inside Job’ breaks down the players that developed and endorsed the complicated and risky financial instruments that contributed to the 2006 financial crisis. For an economic and almost-philosophical analysis of the complexity and unpredictability of the new form of markets emerging over the past 15 years, books from author Nicholas Taleb such as ‘Black Swan’ and ‘Antifragile’ are a broad-based and global perspective on major catastrophic events and the sociopolitical environments that led to them.

Millennials take selfies because they can't afford kids

For the past several thousand years, children were primarily generated for economic reasons. Sure, there were some ancillary incentives, but by and large, the farms that survived and thrived in the dominant agricultural societies of the time were the ones that could generate significant numbers of healthy and productive offspring. More hands to sow, reap, milk, heard, take care of elders - and beyond the exercise required, there was zero startup capital.  The potential of these fleshy investments would only multiply by the time we had coal mines, spinning gennys, cotton gins, and the other mechanical wunderkind of the industrial revolution.

The progressive movement that flourished around the turn of the 20th century brought with it a significant amount of social progress and reform - including efforts to reduce and or eliminate the presence of child labor on farms and factories. And these efforts, by and large, were successful, and the centuries-old labor model of biological outsourcing once enjoyed by today's modern economies would soon begin to collapse. So besides the fun involved in the production process, why did we continue to have children? 

I am not going to chastise the most recent generations of women who endured childbirth and raising children in order for us to be here. As a species, our aspiration for a sense of identity dates back to the oldest caveman drawings. Our instincts to survive and needs to 'fit in' and meet the expectations of others are, even at a fundamental level, darwinistic and essential to our survival. Our ability to express our identity has always been limited by our technology and our resources.

With respect to the average American income, you can probably be spared the details of how the cost of an education or a suburban lifestyle has skyrocketed within the past 40 years. The one that really intrigues me is the cost of raising a child - which exceeded 250 thousand dollars in 2014. Somehow, the 'economic asset' of merely 100 years ago has become one of the most expensive things that anyone could hope to acquire in this modern world. As the average young person has become so saddled with college debt, the dream of a house has become that much more distant, and the hope of responsibly raising a child that might achieve a higher standard of living is, quite simply, out of reach for many young people as they move in and out of their biological primes.

Scantily clad teens and twenty-somethings are not doing themselves or anyone around them any favors by smiling in the bathroom mirror with a cell phone. But previous generations should consider  the possibility that their decades-long endorsement of an expensive college education or a polished suburban lifestyle as the primary path to happiness may no longer be relevant. Society as a whole may have to live with the repercussions of a trapped generation searching for its identity- enabled by all of the technology in the world, but equipped with the least amount of resources.