Principles for Lifelong Learning | Morgan Housel | Knowledge Project Podcast (Audio)

Simple Writing

Morgan Housel emphasizes the importance of keeping financial writing clear and straightforward. He believes the best writing uses small words and short sentences, making complex ideas accessible to a broad audience. Morgan shares his approach to simplifying his work by asking himself if his mother, who has no interest in finance, would understand it 1.

The best writing is simple writing, and there is so much tendency, especially among new young writers, to use the biggest words and the longest sentences.

--- Morgan Housel

He also discusses his journey into financial writing, highlighting the passion he developed for the field despite his initial lack of experience 2.

   

Writing Process

Morgan shares his personal strategies and methodologies for writing effectively. He typically spends his mornings reading and his afternoons writing, finding that ideas often come to him during walks rather than through forced brainstorming 3.

You get your best ideas just randomly. You're walking through the grocery store, you're in the shower. You're just kind of zoning off, and then it's like pop.

--- Morgan Housel

Morgan also discusses the challenges of measuring the impact of his writing, noting that feedback can be skewed and difficult to interpret accurately 4.

   

Intellectual Honesty

Morgan highlights the importance of maintaining intellectual honesty in financial writing. He respects individuals who can admit when they are wrong and change their opinions based on new information, a trait he finds rare but valuable 5.

Change your mind when the facts change. There is so little of that among economists and investors and pundits that when I see it, it's really refreshing.

--- Morgan Housel

Morgan also discusses the advantages and disadvantages of writing about finance from an outsider's perspective, noting that it allows for more objective analysis but also comes with limitations 6.