Steven

Right. And then you want the Rolls Royce, whatever it is. Whether you know it or not, that's what you're actually seeking. You just want to be content with what you have because that's true joy. How does one be content now? People have been talking about that for thousands of years. The philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer has this quote that I love.

He said, if you only want to be happy, that is very easy to achieve. But people want to be happier than other people. And that is much more difficult. I think that's what it is. It's like so much of it is just a comparison game. And for a lot of people, it's like, I don't necessarily want a nice house. What I want is a house that's nicer than yours. I don't necessarily want an expensive car.

He said, if you only want to be happy, that is very easy to achieve. But people want to be happier than other people. And that is much more difficult. I think that's what it is. It's like so much of it is just a comparison game. And for a lot of people, it's like, I don't necessarily want a nice house. What I want is a house that's nicer than yours. I don't necessarily want an expensive car.

I want a car that's more expensive than yours. That's a weird thing to say, but at the core, that's what a lot of people want. And so being content, to answer your question, is moving from the external benchmark of comparing myself to you and others and towards the internal benchmark of, as I said earlier, the only thing that's actually going to make me happy in life is my family, my health,

I want a car that's more expensive than yours. That's a weird thing to say, but at the core, that's what a lot of people want. And so being content, to answer your question, is moving from the external benchmark of comparing myself to you and others and towards the internal benchmark of, as I said earlier, the only thing that's actually going to make me happy in life is my family, my health,

That's pretty much it. I think I can end it right there and put a period there and say that's what's going to make me happy. It's the internal benchmark. It's not comparing what I have to what you have. It's just if nobody else was looking, would I be happy with this? Because the truth is nobody else is looking.

That's pretty much it. I think I can end it right there and put a period there and say that's what's going to make me happy. It's the internal benchmark. It's not comparing what I have to what you have. It's just if nobody else was looking, would I be happy with this? Because the truth is nobody else is looking.

Right. What would you do? If nobody was watching, what kind of life would you live? And I think in that life, would you want a Ferrari or would you want a Toyota pickup truck that has utility, that actually makes your life easier kind of thing? There's a great thing that I heard a couple of years ago, which is that a high-end Toyota is a much nicer car than an entry-level BMW. Oh, yeah.

Right. What would you do? If nobody was watching, what kind of life would you live? And I think in that life, would you want a Ferrari or would you want a Toyota pickup truck that has utility, that actually makes your life easier kind of thing? There's a great thing that I heard a couple of years ago, which is that a high-end Toyota is a much nicer car than an entry-level BMW. Oh, yeah.

Because a high-end Toyota is like, you've got the cushy seats and the moonroof and the good sound system. An entry-level BMW is just status, or you think it's status. You're buying it for the chance that you're going to influence somebody else's view of who you are. And people massively overestimate how much it's going to actually influence other people.

Because a high-end Toyota is like, you've got the cushy seats and the moonroof and the good sound system. An entry-level BMW is just status, or you think it's status. You're buying it for the chance that you're going to influence somebody else's view of who you are. And people massively overestimate how much it's going to actually influence other people.

Yeah, because life is always a competition for resources. It always has been. There's a limited amount of food, a limited amount of land, a limited amount of mates, a limited amount of potential. And so what has mattered historically is not whether I'm a good hunter, it's whether I'm a better hunter than you.

Yeah, because life is always a competition for resources. It always has been. There's a limited amount of food, a limited amount of land, a limited amount of mates, a limited amount of potential. And so what has mattered historically is not whether I'm a good hunter, it's whether I'm a better hunter than you.

Absolutely. And always will. We're never going to get to a world. This is what Adam Smith wrote about 300 years ago. He was like, if people just needed basic food and shelter, they could stop right now because virtually everybody has those. But we keep going because we want to be seen by the people who we're competing with and showing you, look, I'm better than you. I made more money than you.

Absolutely. And always will. We're never going to get to a world. This is what Adam Smith wrote about 300 years ago. He was like, if people just needed basic food and shelter, they could stop right now because virtually everybody has those. But we keep going because we want to be seen by the people who we're competing with and showing you, look, I'm better than you. I made more money than you.

I'm more worthy for a spouse or attention than you are. It's always a competition. It's kind of a sad thing to think about. And of course, I think people are intelligent enough to know how silly that game can be and to take themselves out of the game to some extent. But we're never going to be at a time when that's not the case. That's definitely hardwired in us.

I'm more worthy for a spouse or attention than you are. It's always a competition. It's kind of a sad thing to think about. And of course, I think people are intelligent enough to know how silly that game can be and to take themselves out of the game to some extent. But we're never going to be at a time when that's not the case. That's definitely hardwired in us.

It might seem like the world is more uncertain today than it's ever been. And I don't think that's the case with tariffs and AI. It has been more uncertain at many points in the past. It just doesn't feel that way because we know how the story ended in the past. And we don't know how this story is going to end.

It might seem like the world is more uncertain today than it's ever been. And I don't think that's the case with tariffs and AI. It has been more uncertain at many points in the past. It just doesn't feel that way because we know how the story ended in the past. And we don't know how this story is going to end.

So it's always the case that the world that we're living in today feels especially fragile and especially uncertain. And I think historically, it's not. It's uncertain and fragile in its own unique new way. But it's always the case that it feels like the world used to be great. We used to have it, and now it's not anymore.