Perseverance is great, but don’t forget to prepare

"I could expect hard work, plenty of danger, and no recognition." | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 1 year ago

Habits Maketh the Man and Un-Maketh Him, Too

and Un-Maketh Him, Too | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 1 year ago

Feeling like a victim is a perfectly disastrous way to go through life

"It is counterproductive for an individual to feel like a victim - even if he is" | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 1 year ago

We Only Ever Talk About the Third Attack on Pearl Harbor

"Our prospective opponent has always started operations by attacking before a declaration of war." | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

Habits Maketh the Man, and Un-Maketh Him, Too

and Un-Maketh Him, Too | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

Suppose I Wanted to Kill a Lot of Pilots

"All I want to know is where I’m going to die so I’ll never go there" | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

Planning the Attack on Pearl Harbor

A desperate gamble | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

A Man in the Arena: Theodore Roosevelt's Citizenship in a Republic

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better." | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

A Soviet Prisoner's View on What's Important

"Life is a game with many rules but no referee. One learns how to play it more by watching it than by consulting any book." - Joseph Brodsky | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

It is not the critic who counts

"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better." | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

A Soviet Prisoner's View on What's Important

"Life is a game with many rules but no referee. One learns how to play it more by watching it than by consulting any book." - Joseph Brodsky | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

The Psychology of Human Misjudgment

“To get what you want, you have to deserve what you want." | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

Planning the Attack on Pearl Harbor: A desperate gamble

A desperate gamble | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

A Stoic Philosopher in a Hanoi Prison

How Stoicism Saved a Prisoner of War | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

John Law and the Mississippi Bubble

The Scotsman, his paper money, and his stories brought France much prosperity, for a time | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

“Work poorly and blame it on bad tools. Work slowly. Bring up irrelevant issues”

"The purpose of this paper is to characterize simple sabotage, to outline its possible effects, and to present suggestions for inciting and executing it." | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

The Scotsman and his stories brought France much prosperity, for a time

The Scotsman, his paper money, and his stories brought France much prosperity, for a time | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

Well, this is a bit awkward

Well, this is a bit awkward | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 2 years ago

Growing Old Well – “On Old Age”, with Cicero

By Cicero | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Simple Sabotage Field Manual

"The purpose of this paper is to characterize simple sabotage, to outline its possible effects, and to present suggestions for inciting and executing it." | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O – “Have you ever tried?” asked the Big O

"By myself? A missing piece cannot roll by itself." "Have you ever tried?" asked the Big O | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

The Missing Piece Meets the Big O – Shel Silverstein

"By myself? A missing piece cannot roll by itself." "Have you ever tried?" asked the Big O | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

We Made It Through 2020, but What For?

Old Age, Richard Feynman, James Stockdale, Charlie Munger, Jordan Peterson & Fountain Pens + Favorite Books of 2020 | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

But What For?

This is Water, Superforecasting, Earnestness, Live Life as an Experiment, the Reasonable Optimist and Sharing Standards | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Habits Maketh Man, the Volunteer, Tail Ends, Fat Loss, Leverage Points, Mirrors

Habits Maketh Man, the Volunteer, Tail Ends, Fat Loss, Leverage Points Are Hard to Find and Mirrors Make You Self-Conscious | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Hanoi Hilton, a Volunteer, One Thing, Courage, Writing and Thinking for Yourself

Hanoi Hilton, the Volunteer, One Thing, Courage, Writing & Thinking for Yourself | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Richard Feynman and his learning technique

The first principle is that you must not fool yourself - and you are the easiest person to fool. - Richard Feynman | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Good Omens, Why There Is Something, Multiple Paths, Secret Spies and Abe Lincoln

Good Omens, Why There is Something, Multiple Paths, Secret Spies and Abe Lincoln | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Jordan Peterson and Standing Up Straight with Your Shoulders Back

Lobsters are interesting animals, but most people don’t think about them too often. While they may not be immortal as many like to think, they never stop growing and can regenerate lost limbs. Unfortunately for them, they taste good with butter | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Knowing History and Knowing Who We Are

by David McCullough | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago

Habits Maketh the Man (and Un-Maketh Him, Too)

Atomic Habits: Takeaways from James Clear's bestseller | Continue reading


@newsletter.butwhatfor.com | 3 years ago