🕊️ The Matthew Effect

Yes. This is the City Chad, your money navigator, charting a course to wealth and wellbeing. Let’s start sailing!

In this week’s edition:

• Markets: 😅 Looming Challenges

• Article: 🕊️ The Matthew Effect

• News: 🏡 The Leftist Skeptic

• Power Move: 🏔️ Rumble Stands Firm

• Chadette Of The Week: 👩‍❤️‍👨 Billie Rae Brandt

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MARKETS: 😅 LOOMING CHALLENGES

Stocks were pretty flat in the last week.

But today we saw the markets open lower due to the expectations that the FED will keep rates higher for longer.

What has also captured investor’s attention in the last few weeks is the rise in oil prices. The black stuff hit a 10 month high on Monday.

This could mean (you guessed it) more inflation. Just what we needed.

A little bit of higher rates, a bit of inflation… could mean some challenges ahead.

On a brighter note, we saw Bitcoin recover from the bad run it had in recent weeks. No massive news really, but just part of the volatility of this asset.

ARTICLE: 🕊️ THE MATTHEW EFFECT

TLDR: The Matthew Effect explains how those with advantages tend to progress more, while others at a disadvantage fall behind. To thrive in this world, you must act strategically and compound the good things and avoid the bad. Here we discuss some ways to use the Matthew Effect like a boss.

• What is the Matthew Effect?

• Am I screwed?

• Glass Half Full

• The Takeaway

WHAT IS THE MATTHEW EFFECT

Have you ever heard of the Matthew Effect?

Maybe you’ve heard the phrase “The rich get richer, and the poor get poorer.”

Or if you prefer a more mystical touch, the bible puts it like this:

“For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Now, what the Matthew Effect tries to explain is that those people who already have some kind of advantage tend to progress more and faster, while those at a disadvantage progress slower or can even fall further behind.

It’s a fact of life, ladies and gentlemen.

Over time whatever you are doing and who you are compounds.

AM I SCREWED

This sounds a bit scary doesn’t it?

“I’m not rich, I have no chance. Better stick to what I know”

Or “I’m this way, I know nothing about starting a business”

You can add anything you think you’re not great at to that list.

And you wouldn’t be wrong to think you’re in a tight spot. The Matthew Effect would predict that you are more likely to stay the way you are and become more of it.

Unless…

You do something about it, and change course.

Easier said than done, right? Well, not really. That’s the good part.

Here’s how to use the Matthew Effect to your advantage.

The easy way.

THE GLASS HALF FULL

The Matthew Effect says things compound over time, right?

So… what if you start compounding today the things you actually want to have more of. Here is how:

1. START NOW
   
   This is the most obvious one, but usually the hardest. Just start.
   
   If you don’t put any work into improving, not only will you stagnate, but the world will keep moving and your initial position will be worse.
   
   Starting late is better than not starting at all.
   
   The key is to initiate that first push, even if it’s a small one.
   
   1 push up. 30 minutes on your side hustle. Everything counts.
   
   By just starting you’ve invoked the Matthew Effect to shift the direction of travel.
   
   That is huge. Even if it doesn’t seem like it.
   
   

2. ACCUMULATE SMALL WINS
   
   Starting is the first small win, but don’t stop there.
   
   The key to leverage the Matthew Effect in your favor is positioning yourself at sequentially more favorable places each time.
   
   These small wins will create the momentum you need and help build confidence.
   
   Which brings us to the next point…
   
   

3. LEARN FROM SUCCESS
   
   Despite what people say on the internet, you can learn more from success than failures.
   
   Yes, you read that right.
   
   Not only does success show you what you are doing right. It provides insights into your strengths so you can keep tapping into them.
   
   It also helps to put you in a winning mindset and make it easier to take the next step.
   
   By succeeding you get to learn and also taste sweet victory. That does wonders for your confidence.
   
   

4. SET WINNING GOALS
   
   This is a big one. If you shoot straight for the moon every time, most of the time you won’t make it.
   
   So what should you do instead?
   
   Before you even start putting pen to paper or your gym shoes, only define the goal of the day as something you are close to 100% sure you can achieve that day.
   
   Why? Because remember you want to build positive momentum. Even if it is small.
   
   3,000 steps, 500 words, selling 1 widget.
   
   Most people are worried about how to make $10K a month on the internet. But they should be worried first about how to make $10.
   
   The thousands will follow once you have that sweet taste of victory and have learnt what people want from you. Then you scale.
   
   This does not mean you should not have big goals. It means you should break them up into micro milestones you can totally ace.
   
   A clever hack is to define success as positive momentum. Even if it is small.
   
   

5. DEFINE WHAT NOT TO DO

   
   So we’ve covered the stuff you should do. But you can also apply it to the things you shouldn’t do. That’s the beauty of the Matthew Effect.
   
   Cut down on the Netflix time. 1 minute a day or skip 1 day altogether.
   
   Do this slowly. Remember you are focusing on accumulating easy wins that compound over time.

THE TAKEAWAY

The Matthew Effect is a real thing. Embrace it. Take it out for dinner and introduce it to your parents.

To make the most of it… action is the answer. It’s all about seizing opportunities and starting to build momentum from the get-go, in the right direction.

Even through the smallest wins.

Remember that the mental game is half the battle.

NEWS: 🏡 THE LEFTIST SKEPTIC

I’ll assume we are all familiar with the laws of supply and demand.

Now. Have you ever heard of “supply skepticism”?

Well, me neither and with no surprise because it’s a terrible idiotic idea.

However, the world is like (Pandora’s) box of chocolates. Turns out that “supply skepticism” is actually a thing believed by some left-wing collectives.

It’s the belief that building more houses somehow makes housing more expensive.

Sadly, as pointed out in this great piece in the Financial Times, it’s a common misconception that building new houses increases rents and prices, thus hindering the ability of lower income people to buy properties.

Funny that misconception does not apply to the price of other goods and services, just housing.

Happily enough, we have techniques that allow us to find out whether this is the case or not, rather than just guessing.

Studies from Sweden, Finland and the US, show that building houses even if they are not affordable for most people, benefits everyone.

There are more examples, but I don’t want just to repeat the obvious.

So, why does this happen?

Some groups try to leverage this misconception to support their narrative.

It is easier to blame the rise in prices on landlords’ “greed” than to understand how things actually work.

The evil landlord just raises rent because he feels like it.

When in fact, there is an old saying “the solution to high prices is high prices”.

It means that when something goes up in price (housing), more people will produce it (increase supply) and that will lower the price of it.

The problem lies when you cannot increase supply due to constraints such as planning permission to build new homes. Thanks to the bureaucrats in government, poor planning, and NIMBYs.

That is the artificial limitation that prevents the free market from bringing things to the equilibrium.

Adding “supply skepticism” to the mix, just makes things even worse.

Facepalm.

POWER MOVE: 🏔️ RUMBLE STANDS FIRM

We'll keep this short and sweet. You've probably all seen the very worrying allegations about Russell Brand. YouTube was quick to demonetize him.

But Rumble has actually taken a different approach...

Regardless of what you think of the matter, a company standing against the menacing tone of a UK member of parliament is laudable.

Check out the Tweets below and let us know what you think on our own Twitter @therealcitychad

CHADETTE OF THE WEEK: 👩‍❤️‍👨 BILLIE RAE BRANDT

Hey! It’s been a while since we featured a lady in this section.

Now, we are delighted to introduce you to an exceptional person named Billie Rae Brandt.

She’s an expert when it comes to dating advice. Yeah, not the usual subject of City Chad, but definitely something that captures many of our readers’ imaginations.

She started all back in 2012 on YouTube with her video “CLASSY BOYS”. Since then, it only snowballed, now she’s got over half a million followers on TikTok and her own Podcast called “Make Me A Sandwich”.

She is considered controversial by some. But her content is very unique. The dating advice she offers usually touches topics you wouldn’t find somewhere else.

You see, personal growth and transformation are often handled with a lot of filters so as not to inconvenience anyone.

Not in this case. Billie is different and provides us with a clean, direct and unvarnished version of the complex world of dating and self-improvement, saving us all from uncomfortable situations and valuing our time.

That’s what she calls No B.S. Approach.

What sets Billie apart and makes her truly cool are her exceptional qualities, including her creativity, and the way she speaks her mind freely and with no self-censorship.

A true Chadette, Billie Rae

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