Ok, here comes João with a completely nonsensical content title. And worse, starting with an ok — where that first sentence is probably something that was in your head, not his.

Yes, that sentence above came from your head! But as for making sense — know that the meaning of and in things depends more on our perception than on our interpretation of texts. In fact, interpretation depends on perception.

I believe everyone who consumes this spartan content is someone who loves the Market and really wants to grow professionally in it. So let me ask:

Why didn't you connect my series title to perhaps the greatest investor of all time?

Yes, the title is almost a tribute to our beloved old man Warren Buffett.

This is the title his grandfather Ernest Buffett gave to a prototype of a book he was writing — a book he made a point of dictating a few pages of every evening to young Warren, when his grandson came to live with him.

You would have known this if you had read the 1985 Berkshire Hathaway annual report.

Now do you get the perception thing?

When I was 12, I lived with my grandfather for approximately four months. A grocer by profession, he was also working on a book and every night he would dictate a few pages to me. The title was "How to Run a Grocery Store and a Few Things I Have Learned About Fishing." My grandfather was certain that interest in these two subjects was universal and that the world was waiting for his opinions. You can conclude from the title and contents of this section that I was overexposed to grandfather's literary style (and personality). - Warren Buffett

The section title Buffett mentioned was "Three Very Good Businesses (and a Few Thoughts About Incentive Compensation)."

Yes, that guru who's going to teach you to be the next Buffett never mentioned any of this. He has his own job to do — sticking to the sexy surface of stories, which is certainly more commercial.

Buy shares in good companies, hold them, and you'll soon be a wholesome billionaire!

That's why the title question.

How far do you want to go in your understanding?

Do you really think the market is just a math problem?

Worse — do you think it's enough to just follow recommendations and you'll be on your way to billions?

I see lots of people talking about me as if I were some kind of outlier when it comes to understanding the market — like some wizard or even a genius. But the only thing I see as different about myself is that I always want to go deeper. Back in school, many teachers hated me for it.

Oh, I have another characteristic...

I have a great time reading visceral Market content! Learning while having fun is genuinely magical! There's the magic mentioned in the paragraph above.

That's exactly what I can promise you in this series of Cartas de Um Capitalista — something visceral, from someone who actually does it in the real world, loves what they do, and will keep going deeper down the Rabbit Hole.

Want to come along?

Next Friday we'll dig deeper — and of course, we'll have fun!

João Homem