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- We scrolled through hedge-fund billionaire Ray Dalio's new app, which is filled with personality quizzes, bite-size life advice, and Nickelodeon-like cartoons. Here's what we found.
We scrolled through hedge-fund billionaire Ray Dalio's new app, which is filled with personality quizzes, bite-size life advice, and Nickelodeon-like cartoons. Here's what we found.
"Principles in Action" opens up on a homepage that includes two of his books
The book's pages now include videos of Bridgewater meetings
When scrolling through "Principles," you'll find short videos peppered throughout the text that give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life at the secretive Bridgewater headquarters.
On page 171, for example, there's a video of a Bridgewater meeting from January 2011 in which staff discuss the company's successful "Pure Alpha Major Markets" program. Dalio listens while others praise what Bridgewater has accomplished. At the end, he offers his own advice: "We could all be here celebrating, but I think we should be here worrying."
This brings up one of Dalio's principles: "Ring the bell," a term he uses to celebrate when a team has achieved its goals. However, he adds another core principle: "Don't mistake the trappings of success for success itself."
The app lets users see Dalio's human side
In addition to Bridgewater meetings, you'll get to see the annual "Family Reunion" (page 248) for employees who have been with the company for at least 10 years.
For Dalio, this is an emotional occasion. He says in the video, "I didn't behave any different to the people I work with than with my kids."
You can save your favorite principles while you're reading, and then go back to them later
Dalio has a lot of core principles in his book, and this app lets you type in keywords to find ones pertinent to any situation. You can then save your favorites for later use.
The "Coach" section lets you search through possible solutions to life problems
Instead of searching through principles, you can find solutions to decision-making problems, management issues, and general life woes under the app's "Coach" section.
You can scroll through a series of topics like "Values and Principles Fundamentals" or "Mistakes, Weaknesses, and Feedback." You'll get a few principles that serve as answers to your questions.
The app dishes out bite-size versions of Ray Dalio's most important mantras. They read like excerpts from "The Art of War," except your enemies aren't marauding hordes: they're your own personal failings.
The "Case Studies" section is a little more like an online class
The most interactive section, "Case Studies," offers over six hours of self-assessment quizzes and videos of Bridgewater workers discussing how they employ Dalio's principles.
You can get to know yourself in the "How are you wired?" case study. I found a series of questions based on my left and right brains, or whether I'm more logical or emotional. On a scale of 1 to 5, for example, I'm more of a right-brained person (emotional).
You can also work through more pressing issues with the "I constantly fail" case study. I found that I fear failure just as much as I fear not succeeding (as the app puts it, not achieving my dreams).
Dalio's 30-minute cartoon summarizing his book is also included, and it's like a cuter version of a TED Talk
The eight-part mini-cartoon series based on "Principles" takes some of the key moments from the book and animates them. It felt like watching a Nickelodeon animated show, except the plot was about how to be successful in business and possibly become a billionaire.
The series, which was first released in 2018 and is 30 minutes long, outlines some of Dalio's core principles in a quick, digestible manner. The entertaining (but perhaps not fully essential) format is aimed at recent college graduates who may not know where to take their careers.
Dalio's animated video "How the economic machine works" is there, too
If you look around the "Economic & Investment Studies" folder in the "Books" section, you'll find Dalio's 2013 cartoon called "How the economic machine works."
The 30-minute video outlines the basics of economics, from supply and demand up to how nations manage debt. This animation is charming, like the "Principles" animated series.
One of the highlights: learning that the total amount of credit in the United States is about $50 trillion, but the total about of money is only $3 trillion.
Dalio has even teased his next book, "Economic & Investment Principles," on the app
In the same section, "Economic & Investment Studies," you'll find an introduction that mentions Dalio's new book, which he expects to release "sometime soon."
This section also contains Dalio's last book, "Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises," and a few other papers, which means this app is a good hub for Dalio's most essential writings.
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