Only Get Better with Age

Once you find a personal principle, life gets much simpler.

“Only get better with age” is my personal mantra; a north star for my life. I always wanted nice things. I wanted clothes that made me look sharp. I wanted a “lived-in” leather reading chair. I wanted an investment portfolio that in 25 years I’d look at and think, “wow, look at how you’ve grown”! So yes, I always wanted nice things, but I wanted a very specific type of nice things.

It took me decades to see the connective tissue in my interests was really an underlying obsession. I am obsessed with things that get better with age. And truthfully, it was always there. I bought t-shirts as a teenager with an image of me wearing it in my 30s (which is still alive). I got into gardening about 40 years ahead of (society’s) schedule. I was known to excavate message board archives for details on zippers, wool factories, or some obscure topic.

For a long time, those activities felt disconnected from my work in investing. The epiphany came as I felt a consistent magentic force towards certain companies over others. I was a stark contrast to peers who were (and are) understandably obsessed with the latest tech giant to 10x. I admired and respected what was happening, but it was a pale excitement relative to my infatuation with durability, slow-compounding, and the ingredients that made it happen.

Why have I embraced this obsession? It is a healthy way to think about life. Getting healthier. Getting wiser. Having better relationships. Buying less, but buying better. It is not a “a taste for the finer things”, this is when quality and connection align with your own investment.

There is also a freedom in the interpretation of only getting better with age. There is no implication that you start with “perfect”. As power continues to shift towards individuals and away from institutions, personal accountability is everything. For every reason to do something, there are a million reasons NOT to do something. Rather than get stuck in this record-scratching ratio, focus on getting better. You can’t get better if you never start.

“I am obsessed with things that get better with age” – Me

For definitional purposes, “better with age” is something more likely to be alive tomorrow than yesterday¹. You may be thinking: “well, everything eventually dies”. This is about controlling what you can control. If you live in constant fear of losing a thing, you don’t own it, it owns you.

It’s easy to visualize with classic (and cliche) products like leather club chairs, cedar-shingled homes, or a mature garden. In the business world, Costco is the frequent example where the business model is aligned with the customer, employee, and investor. There are commonalities across these examples that are worth considering for yourself.

Before we go deeper, I need to say the quiet part out loud: creating something that gets better with age is generally bad business. If a product lasts forever, you and your customer have an unforgettable one-night stand.

Just scroll Reddit’s r/buyitforlife where the posts of a 50-year Stanley are always accompanied with “they just don’t make’em like this anymore”. There are good reasons why… and no, it’s not all greed. Good materials are hard to find and expensive to use. Durability is often at the expense of day 1 comfort. And most things that get better with age require patience and investment from the end consumer.

But stop and ask yourself, what are the most fulfilling things I have in my life? Then ask if those things required time, effort, and investment. Contrary to the new counter-culture mythology, winning the lottery will probably make you happy. But I don’t think you’ll gain much fulfillment. There is a common form of depression after retirement or selling a business, where people lose their sense of meaning. There is power is watching something grow into form, whether it is yourself, your relationships, a business, or something you consume..

Father Time is undefeated. And Father Time controls fulfillment.

And while I love analog things and phrases like craftsmanship, do not stubbornly dismiss innovation.

Better fitness is easier than ever. Better relationships happen when you can focus on them and not on mundane tasks. I think there are many digital tools and applications that get better with age. For all of the hate on social media, having an Instagram account has forced me to curate my memories for easy consumption. Again, I must own it and not allow it to own me.

Technology is the gateway to many great things and spins the equation around. We have little sentimental attachment to our actual iPhones. Yet our photo libraries are devastating if we ever lose them.²

But this is all to say – when I invest in something – a coat, a house, a stock, my health – I own that decision. Ideally, for a long time.

I don’t expect everyone to feel a special pride when they pickup their bag every day, but I think wow, this leather backpack has been with me for almost ten years. On every important business meeting. In China, when I needed an escort through riots. In Patagonia on a 17-mile hike. Across Italy. At the hospital when my son was born and when my daughter was born. When I go to the gym.

Not everything you consumer needs to last a lifetime. Nor should it. Nor will it. At my heart, I am a capitalist with the utmost respect for the system. We all need a little slop and short dopamine hits. Find the balance in both the physical and digital worlds. Then be deliberate in what you can do to get better with age.

The creation of enduring things starts with builders and craftsmen but it extends into the ecosystem of consumers and investors. Beyond spending my hard-earned money, I believe the best way to support these endeavors is to shine a light. How is it done? Who is doing it? What can we learn and apply ourselves?

Here is my best distillation of what makes something get better with age (with a mediocre AI graphic that I will …make better).

1. The foundation for anything that gets better with age is driven by the organic components – the elements inside. Leather is simply collagen. Cedar contains tannins and oils. Teams are made up of individuals.  
2. Exposure to the outside world determines whether those components strengthen or weaken as a cohesive unit. Leather oxidation and oil absorption actually increases its durability through chemical process. Similarly, cedar when exposed to moisture, light, and salt release those tannans and oils which protect against decay and deter insects. Teams practice in private but then perform in public. When something goes wrong, do they pick each other up? Are lessons learned that tighten bonds?
3. Aesthetics are a byproduct of strengthened chemistry. We all strive for patina. It’s the science again with leather and coloring of cedar. But you know the aesthic of a successful team as well.
4. Religion best describes the final stage of “better with age” – the moment that loyalty goes beyond reason. Third parties preach of your power. Maintenance, in effort of your survival, becomes its own industry. There is a lot to this category, but once you see it, you know it.

What is my personal goal here?