Principle of Associativity

A principle is a spine. Principle of Associativity is the sort of spine that lets a person, or an institution, stand up straight.

The principle works because it moves the decision from the moment of weakness to the moment of clarity. You choose the rule when you are calm, so that the rule can carry you when you are not.

It is worth keeping in your pocket not because it is always right, but because it is always available. A tool you carry beats a perfect tool you left at home.

Watch two shopkeepers in the same lane during a lean month. One cuts quality, the other cuts margin. In a year, one has customers and the other has stock.

Money is a good clerk and a terrible master; the arrangement is entirely up to us. That is all. A small tool, honestly kept, beats a large one admired.