Less Wrong: Excerpted from the Geometry of Wealth by Brian Portnoy

In setting our main priorities for growing and staying wealthy, controlling risk comes first. This isn’t the sexy part of money. That comes later. This is the hard part because it involves a great deal of thought about how we should conduct our affairs, how we want to risk what we have in order to get ahead.

Brian Portnoy, PhD, CFA, is an expert at simplifying the complex world of money. In his two books, The Geometry of Wealth and The Investor’s Paradox, he tackles the challenge of not only making better investment decisions but also how money figures into a joyful life.