Do You Come Here Often?
Why you should support this newsletter
If this post landed in your inbox, you're probably a free subscriber to The Journeyman. Given my recent spike in new subscribers, maybe you’re one of the hundreds who’ve discovered my writing since the beginning of this year.
Regardless of how you found this newsletter, the purpose of this post is to a) introduce myself to the new arrivals, b) highlight a few of my favorite essays, and most importantly, c) persuade you to become a paid subscriber.
I started The Journeyman during the pandemic. Millions of people, myself included, were struggling financially. It didn’t feel right to ask folks to pay for the privilege of reading my thoughts. Still, some people paid anyway.
A few helped me get off the ground by becoming Founding Members. Four years later, I think it’s fair to ask those who can afford to do so to consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
As a former colleague used to tell me, “You don't ask, you don't get.”
An offer you can’t refuse.
Check out the following chart. Last month alone, this newsletter added almost four hundred new subscribers. When you subtract the complimentary subscriptions (family members are required to read my stuff), there are only thirty-nine paid subscribers instead of fifty-four.
But if I can convince just 10% of this newsletter’s free subscribers to upgrade, the result would be over 250 paid subscriptions.
That increase in paid subscribers would go a long way toward offsetting the costs associated with the services I use to produce a quality product. Heck, I might even be able to afford a new laptop. I suspect my 18-year-old son is tired of me borrowing his to edit my posts.
To make it easier to upgrade, here's an offer I hope you can’t refuse:
Allow me to reintroduce myself.
I do all of my work less than a minute from the Atlantic Ocean. But before I opted for what folks here call “The Salt Life,” I spent three decades in finance.
The first half of my journey through the financial ecosystem was in my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas, and the second half was as a trader on Wall Street. On average, I spent about 70 hours a week staring at computer screens, digesting financial and economic data.
After I left trading, I consulted as a capital markets research analyst. I authored white papers on topics like global market structure and investing apps for a variety of participants in the global markets. I still take on an occasional freelance project, like the 50-page report on blockchain technology I wrote for Boston Globe Media’s healthcare platform.
Why The Journeyman is free to read.
I've gone back and forth on the pros and cons of paywalls. In the end, I decided against taking that approach. The deciding factor for me was the mounting evidence that paywalled media contributes to the spread of misinformation. In an environment where once-incontrovertible truths have come into question, accurate sources matter more than ever.
Consider this: if you want to read The Washington Post, The New York Times, or The Wall Street Journal—widely considered reliable news sources—there’s a paywall. On the other hand, you can access less reliable sources like Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, and The Epoch Times for free.
At its core, my writing methodology is based on opinions supported by facts. Like the old saying among traders: “In God We Trust. Everybody else, bring data.”
What's in a name?
It took me forever to arrive at a name for this newsletter. “The Man in the Arena” was my first idea, but it didn't feel right. As I watched a football game one afternoon the perfect name hit me.
It took me years, but I made it to Wall Street—the pinnacle of my chosen profession. That said, I was never a superstar. I was never on CNBC or mentioned in The Wall Street Journal. But for a while, I played in an arena that only a select few will ever experience.
Similarly, professional athletes compete at the highest level, but most aren't superstars. Some go from team to team but leave the sport without rings or trophies. They do, however, have the satisfaction of playing at the highest level. There is a name for those athletes.
They are called journeymen.
From the archives:
One of the first things I wrote about here was how the big airlines used the money on exorbitant compensation packages and share buybacks, instead of putting that money into their infrastructure. The way planes are falling apart these days, they should have spent more on airplane mechanics.
The only successful overthrow of an elected government in American history occurred in 1898 down the road from where I live in Wilmington. The events leading up to the Wilmington Coup bear a striking resemblance to our current political landscape.
The time Citigroup’s analysts thought developing a strategy to help the ultra-wealthy make money from wealth inequality was an innovative idea.
CellyBlue posts on Substack. I thought that you were a subscriber of her's( why I asked you and Alicia). Thanks
Is Celly Blue a real account?