Welcome to Z-Pack:.your antidote to the 24/7 news cycle. Cut through the noise, understand what matters, and get on with your week - in 5 minutes

If this is your first Z-Pack, welcome - I'm Zach.

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Growth Is Quiet, Bad News Is Loud

Everyone seems to be feeling a little anxious these days, given… current events.

So I figured I’d share some insights to help get you through the week—a comforting framework to make sense of things.

Let’s talk about… economic sanctions!!! Everyone’s favorite, exhilarating topic. I know I know, just stay with me. Give me 30 seconds.

It’ll be like ripping off a bandaid: brief pain, and then relief.

As a quick refresh: sanctions are penalties or restrictions imposed by one country (or group of countries) against another country, individual, or organization, often for political, security, or humanitarian reasons. They’re usually used as a tool of foreign policy to punish naughty countries.

When you hear sanctions, you may think of countries like Russia, North Korea, or Iran. Countries use sanction to pressure the target into changing behavior or policy (e.g., ending human rights abuses, halting nuclear weapons programs).

They can be broad (affecting an entire country) or targeted (focused on specific individuals, companies, or industries).

Examples include

• Freezing foreign assets of a government or individual _{(remember all the Russian oligarchs’ yachts getting seized a few years ago? See here)}

• Banning trade in specific goods (e.g., arms, oil, technology)

• Restricting access to financial systems

Which brings us to Dwarkesh Patel’s incredible interview with Sarah Paine.

Sarah is a professor of history and strategy at the US Naval War College.

At one point in their conversation, Dwarkesh cites economist Tyler Cowen, who wrote in one of his books:

………….Excuse me???

This is when Sarah shares some bonkers info.

She responds to Dwarkesh, saying, “this is how sanctions work. People look at sanctions and go, ‘Oh, they don’t work because you don’t make whoever’s annoying you change whatever they’re doing. What they do is they suppress growth so that whoever’s annoying you over time, you’re stronger and they’re weaker. And the example of the impact of sanctions is compare North and South Korea. It’s powerful over several generations.”

This idea—that small, consistent actions shape outcomes over time—applies far beyond geopolitics.

Take what James Clear writes in his bestseller Atomic Habits —

Sound familiar? _{(please say yes)} 

It’s the same principle. Sanctions. Habits.

Or even take long-term investing.

Charlie Munger (Warren Buffet’s longtime partner - RIP) once said:

You don’t see the results overnight, but give it time, and the rewards are exponential.

But here’s the best part:

While sanctions or index funds might take generations to see their full impact, personal growth doesn’t have to!

Progress often happens slowly but steadily.

It rewards patience, not speed.

Still, it’s hard to feel patient. And it’s even harder when bad news is everywhere.

That’s why I kept coming back to this line on good news vs. bad news from Morgan Housel’s book Same As Ever:

Here’s the problem you’re facing though: your brain has spent tens of thousands of years honing in on bad news as a survival strategy.

But the world has changed. We haven’t had thousands of years for our brains to adapt to this flood of bad news—just a few decades.

So the next time the bad feels overwhelming, or the next time you’re losing your patience with your goals, remember: the best things are growing quietly in the background.

Keep showing up. Keep compounding. Keep trusting the process.

The growth you’re waiting for? It’s already in motion. You just can’t see it yet.

Thanks for taking the Pack,

Zach

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Disclaimer: This is not financial advice or recommendation for any investment. The Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.