#75 - Own the Problem

Responsibility Is the Turning Point

“When a team takes ownership of its problems, the problem gets solved. It is true on the battlefield, it is true in business, and it is true in life.” - Jocko Willinck

Reject passivity and embrace responsibility as the foundation of real progress. problems don’t stay problems when people stop waiting for someone else to fix them. Ownership is the catalyst, the moment you take blame for everything is when everything shifts. It pulls the issue into your control, even if it wasn’t your fault. It forces action.

This attitude is contagious and spreads. When each member stops hiding behind roles or blame and steps into responsibility, the collective energy turns forward. Accountability sharpens focus.

Your mindset is your team. If you own your habits, emotions, and setbacks you become the kind of person who figures things out. You stop being dragged by life and start steering it.

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Market & Freedom Fund Recap

The Fed cut interest rates by a quarter point, the first move lower since 2024. Officials pointed to cooling job growth and slower economic momentum as the reason, while inflation is still above their 2% goal. The public account rose past $39k powered by Palantir and the UK expanding a defense deal. Amazon and Shopify announced that they will now have a fulfilment deal in place.

The fund is up 38.26% year to date with interest rate cut season underway. This week I added one additional share of $WM ( ▲ 0.57% ) Waste Management to the stack. No matter what the market does people are still going to put garbage on the curb every week. Investing in waste management is basically betting that humans will keep making trash. Ouster $OUST ( ▼ 5.54% ) rose 13% today and announced a strategic partnership with Constellis, a global provider of advanced security.

Freedom Fund Background: I launched the Freedom Fund in October 2022 as a public brokerage account to show that anyone—with just a bank account and Social Security number—can start investing, even with a couple hundred dollars a week. I started from $0 to make the journey real and relatable. Each week, I share transparent updates on purchases, sales, dividends, and growth on X (@GrahamSchroeder) so you can follow along in real time. The hardest part of investing is getting started—so I did, publicly, to help others do the same.