#195 Morgan Housel: Get Rich, Stay Rich

Succeeding in both life and business is very difficult. The skills needed to scale a company often clash with those required to cultivate a thriving home life. Yet, Brent Beshore seems to have cracked the code—or at least he's actively working on it. In this conversation, he spills his secrets on excelling in both arenas. This episode is split into two parts: the first 45 minutes covers life and how to be a better person. Brent opens up about the evolution of his marriage, physical health, and inner life. The rest of the episode focuses on business. Shane and Beshore discuss private equity, how to hire (and when to fire) CEOs, incentives, why debt isn’t a good thing in an unpredictable world, stewardship versus ownership, and why personality tests are so important for a functional organization.After beginning his career as an entrepreneur, Brent Beshore founded Permanent Equity in 2007 and leads the firm as CEO. He works with investors and operators to evaluate new investment opportunities. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/ Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane Protekt: Simple solutions to support healthy routines. Enter the code "Knowledge" at checkout to receive 30% off your order. https://protekt.com/knowledge (00:00) Intro (05:08) Why Brent examined his life (09:44) How Brent "fixed" his relationships (20:04) How helping hurts (32:13) How Brent was subtly controlling relationships (40:36) Why Brent stopped drinking (mostly) (50:29) How to run a business with love yet competitively (01:00:34) Win-win relationships (01:05:34) On debt (01:19:28) On incentives (01:29:08) How to hire and fire CEOs (01:34:18) What most people miss about hiring (01:44:19) Brent's playbook for taking over a company (01:51:20) On projections (01:55:52) Revisiting investments (01:58:44) How "hands-off" is Brent? (02:08:34) Where people go wrong in private equity (02:14:07) On success

The skills it takes to get rich are drastically different from the skills it takes to stay rich. Few understand this phenomenon more than Morgan Housel. He's identified unique lessons about wealth, happiness, and money by studying the world's richest families and learning what they did to build their wealth and just how quickly they squandered it all.In this conversation, Shane and Housel discuss various aspects of risk-taking, wealth accumulation, and financial independence. Morgan explains the importance of understanding personal financial goals and the dangers of social comparison, lets everyone in on his personal financial “mistake” that instantly made him sleep better at night, and why the poorest people in the world disproportionately play the lottery—and why it makes sense that they do. They also touch on the influence of upbringing on financial behaviors, the difference between being rich and wealthy, and the critical role of compounding in financial success. Of course, we can’t have a writer as good as Morgan Housel on the podcast and not ask him about his process, so Housel concludes with insights into storytelling, his writing processes, and the importance of leading by example in teaching financial values to children.Morgan Housel is a partner at Collaborative Fund. Previously, he was an analyst at The Motley Fool. He is a two-time winner of the Best in Business Award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers and was selected by the Columbia Journalism Review for the Best Business Writing anthology. He's the author of two books: The Psychology of Money and Same as Ever.Watch the episode on YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos⁠ Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: ⁠https://fs.blog/newsletter/⁠ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - ⁠https://fs.blog/clear/⁠  Follow me: ⁠https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish⁠ Join our membership: ⁠https://fs.blog/membership/⁠ Sponsors Protekt: Simple solutions to support healthy routines. Enter the code "Knowledge" at checkout to receive 30% off your order. ⁠https://protekt.com/knowledge (00:00) Intro (04:46) Risk and income (07:40) On luck and skill (10:10) Buffett's secret strategy (12:28) The one trait you need to build wealth (16:20) Housel's capital allocation strategy (16:48) Index funds, explained (20:59) Expectations and moving goalposts (22:17) Your house: asset or liability? (27:39) Money lies we believe (32:12) How to avoid status games (35:04) Money rules from parents (40:15) Rich vs. wealthy (41:46) Housel's influential role models (42:48) Why are rich people miserable? (45:59) How success sows the seeds of average performance (49:50) On risk (50:59) Making money, spending money, saving money (52:50) How the Vanderbilt's squandered their wealth (1:04:11) How to manage your expectations (01:06:26) How to talk to kids about money (01:09:52) The biggest risk to capitalism (01:13:56) The magic of compounding (01:16:18) How Morgan reads (01:22:42) How to tell the best story (01:24:42) How Morgan writes (01:35:42) Parting wisdom and thoughts on success

Over the last decade, therapy has become the de facto solution to solve all sorts of problems for all sorts of people. Everyone has slowly accepted that therapy is normal and a net benefit to society. But instead of helping kids work through difficult circumstances, what if it's just making the problems worse? That's what Abigail Shrier thinks is happening, and in this conversation, she reveals some surprising reasons why. Shane and Shrier discuss the real reason therapy is "bad," how we got to this point of acceptance as a culture, and what you can do as a parent to get back to normalcy. Shrier also shares her experiences with lifelong therapy patients, who should actually be in therapy, and the one thing that makes someone a successful parent. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane Protekt: Simple solutions to support healthy routines. Enter the code "Knowledge" at checkout to receive 30% off your order. https://protekt.com/knowledge (00:00) Intro (05:44) Inverse: How do we raise mentally unstable kids? (08:29) How we got to now (11:45) Bad therapy...or just social trends? (13:21) Being your kids' friend: good or bad? (15:55) The parenting type that raises the BEST kids (21:35) Is this all the parents' fault? (29:53) Is "Bad Therapy" a world-wide problem? (32:57) Talk to your kids' therapist about these things (42:09) The importance of facing adversity in childhood (47:06) Can we blame grad schools for all of this? (49:14) On technology and social media (51:03) Schools should "never" have gotten involved in mental health (54:43) Did COVID accelerate "bad therapy?" (56:07) How to return to normalcy (58:21) Why Shane shares negative YouTube comments with his kids (01:01:23) Shrier's experience being "cancelled" (01:04:13) On prestige media (01:07:47) Small steps parents can take to return to normal (01:11:02) Dealing with schools saying one thing and parents saying another (01:13:32) Why is the silent majority...silent? (01:16:32) If this continues, what happens? (01:18:19) What makes someone a successful parent?

What if reaching the next level of success wasn't determined by another skill, degree, or course but by something that changed on the inside? That's what Dr. Jim Loehr believes, and in this episode, he reveals everything he knows about mental toughness and winning the mind game. Shane and Loehr discuss the radical importance of the stories you tell yourself—including how they can damage your kids—and how to change the negative stories you believe. Loehr also shares the best reflection questions to ask yourself to reveal personal blindspots, the importance of rituals for calming anxiety and performing under pressure, and how the best in the world use their recovery time effectively. Dr. Jim Loehr is a world-renowned performance psychologist and author of 16 books. From his more than 30 years of experience and applied research, Dr. Loehr believes the single most important factor in successful achievement, personal fulfillment, and life satisfaction is the strength of one’s character. Dr. Loehr possesses a masters and doctorate in psychology and is a full member of the American Psychological Association. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsor: Protekt: Simple solutions to support healthy routines. Enter the code "Knowledge" at checkout to receive 30% off your order. https://protekt.com/knowledge   (00:00) Intro (03:20) Parenting and storytelling (06:15) How to determine whether or not the stories are limiting or enabling you (08:41) What the stories world-class performers tell themselves (15:02) How to change the stories you tell yourself (23:26) Questions to journal about (26:16) Private voices vs. public voices (and how they impact your kids) (31:32) How to help your friends change their stories (37:30) How to better come alongside your kids to prevent destructive behavior (44:48) - (45:06) What Loehr knows about high performers that others miss (53:12) On time and energy (01:06:26) Conquering the "between point" ritual (01:11:50) On rituals vs. habits (01:15:54) How to increase your mental toughness (01:23:51) On success    

Working in a business and working on a business are two different things. Without the former, nothing gets done; without the latter, the wrong things get done. David Segal has a unique way of managing that tension, and this episode, he reveals all his business operating secrets and explains how he failed along the way. Shane and Segal discuss what entrepreneurship really is, where motivation comes from, and what Segal learned building a $200 million tea business. Shane and David also dive deep into the dark side of success and the radical depression that can strike when you get a big payday, life and business lessons they learned from Warren Buffett, and the value of time management. David Segal is the co-founder of Firebelly Tea. He’s also best known as “the David” of DAVIDsTEA. During his time at DAVIDsTEA, Segal grew the company from a single store to a $200 million retail giant. Segal left DAVIDsTEA in 2016 and started Mad Radish—a quick service restaurant concept. Mad Radish is all about providing healthy, gourmet fast foods. In 2021, Segal started Firebelly tea to create exceptional loose leaf teas tailored to modern living. Listeners of The Knowledge Project can receive a special 15 percent discount on Firebelly Tea products by heading to www.firebellytea.com and entering the code Shane15 at checkout. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsor: Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane   (00:00) Intro (04:59) What entrepreneurship really is (07:10) How to manage your psychology (10:40) Yearly planning, daily action (15:50) Avoiding "ivory-tower syndrome" (18:30) Segal's childhood and background (25:15) The history of DAVIDsTEA and Firebelly (36:40) The evolution of tea and business over the last twenty years (42:30) On failures (49:00) Dealing with depression (52:30) Lessons about money (56:55) Business and life lessons from Warren Buffett (1:00:00) On time management (1:04:50) What's missing in Segal's life (1:08:39) On success    

Shane Parrish sits down with the renowned biochemist Dr. Rhonda Patrick to explore the intricate world of nutrition and health. Dr. Patrick provides a deep dive into the role micronutrients play in our daily health, detailing how deficiencies and insufficiencies in vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and amino acids can lead to serious health issues over time. Shane and Dr. Patrick also discuss the science behind deliberate heat exposure. She outlines the optimal sauna conditions—temperature, duration, and frequency—necessary to achieve these health benefits and explains the physiological mechanisms at play. Rhonda Patrick has a Ph.D. in biomedical science and a Bachelor of Science degree in biochemistry/chemistry from the University of California, San Diego. She has done extensive research on aging, cancer, and nutrition. (00:00) Intro (04:40) A philosophy for nutrition (15:36) Micronutrients through supplements vs. food (25:43) Wild-caught vs. farm-raised fish (28:44) Organic vs. non-organic vegetables (36:14) On macronutrients (40:20) How protein levels differ in different foods (45:27) The best morning smoothie recipe (54:48) Dr. Patrick grades Shane's "GOAT" smoothie recipe (59:14) Grass-fed vs. non-grass fed (01:04:40) On vitamin D (Is sunscreen killing us more than the sun?) (01:19:48) Deliberate heat and cold exposure (01:44:27) Top three behavioral and diet interventions for life and health improvements Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane

Throughout his tenure, Brad Jacobs has built multiple billion-dollar companies. While there is no "playbook" for growing a business, he focuses on a few factors above all else in every company he operates, and in this conversation, he reveals them all. Shane and Jacobs discuss how to read anyone during an interview through a series of intentional questions, the exciting role of AI and technology in the future of business, and where money-making ideas hide in companies. Jacobs also shares how his training in math and music made him a better business operator, the one thing he focuses on to grow his businesses, how to spot big trends before everyone else, and the only thing a company should focus on for success. Brad Jacobs has started five companies from scratch and led each to become a billion-dollar or multibillion-dollar enterprise. These include three publicly traded companies: XPO Logistics, where he serves as Chairman and CEO, United Rentals, and United Waste Systems. Before starting XPO in 2011, Jacobs founded United Rentals in 1997 and led the company as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. In 1989, he founded United Waste Systems.   (00:00) Intro (04:44) The future of AI (07:21) How to think rationally (08:48) The major trend (10:57) The research process (13:29) On asking better questions (19:35) On rearranging your brain (22:23) On music, math, simplicity, and business (32:26) Leverage, debt, and optionality (35:11) What it takes to take contrarian bets (40:45) Confidence and parents (50:21) Why negative-only feedback is detrimental for employees (56:14) Money lessons (58:13) A deep dive on M&A (Jacobs' secret sauce to growing his companies) (01:07:51) Questions to immediately get to know anyone (01:11:14) On boards and board meetings (01:16:57) On decision-making (01:23:37) The role of capital markets (01:25:41) The type of person you don't want to hire (01:31:16) The best capital allocators (01:33:53) Biggest lesson Jacobs learned from the past year (01:37:20) On success   Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet Shopify: Making commerce better for everyone. https://www.shopify.com/shane

Most families who obtain immense wealth squander it by the third generation. But Chris Davis comes from a family whose grandfather and father all became independently wealthy of each other, and Davis has done the same. How does that keep happening? In this conversation, we find out. Shane and Chris discuss life and investment lessons he learned from his father and grandfather, why writing is more important to clarify one's thinking no matter who's reading it, and the surprising benefit of reading physical newspapers and wearing ties to work. Davis also shares his value-investing philosophy, what he learned from working with and meeting Charlie Munger, and what parents can do to raise kids who aren't entitled. Davis talks about his alcohol drink tracker and why it's important to him, why he never puts himself in situations where envy can grow, and the insights from Warren Buffett's key letter about why investment managers underperform. Chris Davis is on the board of Berkshire Hathaway and The Coca-Cola Company. Davis is Chairman of Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc., an independent investment management firm founded in 1969. Davis joined Davis Selected Advisers-NY, Inc. in 1989 as a financial analyst, and in 1995, he became a portfolio manager of the firm’s flagship funds. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - I share timeless insights and ideas you can use at work and home. Join over 600k others every Sunday and subscribe to Brain Food. Try it: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet   (00:00) Intro (03:20) Life lessons Davis learned from his grandfather and father (26:24) The importance of writing things no one reads (36:55) Davis' experiences through financial crises (52:31) Why Davis loves managing a mutual fund (55:49) Why Berkshire Hathaway operates with margin (01:01:05) What is risk? (01:04:02) On low interest rates and their future impact (01:14:46) The mismatched timelines between CEOs, companies, investors, and policy (01:22:19) How Davis and Munger met (01:30:20) Lessons learned from Munger (01:41:29) Why avoiding weaknesses is the ultimate recipe for success (01:55:46) How to raise non-entitled kids and avoid lifestyle creep (01:16:10) On happiness (02:27:00) Good vs. bad board meetings (02:31:34) Three generations of wealth (02:37:15) On success

What can you do (or avoid) tomorrow to guarantee you can live longer? In this episode, Bryan Johnson reveals the five simple disciplines you can start doing to live healthier and longer. Johnson shares what his daily routine looks like, the ins and outs of his experimentation process, and why he gave his father plasma. Johnson also opens up about the constant hate he receives from people online, how he deals with it all, and what he wishes he'd known when he sold his company. Bryan Johnson is the world's most measured human. Johnson sold his company to PayPal in 2013. Through Project Blueprint, Johnson has achieved metabolic health equal to the top 1.5% of 18 year olds, inflammation 66% lower than the average 10 year old, and reduced his speed of aging by the equivalent of 31 years. Johnson is also the founder of Kernel, creator of the world’s first mainstream non-invasive neuroimaging system; and OS Fund, where he invested in the predictable engineering of atoms, molecules, and organisms. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - Each week I share timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My New Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet   Timecodes: (00:00:00) Intro (00:03:45) On biographies (00:08:03) On depression and coping mechanisms (00:14:18) Self-destructive behavior and how to pitch Blueprint to someone (00:26:50) What a day looks like on Blueprint (exercise and what to eat) (00:42:06) How to turn Blueprint protocols into habits (00:45:17) Embracing the hate (00:49:07) The downsides and lessons of making money (00:59:22) The five habits (01:05:09) Why does posture matter? (01:07:48) Relationship between biological health and sexual health (01:09:50) Hair-loss prevention (01:15:46) Sunscreen, plastics, and other miscellaneous impacts on aging (01:18:30) How will AI help us? (01:22:10) On success

Dr. Becky Kennedy shares the crucial life and parenting skills you need but didn't get taught on regulating emotions, setting boundaries, and the best sentence you can say when a partner tells you something difficult. This episode applies to EVERY relationship in your life, not just your kids. Get ready to parent more effectively with less stress, repair after a disagreement, regulate emotions, and unlock the next level in all of your relationships.  Dubbed the “The Millennial Parenting Whisperer” by TIME Magazine, Dr. Kennedy is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be. She also hosts “Good Inside with Dr Becky,” the top kids and family show on Apple Podcasts. Follow Becky https://www.instagram.com/drbeckyatgoodinside/ Watch the episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/theknowledgeproject/videos Newsletter - Each week I share timeless insights and ideas that you can use at work and home. Add it to your inbox: https://fs.blog/newsletter/ My New Book! Clear Thinking: Turning Ordinary Moments into Extraordinary Results is out now - https://fs.blog/clear/  Follow me: https://beacons.ai/shaneparrish Join our membership: https://fs.blog/membership/ Sponsors: Eight Sleep: Sleep to power a whole new you. https://www.eightsleep.com/farnamstreet Metalab: https://www.metalab.com