Cultivating Optimism Through Practice

In this episode, William Green chats with Arnold Van Den Berg, a revered investor whom he spotlighted in his book, Richer, Wiser, Happier. Against all odds, Arnold has run a highly successful investment firm for 50 years. Here, he discusses what he’s learned about how to succeed in markets & life; shares practical tools that he’s found transformative; & explains how he’s positioned to survive & thrive in the most overvalued US stock market he’s ever seen.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro 06:57 - How extreme focus saved the life of Arnold Van Den Berg’s father. 14:05 - How to develop one-pointed focus & get into a flow state. 18:50 - What Dostoevsky taught Arnold about avoiding lies & discerning truth. 40:58 - How Arnold overcame a terrible self-image & “reprogrammed” himself. 40:58 - How he taught himself to be a successful investor. 01:34:51 - What habits he practices every day, including his favorite affirmations. 01:47:53 - How he remains optimistic amid adversity. 01:51:56 - Why he’s betting big on gold, silver, uranium, oil & natural gas. 01:51:56 - Why he thinks the S&P 500 “is one of the worst things you could buy.” 01:57:54 - Why he warns against long-term Treasury bonds & “anything with leverage.” 02:02:24 - How he & his firm are harnessing Artificial Intelligence. 02:09:59 - What brings him the greatest happiness. 02:19:02 - What you’ll learn from his favorite book about the “real secret to life.”

Disclaimer: Slight discrepancies in the timestamps may occur due to podcast platform differences.

BOOKS AND RESOURCES

• Join Clay and a select group of passionate value investors for a retreat in Big Sky, Montana. Learn more ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Join the exclusive ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠TIP Mastermind Community⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to engage in meaningful stock investing discussions with Stig, Clay, Kyle, and the other community members.
• Inquire about William Green’s ⁠Richer, Wiser, Happier Masterclass⁠.
• Arnold Van Den Berg’s investment firm, Century Management.
• Write to request Arnold’s report on one-pointed focus. 
• Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's ⁠Flow⁠.
• Victor Frankl's Man’s Search for Meaning⁠.
• Fyodor Dostoevsky's ⁠The Brothers Karamazov.⁠
• James Nestor's Breath⁠.
• Leslie Lecron's Self Hypnotism.⁠
• Harry Carpenter's The Genie Within⁠.
• Harry Carpenter’s audio recordings for relaxation & self-hypnosis.
• James Allen' Mind is the Master⁠, including “From Poverty to Power”.
• William Green’s 2022 podcast interview with Arnold Van Den Berg.
• William Green’s 2023 podcast interview with Arnold Van Den Berg.
• William Green’s book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier” – ⁠⁠⁠read the reviews of this book⁠⁠⁠.
• Follow William Green on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠X⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
• Check out all the books mentioned and discussed in our podcast episodes ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.
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