We Study Billionaires - The Investor’s Podcast Network

RWH059: Ask Me Anything w/ William Green

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Jul 20, 2025

William Green reveals the three best decisions he's made, highlighting the importance of marrying young and building strong relationships. He shares insights on resilience from investing legends, emphasizing perseverance as a key to success. The conversation delves into the emotional complexities of investing and personal growth, underscoring the balance between ambition and benevolence. Additionally, William discusses the art of effective interviewing and how simplicity and authenticity contribute to lasting success.

02:04:55

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ANECDOTE

Green's Top Life Decisions

William Green made his three best life decisions: marrying young, investing early, and writing his book.
He emphasizes perseverance and surrounding decisions with wise outside inputs to guard against impulsivity.

insights

INSIGHT

Adversity Is Key to Success

Handling adversity and building indomitable perseverance underpin wealth and well-being.
Great investors view life as a sequence of challenges requiring persistence and emotional control.

insights

INSIGHT

From Anxiety to Altruism

Many successful investors start with anxiety and self-doubt, driven by hunger for success.
To be happy, they often transform competitive drive into service and helping others.

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Seeking Perspectives in Love

04:14 • 4min

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Investing in Kindness and Resilience

08:29 • 22min

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The Essential Role of Perseverance in Investing and Wealth Building

30:11 • 4min

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The Emotional Journey of Success

34:33 • 14min

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The Power of Sharing and Simplicity in Life

48:52 • 5min

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Simplicity and Authenticity in Success

53:38 • 12min

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A Harmonious Approach to Investing

01:05:54 • 4min

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Meditation and Interview Mastery

01:09:57 • 13min

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Navigating Career Transitions

01:22:47 • 22min

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Navigating Investment Resilience

01:45:07 • 17min

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The Great Minds of Investing

William Green

Master of Change

Brad Stulberg

Master of Change offers practical principles for cultivating a resilient mindset called 'rugged flexibility,' empowering readers to adapt, strengthen, and gain wisdom amidst life's constant fluctuations. The book describes change as an ongoing cycle of order, disorder, and reorder, and provides concrete habits and practices to implement this mindset. It emphasizes the importance of reflection, embracing feelings of sadness and loss, and taking productive action during challenges. Stulberg introduces the 4P framework: pause, process, plan, and proceed, to help readers respond effectively to change.

The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook

A Proven Way to Accept Yourself, Build Inner Strength, and Thrive

Kristin Neff

Christopher Germer, PhD

This workbook is based on the authors' groundbreaking eight-week Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC) program, which has helped tens of thousands of people worldwide. It includes guided meditations, informal practices, exercises, and stories to help readers address various common problems such as relationship stress, weight and body image issues, health concerns, and anxiety. The book emphasizes the elements of self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness to help readers break free from harsh self-judgments and cultivate emotional well-being.

Altered Traits

Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body

Richard J. Davidson

Daniel Goleman

In 'Altered Traits,' Daniel Goleman and Richard J. Davidson delve into the scientific research behind meditation, highlighting its ability to alter personality traits and benefit both mind and body. The book distinguishes between 'altered states' of consciousness during meditation and 'altered traits,' which are lasting psychological changes. It discusses various levels of meditation practice, from beginner to 'Olympic-level' meditators, and presents findings from over 6,000 scientific studies, focusing on those that meet high methodological standards. The authors explain how meditation can reduce stress, improve emotional health, enhance focus, and even change brain pathways, leading to more equanimity and compassion.

Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot

James Stockdale

This book is a compilation of James B. Stockdale's essays and speeches from the 1980s and 1990s, focusing on his experiences as a prisoner of war in Vietnam and how Stoic philosophy, particularly the teachings of Epictetus, helped him endure and thrive under extreme conditions. It explores themes of character, leadership, integrity, and ethics.

The education of a value investor

Guy Spier

In this book, Guy Spier narrates his early career struggles in investment banking on Wall Street and his transformation into a value investor. The book covers his experiences working at D.H. Blair, his education at Oxford and Harvard Business School, and the significant influences of Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger on his investment philosophy. It also emphasizes the importance of authenticity, continuous learning, and ethical considerations in investing. The book has been translated into several languages and has sold over 175,000 copies in English.

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

Meditations is a series of private writings composed by Marcus Aurelius, one of Rome's greatest emperors, as he struggled to understand himself and make sense of the universe. Written between 170 and 180 CE while on military campaigns, this work combines Stoic philosophy with personal observations on leadership, duty, mortality, and human nature. Through twelve books of intimate thoughts never intended for publication, Marcus Aurelius explores themes of self-improvement, resilience in the face of adversity, and living virtuously while accepting what cannot be changed.

Quit

The Power of Knowing When to Walk Away

Annie Duke

In this unusually personal and candid episode, William Green answers a wide range of probing questions posed by listeners to his podcast and readers of his book, “Richer, Wiser, Happier: How the World’s Greatest Investors Win in Markets & Life.” Here, William discusses the key qualities, principles, and practices he’s observed in the best investors; how they handle adversity; what he’s learned from his own setbacks, failures, and mistakes; and how he’d invest if he were starting over.

IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN:

00:00 - Intro 01:19 - What were the three best decisions William Green ever made? 17:04 - What Charlie Munger and Bill Miller can teach us about handling adversity. 23:40 - Why he views indomitable perseverance as the key to success. 34:52 - What drives investing stars like Bill Ackman, Will Danoff, and Mario Gabelli. 48:19 - Why the best investors focus on reducing complexity. 01:03:58 - How to succeed while constructing a calmer, more spacious life. 01:12:50 - How William approaches the art of interviewing. 01:38:22 - What he learned when his career (and profession) went up in smoke. 01:48:39 - What his worst investment mistakes taught him about building wealth. 01:53:28 - How investors can prosper mightily by getting the big things right. 01:55:23 - How he’d invest if he were starting over again.

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.
William Green’s podcast interview with Annie Duke.
William Green’s podcast interview with Samantha McLemore.
William Green’s podcast interview with Tsoknyi Rinpoche & Daniel Goleman.
William Green’s podcast interview with Bill Nygren.
William Green’s podcast interview with Brad Stulberg.
Guy Spier's The Education of a Value Investor.
Marcus Aurelius' Meditations.
Jim Stockdale's Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot.
Daniel Goleman & Richard Davison's Altered Traits.
Daniel Goleman & Tsoknyi Rinpoche's Why We Meditate⁠.
William Green’s ⁠TEDx Talk⁠.
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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