Welcome Back to RV Classics
- Real Vision
- February 24, 2023
This is RV Classics, a monthly newsletter where we travel deep into the Real Vision vault. We’ve spent the last 8 years learning from some of the greatest investors of our time, and we’ve got thousands of hours of analysis to show for it. Well, now it’s time to revive the most thought-provoking, relevant insights.
Consider these our tales from the crypt — the greatest hits handpicked by Raoul Pal to help you learn how past cycles are shaping the world today.
*Based on your feedback, we’re going to publish RV Classics once per month from now on, to give you a little more time to take it all in…
Real Vision Classics Newsletter
A decade of the best financial interviews, compressed into a 5-minute read.
This Week…
We’re going deep into the way-back machine of Real Vision — our chosen interview [paywalled] was filmed in 2015, but given that human nature takes millennia to change rather than years, it’s as valuable today as it was back then.
In it, Raoul Pal sits down with legendary fund manager Mark Hart and Tim Ferriss, the impressively multi-hyphenate entrepreneur-investor-author-lifestyle advisor.
At its core, the key lesson in this interview is how we all should be re-examining our habits and priorities in order to optimize the most valuable currency on earth: time.
Think of this episode as an evergreen lesson on ways to invest in yourself no matter what’s happening between the bells. Enjoy.
If you’re looking for a reliable way to elevate your investing education, look no further. Now you can access The Real Investing Course — part of the Real Vision Academy — without committing to an annual membership… and at 40% discount.
With thousands of hours of expert insights distilled into one 10-hour workshop, the course gives you all the tools you’ll need to navigate markets no matter the environment — with lessons from trading legends like Peter Brandt, Lyn Alden, Mike Green, Raoul Pal, and many more.
The Highlight Reel
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When it comes to process, doable is better than perfect…
Tim: “An example is breakfast, and specifically 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up. And could it be 20 grams, or 40 grams, 20 minutes, or 40 minutes? Sure, [but] the 30 within 30 is easy to remember. And the good program or protocol that you follow is better than the perfect program or protocol that you don’t.” - … And principles are more important than tools.
Tim: “A fantastic place to start [is focusing] on effectiveness over efficiency: Effectiveness being choosing your activities wisely, and efficiency being doing those activities well.“But doing something well does not make it important. And it’s very easy to conflate those two, in a world where you are constantly hit with propaganda for the latest tools. But the principles are more important than the tools.”
Good results don’t mean good process. Tim: “You can get a bad result after very good process; you can get a great result after very bad process. So your method of investing could be covering your eyes and throwing a dart at a dartboard with the companies on it. And you could get lucky and have a great outcome. But that doesn’t make that a good process. And vice versa.
“[Refining your process] prevents a lot of the sort of depression and malaise that can come from bad outcomes, which are just part of the game.”
Time is a currency, and allocation is important. Tim: “I think of time as one of several currencies. Time is non-renewable, whereas capital is renewable. So in the hierarchy of prioritization — past a certain point on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs — allocating [your time] effectively should become your number one priority. So I think that if you don’t have time, it’s an indication of not having sufficiently clear priorities.”
Investing is pretty much a microcosm of life.
Tim: “Investing is a good metaphor for life. It’s allocation of resources. It’s a mistake to view your primary and only currency as capital. Time and mobility, these all determine the actual value of your capital. Because if you don’t have time, you can’t exchange that money for experience.”
Watch Now
Real Vision Classics Newsletter
A decade of the best financial interviews, compressed into a 5-minute read.