Rule Breaker Investing

Why do some organizations seem unable to solve the very problems they were created to fix? Why do seemingly rational people end up chasing the wrong goals? And why does one innocent purchase so often lead to five more?

In this new volume of RBI’s recurring cerebral series, David explores a handful of memorable laws and principles that help explain how people, businesses, markets, and institutions actually behave… from the sublime to the silly. Some are famous. One is his own. All are useful.

Host: David Gardner
Producer: Bart Shannon

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What happens when Nvidia’s annual dividend suddenly exceeds David’s original Motley Fool cost basis—six times over? This month’s Mailbag brings back a Foolish old term, “divvy-pop,” while also revisiting the power of doing less, holding more, and letting great companies keep surprising you.
Also inside: a Buffett-meets-Rule-Breaker reflection from British Columbia, a jellybean contest gone mathematically sideways, a GameStop question that runs straight into the Snap Test, and a closing shout-out to Mr. Ernst’s personal finance class at Kopachuck Middle School in Gig Harbor, Washington—where the next generation is already learning that investing means ownership.

Companies Mentioned: AAPL, AMZN, ANET, BIDU, BN, BRK.A, BRK.B, CHWY, EBAY, ⁠FFH.TO⁠, GME, GOOG, ISRG, MELI, META, NFLX, NVDA, SHOP, TMFC, TSLA
Host: David Gardner
Producer: Bart Shannon

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To mark his 60th birthday, David delivers what may be the most distilled episode in Rule Breaker Investing history: 20 thoughts about investing, 20 about business, and 20 about life—gathered from decades of entrepreneurship, stock-picking, reading, losing, winning, and trying to stay Foolish along the way.

From the “Ship of Fools” and the spiffy-pop, to optionality, fads that weren’t fads, the hardest thing in life, divergence and convergence, and why the longer Frank Lloyd Wright lived, the more beautiful life became… this is a fast-moving collection of convictions, stories, quotes, and life-earned observations designed to stick with you long after the episode ends.
A milestone birthday. A landmark episode. [And yes: somehow, he fit 60 thoughts within 60 minutes.]

Host: David Gardner
Producer: Bart Shannon

Companies Mentioned: ABNB, AMZN, CROX, GOOG, LUV, NFLX, SBUX, TSLA

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Once a year, around David’s birthday, listeners send in notes sharing what they’ve learned from this podcast over the years—about investing, business, and life. This year’s volume includes reflections on “dips wait for dips,” learning to appreciate mistakes instead of fearing them, the surprising power of simply doing nothing during market volatility, and why optimism itself may be one of the great competitive advantages in life.
Along the way: a physician assistant on the front lines of COVID, a renowned cancer surgeon who juggles, a Foolish Leprechaun who finally stopped trading and started investing, and a Scotsman reminding us all to look for L’Optimisme in the world.
Host: David Gardner
Producer: Bart Shannon

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What happens when you actually do the thing most investors only talk about… and hold stocks for a full decade? This week, David welcomes The Motley Fool’s Tim Beyers and together they go back exactly 10 years—to the week—to revisit five companies picked in May 2016, scoring how they really did and, more importantly, asking why. From biotech to big data to media to real estate, this episode is about both the scoreboard and the lessons only time can teach.

If you’ve ever wondered what a true 10-year mindset looks like—voilà.

Host: David Gardner
Guest: Tim Beyers
Producer: Kristi Waterworth

Companies Mentioned: CELG, DIS, MNDY, SPLK, TWTR, Z

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From buying in thirds instead of waiting for dips, to a dishwasher hack that still requires the humans to remember the hack, to one listener’s beautifully rebalanced “harbor-and-horizon” portfolio, this month’s mailbag is as motley as ever. Along the way, David cleans up a long-used reference to Heisenberg vs. Hawthorne, hears how Magical Athlete has become a family hit, and considers a pair of listener suggestions that may permanently improve the Market Cap Game Show.

Companies Mentioned: ADBE, DUOL, HUBS, INTU, ISRG, MELI, NBIS, NVDA, RKLB, TSM
Host: David Gardner
Producer: Bart Shannon

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What happens when you bring together three storytellers, three themes, and a podcast devoted to making you smarter, happier, and richer? You get Three Fools, our continuing episodic series! This time ’round, David is joined by superstar guests Bill Burke and Mahan Tavakoli as they each share three stories—one to educate, one to amuse, and one to enrich. From investing lessons that last a lifetime to laugh-out-loud anecdotes and heartwarming life insights, these nine stories are packed with inspiration and practical takeaways.
Host: David Gardner
Guests: Bill Burke, Mahan Tavakoli
Producer: Bart Shannon

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Some financial terms sound scarier than they are. Others sound familiar… right up until you realize you don’t actually know what they mean.
This week, David returns with Volume 8 of Gotta Know the Lingo, welcoming Fool analysts Alicia Alfiere, Amanda Kish, and Nick Sciple to help translate the language of investing for the rest of us. Some terms are simpler, some more advanced, all of them useful—and if you’ve ever nodded along to financial jargon hoping nobody would ask a follow-up, this episode is for you. As always, there’s a scoring system, a little Foolish fun, and a few concepts that may stick with you longer than the ticker tape.
Host: David Gardner
Guests: Alicia Alfiere, Amanda Kish, Nick Sciple
Producer: Bart Shannon

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Can you quickly decide which AI companies deserve your attention—and which to skip? What do you believe that most people don’t? And is there a simple trick, learnable in one afternoon, that can delight kids (and maybe yourself) for a lifetime?

This week, David returns with Volume 11 of one of our OG episodic series: Mental Tips, Tricks & Lifehacks. He shares seven small ideas that punch above their weight: from a clever $10 household fix, to a mindset shift borrowed from Kevin Kelly, to dialing down big ambitions into “little bets” that actually get done. Oh, and some recent boardgame picks!

Host: David Gardner
Producer: Bart Shannon

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Some truths are too good to say only once. This week, David re-blasts five timelessly powerful ideas from the past—about identity, investing, serenity, frameworks, and questioning—and brings them together in a fresh 2026 mix. One quietly powerful idea runs underneath: What you do, repeatedly, becomes who you are.
Along the way:

Companies mentioned: AMZN, CMG, ISRG, MELI, NFLX, NVDA, SHOP, TSLA
Host: David Gardner
Producer: Bart Shannon

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