Smart Money

What’s up Smart Money Crew! It’s your favorite host Dean Thomas. Today’s episode is going to be a little bit different. If you follow me at all on Instagram or know me in real life, you’ll know that I am a HUGE nerd when it comes to reading. I am obsessed with empowering ideas that I can implement into my own life and also love learning from the great minds of the present and past – learning from the greats who overcame the same questions, doubts, and problems I face myself today.

I read A LOT. But very few authors capture my attention and blow my mind like Naval Ravikant. Huge props to my boy Big Money Sean Penso (who hopefully will be coming on the podcast very soon) for introducing me to his work.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Naval, he is a fellow Dartmouth alum who also happens to be a very successful venture capitalist and the founder of AngelList. His ideas have been captured in a book called the Almanack of Naval Ravikant and picking up this book was like somebody introducing me to the meaning of life. I found myself underlining and re-reading almost every paragraph of the book as I went through because each statement and logical progression seemed to capture so much power with very few words.

This will be part one of a three part series where I go through some of the most powerful ideas I found from this book and wanted to share with you guys. Enjoy :)

What’s up Smart Money Crew – hope you are having a wonderful week. It’s your favorite host Mr. Dean Thomas. This is part two of a two part series with the incredibly talented Xu Rui. If you missed the first part, please feel free to check out the previous episode – #023. In this finale, we talk through the mechanics of her Airbnb empire, realizations she had upon achieving financial freedom, and ultimately her perspectives on what gives her life meaning. If you’re in the right place, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show :)

What’s up Smart Money Crew. It’s your host Dean Thomas. Happy New Year – hope you are having a wonderful start to the big 2021. Apologies for being away for a minute! If you follow crypto markets at all, you will know how incredible the past few weeks have been in terms of opportunity.

So let’s cut to the chase. Today’s episode is part one of a two part series with one of the most successful and well-balanced individuals in my network. She is a self-made multi-millionaire from Singapore who built her real estate empire from scratch in the United States all while balancing product manager roles at prestigious tech firms like Microsoft and Stripe. Her unique balance of ultra-high intellect along with ability to effectively work with people is simply unparalleled.

We are very lucky to have her on the show with us. Without further ado, please give a warm Smart Money welcome to the  incredible Xu Rui

Welcome back to the second half of a two part interview series with Mr. Phil Louden. If you missed the first half of the interview, please feel free to check out the previous episode – podcast #021. If you are in the right place, feel free to sit back, relax, and enjoy this finale as we touch upon the inner transformation we’ve both undergone as entrepreneurs as well as Phil’s unique experiences healing childhood trauma with alternative plant medicines. Enjoy :)

What’s up Smart Money Crew! It’s your host Dean Thomas :) - back with a two part interview series with Mr. Phil Louden. Phil is a true citizen of the world. He has traveled to more places than I’ve heard of all while building a successful 7-figure drop-shipping business from his  laptop. In this first half of the interview, we discuss the power of limiting beliefs, the roller coaster ride that is entrepreneurship, and advice for young cats looking to come up and follow in his footsteps. Sit back, relax, and give a warm Smart Money welcome to my friend Phil Louden.

This is part 3 of a three part series with big data analyst and perhaps the luckiest man in the world of crypto trading, Mr. Paul Hoffman. If you missed the first and second parts of this interview, please feel free to check out the previous two episodes – podcasts #018 and #019. If you’re in the right place, please sit back relax, and enjoy this finale where we discuss David Goggins, personal development, and the most valuable asset we possess. Please enjoy!

This is part 2 of a three part series with big data analyst and perhaps the luckiest man in the world of crypto trading, Mr. Paul Hoffman. If you missed the first part of his interview, please feel free to check out the previous episode – podcast #018. If you’re  in the right place, please sit back relax, and enjoy part two where we discuss Paul’s experience in the military, his top productivity hacks, and then a little about the irrationality of mankind. Please enjoy!

This will be the first part of a three part series where I interview a very special guest. A big data scientist for the Dutch military by trade, he has made over 60x his money investing in cryptocurrencies in his time off. He speaks on the future of digital assets, investing, and karma in the new digital economy. I hope you enjoy J. Please welcome to the show – the great Paul Hoffman.

On the last episode of Veggie Tales, we discussed the importance of tracking. Now that we know where we are and we are taking steps to save more of what we are making, where do we go from here?

Let’s take a moment to acknowledge the greatness of a man by the name of Jack Bogle. Warren Buffett is quoted to have said, “Jack did more for American investors as a whole than any individual I’ve known. A lot of Wall Street is devoted to charging a lot for nothing. He instead charged nothing for a lot.”

Jack Bogle is famously known as the founding father of the index fund. He famously started the investment firm Vanguard which was the first of its kind to be owned entirely by its investors rather than a management firm on Wall Street charging high fees.

To borrow from the wisdom of this man, I will read a passage from his introduction to “The Little Book of Common Sense Investing.” He writes, “Successful investing is ALL about common sense. As the Oracle has said, it is simple, but it is not easy. Simple arithmetic suggests, and history confirms, that the winning strategy is to own all of the nation’s publicly held businesses at very low cost. By doing so you are guaranteed to capture almost the entire return that they generate in the form of dividends and earnings growth. The best way to implement this strategy is indeed simple: Buying a fund that holds this market portfolio, and holding it forever. Such a fund is called an index fund.”

“Please think for a moment, about the relentless rules of humble arithmetic. These iron rules define the game. As investors, all of us as a group earn the stock market’s return. As a group – we are average. In other words, each extra return that one of us earns means that another of our fellow investors suffers a return shortfall of precisely the same dimension. Before the deduction of the costs of investing, beating the stock market is a zero-sum game.”

So why do we waste our time trying to outsmart the market as a whole? Perhaps out of ego, or pride thinking we are the exception rather than the rule.

But as Andrew Tobias writes, “aiming for higher returns is a good way to get lower returns…Unless you want to switch from being a watever you were being to being a financier; unless you enjoy worrying about money and taking risks and paying taxes on profits and stewing over your losses; unless you are intrigued by the machinations of the Fed’s Open Market Committee and the effects on the financial markets of the latest fiduciary fad – you should simply structure your assets, should you be so fortunate as to have them in such abundance, so as to give you security and peace of mind.

Life is not a business, as my father used to say. Why not set yourself up comfortably and stop worrying?”

As we grow up in life, people tend to tell us that less and less is possible - that there is no magic in the world -  That we should grow up and that our dreams are unrealistic.

And yet if we’re honest with ourselves in moments of quiet reflection, our inner voice shines through. Our passions for our most inspired dreams refuse to be tamed –refuse to be silenced. In these moments it takes tremendous courage to turn down the outside noise and to listen to our own inner calling.

My next guest did this and more – gaining entrance into the prestigious world of mergers & acquisitions investment banking before realizing that her true love lay not in spreadsheets and deal making but rather in professional tennis. She left it all behind – the money, the prestige, the career to bet it all on herself.

Fueled by nothing save her passion for the sport and incredible self-belief, she has overcome hardship after hardship to strive, to stumble, to fall - ever forward in the never-ending pursuit of her highest ideals.

Please give a very warm Smart Money welcome to my good friend, professional tennis player, Taylor Ng.