In one sentence: In a mostly personal first show of 2023, Phil and Danielle tell how they got into investing and publishing, then introduce Gretchen Rubin's Four Tendencies (how people respond to inner and outer expectations) as a way to think about goals and an investing practice.
Key ideas
- Origin stories. Phil started investing in 1980, learned Buffett's approach from a mentor, and wrote Rule #1 and Payback Time. Danielle came to investing through illness and her father's patience, then co-wrote InvestED. [01:00–08:00]
- Platform sells books. Publishers back authors who already have an audience; pre-orders stack into one first-week number. Mostly background on publishing, little for investors. [08:00–18:00]
- The path is well worn. Phil says the books mostly record their experience of following the path Graham, Buffett and Munger laid out. [22:00–23:00]
- Resolutions versus goals. Phil says a resolution should mean "all in" on a few things; a goal is only a strong intention, and merely writing it down can feel like progress. [27:00–29:30]
- Four Tendencies. From Gretchen Rubin's Better Than Before: how you respond to outer expectations (from others) and inner expectations (from yourself). Upholders meet both; Obligers meet outer but not inner; Questioners meet inner but resist outer; Rebels resist both. Danielle says she is a Rebel. [29:00–35:00]
- Obligers need outside accountability (a trainer, a buddy). Phil frames this as part of why some people stay with a practice. [32:00–34:00]
- Brief tribute. Phil remembers a friend, an event promoter, who died. [23:00–26:30]
How it maps to RuleOne
- Nothing on the site maps directly. The connection is behavioural: an investing practice (reading, researching, waiting) needs a structure that suits your tendency. The review steps on /holdings/ could act as an "outer" checkpoint.
Buffett, Munger and Graham links
- Munger's 2012 BBC talk and Buffett's letters present a simple method that people fail to follow, not one that is hard to understand. This echoes Buffett's "simple but not easy" line.
Words to know
- Inner expectation: what you expect of yourself.
- Outer expectation: what others expect of you.
- Platform: an existing audience that makes a book commercially attractive to a publisher.
Try this
Take Gretchen Rubin's free Four Tendencies quiz, then write one investing habit (for example, reading one 10-K section a week) and one way to match it to your tendency.
Check yourself
- Which tendency responds to outer but not inner expectations?
Answer
The Obliger. - Why does Phil say goals can mislead?
Answer
Having a goal can feel like progress, which weakens the push to act.
Short quotes
"A goal is a strong intention." (Phil, ~28:50, auto-transcribed)