What I Learned Interviewing William Green

I recently had the honour of interviewing William Green , author of Richer, Wiser, Happier. This is one of my favourite investing books and Charlie Munger agreed, calling it one of the best investing books ever written.

I found the interview to be transformative for several reasons which I attempt to summarize below:

Munger’s lessons

Relationships are the most important thing.

• After reading William’s book, Charlie Munger commented that he was amazed at how many of those profiled were divorced. It raises the point that we should not prioritize the ‘Richer’ part of the equation at the expense of those relationships that are most important to us. There is no point in having too much money but having kids who hate you. This point about prioritizing relationships is vital to living a full and purposeful life.
• Be selective of the relationships that you allow into your life. Surround yourself with positive people who share your values, and are trying to make the world a better place.
• Let’s redefine success to accommodate the tension between the ‘Richer’ and ‘Wiser/Happier’ parts. Success is about more than just money.

Pay attention to managing your inner landscape.

• Munger focused on reducing ‘standard stupidities’. He was mindful of things that make no sense, and he tried to avoid those things. He spoke of envy being one of the dumbest sins to engage in because it doesn’t even provide you with enjoyment.
• Munger had a super power discipline of being mindful of negative emotions and not allowing those emotions to run. He was no mere mortal, so it was easy for him to do this. For the rest of us we need to work on it. The first step is knowing which negative emotions to avoid, being mindful when we feel those emotions, and then managing our inner landscapes so as not to let them run.
• You must measure yourself by an inner scorecard where your actions align with your values and not those of importance to the outside world.

Arnold Van Den Berg: Power Of Positivity

• Van Den Berg was a survivor of the Holocaust who grew up at an orphanage during the war. His parents miraculously survived Auschwitz. When they went to fetch Arnold from the orphanage, they didn’t recognize him because he was so malnourished. Van Den Berg was too young to understand why his parents put him in an orphanage, and he felt ‘abandoned’.
• He grew up with a lot of anger. His father used to beat him and when he got married his wife left him for another man. He had many reasons to be bitter, but he discovered the art of self-suggestion and resolved to be a positive person.
• He reprogrammed his mind to focus on positive things and, although it took time, he started compounding positivity until he eventually became a successful money manager, family man and human being.
• He focused on putting positivity out into the world and subverting his ego to give of himself while helping others.
• William believes that, in his eyes, of all of the people he has interviewed, Van Den Berg is the most successful human.

William Is A Master Of His Inner Landscape

• My take on William is that he spends a lot of time and energy focusing on living a purposeful life while internalizing the lessons he has learned. He is deeply spiritual and thoughtful.
• Probably the biggest lesson I learned during his visit was from the way he responded to a situation of adversity. William’s session at the conference was moved from the main stage to a smaller breakout room. He did not know about this, and he felt like it was a bit of a bait and switch. In fact, he may have not agreed to fly to Toronto if he had known in advance. He was, rightfully, annoyed, as was I – since I had convinced him to come.
• Just prior to our fireside chat where I was to interview him, William pulled me aside and told me that he was aggravated, and this moment was an opportunity for him to be mindful of putting his ego down. If his talk could have a positive impact on one person in the room, then it was worth the trip.
• I watched him go from being annoyed, to masterfully managing his inner landscape by refocusing on something positive. He then proceeded to knock the ball out of the park during his talk. For me, it was a striking example of how best to conduct ourselves.
• At the end of the talk a woman went up to William and told him that she was planning on making a large philanthropic gift and William’s talk had reinforced that it was the right thing for her to do. Mission accomplished – he deemed his trip to be worth it. Ego be damned!
• The beauty of William’s example is that he showed that he is human. He got annoyed but, thanks to a huge generosity of spirit, he quickly recentered. I probably would have wallowed in my annoyance thereby bringing negative energy to the talk. I was so thankful for such a wonderful lesson.
• William took time out of his extremely busy life to come to Toronto for the benefit of charity and as a favour to me. I owe him big time and I intend to repay it at some point.

Summary

• Focus on relationships. They are the most important thing. Lift people up.
• Put positive out into the world. A positive attitude matters.
• Pay attention to managing your inner landscape.
• Don’t let your ego get the better of you.
• Be a mentsch.