Blast from the Past, Vol. 11: Character

0:01Roy Spence:When Johann Rall received the letter on Christmas Day 1776, he put it away to read later. Maybe he thought it was a season's greeting and wanted to save it for the fireside. But what it actually was, was a warning, delivered to the Hessian colonel, letting him know that General George Washington was crossing the Delaware and would soon attack his forces. The next day, when Rall lost the Battle of Trenton and died from two colonial Boxing Day musket balls, the letter was found, unopened, in his vest pocket. As someone with 15 ,000 unread emails in his inbox, I feel like there's a lesson there. Oh well, this is The Constant, a history of getting things wrong.

0:40Roy Spence:I'm Mark Chrysler. Every episode, we look at the bad ideas, mistakes, and accidents that misshaped our world. Find us at ConstantPodcast.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

0:58David Gardner:I try never to say never, but I'm nearly there with a few things. One is running for public office. I'm more drawn to the private sector where the vast majority of us work every day. I see immense value in what I call, foolish phrase, eh? Private service. Serving others through the private sector, often finding it more enjoyable and rewarding than traditional public service, especially these days, perhaps. But another never for me is repeating a Rule Breaker Investing podcast. We've delivered a new podcast every week since July 2015. 536 weeks in a row now without a skip or a repeat. But who's counting?

1:44David Gardner:Yet continuously introducing new content can lead to neglecting essential timeless truths. And that's why a couple of times a year, I revisit and highlight key lessons in our Blast from the Past series, ensuring both new and longtime listeners catch important takeaways, whether they're hearing them for the first time or as a reminder from years ago. And this week, we're not focused on investing so much and not business so much either. Let's focus this week on life. Blast from the past, volume 11. Only on this week's Rule Breaker Investing.

2:26Sam Horn:It's the Rule Breaker Investing Podcast with Motley Fool co-founder David Gardner.

2:33David Gardner:And welcome back to Rule Breaker Investing. A few bookkeeping notes up front before we get into our five-point blast from the past this week. The first is that the website that I launched along with my book, which is RuleBreakerInvesting.com, is there for two reasons. The first is to serve people who've never heard of Rule Breaker Investing before and who can go to that URL and just read a little bit more about what we believe, see some old video interviews of me to see what I'm about and just generally begin to understand and feel comfortable with the idea of breaking the rules. So that's half of the purpose of the website for people who have not really heard of the book before and might want to buy it.

3:16David Gardner:The other half is there to serve you, especially if you're a regular listener or somebody who might enjoy the bonus chapter, which I have written and which we will be publishing in a little bit for anybody who'd like a free download of an extra chapter of my Rule Breaker Investing book, which will be available on that website as well. But especially for regular and long-time Rule Breaker Investing podcast listeners, I'm really excited about the podcast tab you'll find at RuleBreakerInvesting.com. So I do episodic series, and I've done them for a long time on this podcast, things like authors in August, or my annual Games, Games, Games, or the 20 volumes I've done of great quotes.

4:01David Gardner:And the list goes on. I love to organize my thinking around recurring episodic series. And for the first time ever, we've actually assembled all of those, most of them, on that list on the podcast tab at RuleBreakerInvesting.com. And it's not just a list. It enables you to click into every one of them. So, for example, if you'd enjoy getting back around the campfire with us with our long-running Stock Stories series, and you're like, how many have they done? Well, the answer is 10, and you can now find all 10 listed in order right there on the podcast tab. Maybe you have a friend, and you're like, hey, David does a series every year or so of his pet peeves.

4:41David Gardner:It's pretty amusing. You can nudge them any of the eight volumes of pet peeves I've done over the years. They're listed right there too In chronological order So it's a wonderful new resource For listeners of this podcast If you want to go back and hear my besties Each year, they're right there On a clickable list So I definitely want to underline the podcast tab For all of you, my long time listeners Especially Alright, before we get into it I want to mention what we're doing next week Every two years, just once Every two years I do a podcast entitled Nine Foolish Truths I hold to be self-evident.

5:18David Gardner:It's a podcast about investing, a podcast about business, and a podcast about life. And it's something that I just bring back every couple years because I want to make sure we underline some of the key foolish truths, especially with a lot of new listeners, a lot of new readers of my book this month. I'm excited that the timing randomly works out, that our tradition of always doing it every other October happens to be next week. So circle your calendar if you like Nine Foolish Truths I Hold to be Self-Evident comes back again in its 2025 form next week. And speaking of episodic series, well, that's what we're doing this week.

5:58David Gardner:It's Blast from the Past, Volume 11. That means 10 previous times on this podcast, I've dipped back into the past. And I've said, what are some key points, some cardinal points, some stirring stories, or I think inspiring things to keep in mind that I can bring back? Because there's no guarantee anybody anytime recently has gone back and listened to my podcast from August 29th of 2018. I'll be highlighting a point this week that I made back then. Do you remember what I was saying seven years ago? Probably not. That's the purpose of Blast from the Past, to bring back some of my favorite, most important points into the present day.

6:39David Gardner:Typically, I do five of them. That's exactly what I'm doing this time. But we have a special theme this time. Usually it's a grab bag. It's a motley list of five. But this time, I've specifically been thinking about where we are in the world today. And with this podcast, my intention is not to speak to society. We'll be speaking a little bit about society or where we are, but society is too much. It's world events. It's the news media. It's social media. It's all the different nations. Well, it's just this one nation, the United States of America, which is very complicated these days. So yeah, I want you to know I'm not speaking to society.

7:19David Gardner:I'm speaking to just you. You and me this week because, well, yeah, I'm speaking to myself too, to remind myself of what I believe wins in life. That is the theme of this week's podcast. What I'm sharing with you this week are lessons learned about how to win in life. I think these win in business too. I know they win in investing, but this week's podcast is about winning in your life. And I'm especially putting on my Mr. Rogers red sweater this week. Fred Rogers, a past guest on the Motley Fool Radio Show. We've rerun that as one of our Rule Breaker Investing extras. If you ever want to hear us interview Mr.

8:01David Gardner:Rogers back in the day, just Google Rule Breaker Investing Mr. Rogers and you'll get to hear it again. I'm bringing back the ghost of Fred Rogers because I think he's desperately needed by all sides. And there are many sides, not just two sides. I know a lot of people these days talk about the left and the right. I've never framed things up that way. That is far too oversimple in my mind. There are many sides, but the side I care most about is the side that you and I are on. And I think that's the side of trying to live a better life, leave the campfire better than we found it, and send ripples of goodness out and around us.

8:38David Gardner:And I'll be drawing on quotes and some past appearances of some wonderful people on this podcast to help us get back in that frame of mind. because there's a lot of trash being talked these days. As a sports fan, I was thinking how glad I am that it doesn't tend to happen in sports. It tends to happen in news and politics today, and I'm really getting tired of it. And I was thinking, as a longtime football fan, what if head coaches behaved like politicians these days? Can you imagine if head coaches in the NFL, every week, week in and week out, just trash-talked each other? They just hated their opponent all week long.

9:17David Gardner:That opposing head coach they'd be competing against the following Sunday. You know what would happen if NFL coaches did that week in and week out using the media and social media to sow seeds of hatred at each other? I'll tell you what I think would happen. The fans in the stands would start occasionally to riot. And that would become a big media topic, which would then keep spreading the problem. And I think all of a sudden we'd have an epidemic problem around NFL sports crowd behavior and violence because we tend to follow the leader in different contexts as human beings. And I'm so glad here I'm using the National Football League, which in some ways is organized violence.

10:00David Gardner:I'm so glad that we don't comport ourselves that way at a high, high level in sports. Anyway, my five blasts from the past with my inner Fred Rogers are coming at you, and I'm excited to get started. Let's do it. Blast from the past, point number one. Blast from the past, point number one, I entitle, I'm a four person. This is the first, and I believe the only repeat of a blast from the past in this podcast's series history. As I mentioned at the top, this is our 11th blast from the past, And here with point number one, I'm actually re-blasting a point that I made last year as a blast. So for those keeping score at home, it was shared on May 8th of 2024.

10:45David Gardner:It was blast from the past number four that day, reflecting back on a conversation we'd had with Roy Spence on this podcast seven years before. So this is my first blast from a blast from the past. And it's entitled, I'm a four person. Yep, that conversation way back on November 1st, 2017, featured Roy Spence, entrepreneur, world-class marketer, somebody who thinks a lot about purpose in branding, co-founder of GSD &M, the Austin, Texas branding and marketing firm. And at one point early in that 2017 podcast, I said to Roy, I said, I'm curious, Roy, looking at the world today, you don't have to cast any nasty aspersions here, but is there a company that comes to mind when you think about who may have lost their purpose at some point?

11:42David Gardner:Maybe tried to redefine its purpose, maybe even failed at that. So who comes to mind? and Roy said, and I quote, my instinct in life. I know this sounds again a little bit naive. He said a really good friend of mine, Roy went on, validated this the other day. And if I told you who it was, you'd go, wow. He looked at me and he said, Roy, you know what's interesting about you? I said, that is Roy said, yeah, everything. And he was joking, of course, but no, this friend of his said to Roy, you are a four person. Roy said, I beg your pardon? He said, you're for things. You're not against things. And Roy concluded by saying, and I am.

12:28David Gardner:Now, I was asking him on that interview not to cast aspersions, but I was asking him for sort of a negative example, a counterfactual, some company that really screwed up. And Roy declined to answer that, not because he doesn't have good ideas in mind, probably, or couldn't name companies, but he's a four person. Elsewhere in that podcast, speaking of four, he said this. He said, you become what you look for in life. If you're on the road to look for enemies, you'll find them. If you're looking for hate, it'll live in your heart. If you're looking for gossip, it'll consume you. If you're looking for fear, it will follow you.

13:10David Gardner:But if you get on the road and you're looking for friends, you'll be befriended. If you're looking for love, you'll be loved. If you look for the truth, it'll set you free. If you look for hope, it'll go to the mountaintop. And quote. Roy concluded by saying, I know now in life, all of you listeners, you Rule Breaker Investor listeners and viewers out there, you actually become what you look for. So let's go look for goodness I'm a foreperson I've used that phrase a lot ever since It's now nearly 8 years later Because that's exactly what I think I am Or at least I try to be And I hope you do too We're living in a time where especially politics Seems to be against All the time Many of the best known politicians are the loudest voices against.

14:10David Gardner:They're the opposite of for. Why I, and I think many of us maybe tune out politics and look askance here in the fall of 2025, it's because it's become an environment against. And against is exhausting. Against doesn't really help anybody. And when against tries to turn other human beings created out of love for love when against tries to turn some people into demons, well, that's the quickest way to become a demon yourself, is to demonize others. But on the other hand, if you're a for person, what benefits? Well, for people foster collaboration. People who are for others cultivate environments where collaboration thrives.

14:59David Gardner:We're focusing on mutual goals and successes, win-win rather than against, talking down others. People who are for people build trust. When you consistently support and affirm others, do you have someone like this in your life? You trust them. They are building trust. People feel more comfortable and secure when they know they're in a supportive environment, a for, not an against environment. it also obviously reduces conflict. And I don't think we need any more conflict in our world today. So focus on what can be done and what supports others. The four people that I know naturally reduce the potential for conflict because their approach emphasizes understanding and cooperation over conflict, over divisiveness.

15:53David Gardner:And I think two more things that I can see in four people like Roy Spence. First, four people improve mental health. They probably have better mental health themselves in the first place, but being supportive and positive for those around them, creating positive interactions, nurturing relationships, that decreases stress. It increases your satisfaction and happiness, definitely benefits your own mental health, but very likely benefits the mental health of those around you. Four people. The second thing I have in mind, the last thing I'm going to say about four people as we close down Blast from the Past, lead off point number one.

16:34David Gardner:And boy, if Roy Spence isn't an example of this, go back and listen to that podcast anytime, November 1, 2017, if you need some positive ups. Four people inspire others. And that might be the most powerful benefit of being a four person. Your ability to inspire others. Positivity. We've talked about positive intelligence a lot in this podcast. The benefits for your investing and your business and your life. Positivity in support. You're motivating others. They're unconsciously or even consciously mirroring back to you the inspiration, the for that you are showing them. And it multiplies. That effect is a force multiplier.

17:20David Gardner:As Colin Powell once said about optimism, a multiplier through a community or an organization or a country. As I do for my every blast from the past, then I encourage you to go back and listen to that podcast, Rule Breaker Investing, November 1, 2017. But if you want to skip it, I hope you've gotten enough from this blast to realize and appreciate that. Roy Spence is a four person. I'm trying to be a four person. I hope you're a four person too. Or at least I hope you're trying to be a four person.

18:19Sam Horn:That's it? Save. Why do you pay? Get your money back. Now, try it out.

18:27David Gardner:All right, on to Blast from the Past, number two. Staying with character, staying with you, with me, with life. This one was from June 24th. It was the June mailbag in the year 2020. Do you remember June 2020? Where were you then? Well, Blast from the Past, number two this week, is entitled, Do You Have a Blank Friend? Do you have a blank friend? Fill in the blank. I think it's as helpful as possible to collect as many friends with as many different backgrounds, viewpoints, and experiences as possible. I think that's a worthy way to go through life, collecting friends. Do you have a blank friend?

19:13David Gardner:Back in 2020, as I was doing that podcast, in particular, our law enforcement friends. And most police I've ever met, I'm extremely grateful for, happy to call them my friends, grateful for their service. I understand not everybody feels that way about the police, and for very serious reasons in 2020, where some really bad apples wearing blue completely abused their authority, did murderous things, and as one headline story spread to another, and media and social media were rocking lines like defund the police, which I personally think would have been a horrendous mistake avoided, fortunately.

19:54David Gardner:There I was on that podcast in June 2020 asking what I'll ask today. Do you have a police friend? I have a few friends who are police officers, and I really appreciate hearing their viewpoints. Some of those viewpoints have in fact aligned with points made by the people protesting against the police, which I actually find extremely admirable given that they've been articulated by my police friends who are putting their lives on the line every day for you and for me and making the world safer. Now, it's always a shame when bad apples really spoil the public's view of anything. And in my experience, our media will typically find the bad actors in any context and make them drive the headlines.

20:42David Gardner:And it's not even the media's fault. It's we who click and want to read about the bad apples and the bad actors, apparently with much more vigor or interest than we want to read about the good things and the good people. In a stock market context, Enron was far more written about stock back in those days than whatever we were picking in Motley Fool's Stock Advisor back in those days. It might have been Marvel or Amazon, whose positive gains have just utterly exceeded and blown away the losses ever created by Enron and its ilk. But nevertheless, Enron tended to imprint itself on a lot of people's minds when they thought about business.

21:27David Gardner:They thought about bad business or what they think about the stock market. They don't think the stock market is a good place for good money and good people. Well, getting back briefly to law enforcement, I was influenced as a young guy when I had a full summer internship with the police department in Rochester, New York, after my sophomore year of college. So, yeah, that was a summer where I got to see things I've never seen before. And I got to empathize. I got to understand how hard it is to be a police officer. Their divorce rate is much higher than the American divorce rate today. Levels of alcoholism and stress are much higher.

22:08David Gardner:And these all, a lot of them, are the good people. Because in my experience, most people who enter the police force are doing it out of a positive motivation. And indeed, they do a lot of heroic and in many cases helpful, sometimes really important things in small and big ways every day. So I have a police friend. And as I said, at what I think was a modern American inflection point during COVID that summer of 2020, I hope everybody listening to me right now has a police friend, too. And if you don't, I would suggest you make a police friend and hear their viewpoint. Here are some other friends I have, and I hope you do, too.

22:52David Gardner:I have some black friends. I have some white friends. I have a transgender friend. I have some rich friends. I have some poor friends. And sure enough, I have Democrat friends and I have Republican friends. I live here in the nation's capital. All of them are all around me, even though I'm not much for the political world myself. So, yeah, you're darn right. I try to have a very diverse group of friends who have different minds on a lot of different topics. And maybe that's the reason that tolerance seems so important to me or that kindness is, for me, one of America's five core values. or that we might each do better next time you're in the shower or on a bike ride taking a minute out to think about forgiveness.

23:48David Gardner:Maybe the reason I'm more centrist in my leanings is because I've tried to get to know as many different types of people as possible. I try to have as many blank friends. So I'll just rhetorically conclude Blast From The Past point number two by asking each of us. If you find that you disagree with a group of people, but you can't identify a friend that you have in that group of people, whatever type of group we're talking about, I would suggest you make a blank friend. And by the way, this isn't following someone on social media, although I suppose you could start that way. I'm talking about a real relationship.

24:30David Gardner:I'm talking about a friendship. Do you have a blank? friend. Here's a great quote to throw in there right at the end now that I couldn't have seen in 2020. It's because I follow at Axel Deussen on Twitter X. If you use that social media platform, I suggest you do too, because he's full of elevating for me, Excelsior thoughts at Axel Deussen, German name, A-X-E-L-D-E-U-S-S-E-N. We've never met Axel, but I appreciate you. And this tweet you sent out was a couple weeks back, so it wasn't there when I first asked in the summer of 2020, do you have a blank friend? But now I can share it. First, you pulled a quote you admire, and it is, never ask, who is my true friend?

25:16David Gardner:Ask, am I a real friend of anyone? That's the right question. Well, after that quote, Oxal, you went on to add yourself, which I really appreciated you wrote, when you go out for training, you may ask yourself, how does this training make me better? My answer to you is, it won't. It makes the man next to you better. That's the attitude you need to have. All right, on to blast from the past point number three. This one is from my series, Old, New, Borrowed, and Blue. It was Volume 4 of the date, May 6th, 2020. I mentioned the title with the dates because I think it's fun to go back and hear the whole thing.

26:03David Gardner:But for my blast from the past, I'm just pulling a key point and keeping us moving here this week. So let's go to what I'll entitle Accept Responsibility, Blame No One. Now, fans of Warren Bennis, the wonderful author of many books on leadership, I frequently find myself quoting On Becoming a Leader, where he gives his four lessons of self-knowledge. And lesson number two is probably my favorite. Accept responsibility. Blame no one. This is lesson number two of self-knowledge. This is not about what you should do for others or how to behave, but to get to know yourself, to improve yourself. Accept responsibility, Bennis wrote.

26:49David Gardner:Blame no one. You know, if you go through life looking backward, blaming somebody or something, it might be personal or it might just be circumstance. But if you go through your life looking backwards, blaming something, it's going to be awfully hard to truly move forward, won't it? And so while it's easy to say, accept responsibility, blame no one, it is another thing to do. If you and I can do a better job accepting responsibility and blaming no one, and I love, by the way, that forthright, almost dramatic air to those last three words, blame no one. What a powerful place from which to proceed.

27:33David Gardner:You know, I made so many bad stock picks in my time. About half of the stock picks that I've made in Motley Fool Stock Advisor and Motley Fool Rule Breakers didn't beat the market. The good news is the other half did And some by, well, quite a lot And they do so well that as I write memorably, I hope In my final stock market book, Rule Breaker Investing Just out this month, by the way Thank you in particular to each of you who've left me an online review On Amazon or Audible And if you haven't already, I would really appreciate that Anyway, as I write in Rule Breaker Investing And have demonstrated over and over again including 30 free five stock samplers picked on this podcast over the years the winners completely wipe out the losers and leave a ton of money on the table so yeah i don't sweat the small stuff and i realize not everybody thinks losers are small stuff but i've learned to believe that losers in every context are small stuff and so yeah i tried to blame no one whenever i made a bad stock pick.