The Besties of 2025

25:25Yes. And I think, you know, we used to think, you know, you're done when you're 40 or 50. And now with modern medicine and research and longevity science, we're just getting started. The medicine and the research and it just isn't there yet to match that. And so I think we're entering a really exciting era. Well, it's clearly coming. Thank you for that. And Morgan and Randy, thank you for the stories, the laughter and the perspective. You made us smarter this year without ever making it feel like like homework. So I'm grateful for the time and I look forward to when our paths next cross again.

26:02Best wishes to you both for 2026 and full on. Same to you, David. Thank you.

26:17Bestie number three goes to 10 years later. Five stocks for the next five years. That podcast debuted on September 3rd. It kicked off a brand new series. 10 years later offers something remarkably uncommon in investing media. A clear-eyed look at full 10-year outcomes. Over time, we'll revisit all 30 five-stock samplers as each comes of age, each turning the age of 10. This first episode returned to my very first sampler from September 2015. It was entitled Five Stocks for the Next Five Years Back Then to see and learn from what time has since revealed. And spoiler alert, crushing the market averages with your stock picks never hurts either.

27:08To understand why this all matters, it helps to recall the experiment itself. So over several years on this podcast, I introduced 30 different five-stock samplers, small baskets of stocks, each built around a theme. Some of the themes were playful, some timely, some deliberately odd. All were chosen transparently, tracked publicly, and revisited with the same intent. Let's learn from everything, including the mistakes. And we answered the biggest questions. Is picking individual stocks worth it? Is beating the market just luck? And how big can your winners and your losers really get? Well, last year's besties included my Review-A-Palooza Ultima podcast, which in 2024 marked a major checkpoint in that experiment.

28:05We scored all 30 samplers together in that podcast, 150 stocks in total across their standard three-year windows and beyond. Again, that was last year where that episode showed in aggregate how rewarding consistently picking and buying rule breakers can be. It also showed how losing, even badly, looms, I would say, too large in our collective psyche, and why losing to win isn't a flaw of this approach, it's a defining feature. This year's kickoff, 10 years later episode, took the next natural step by extending the scorecard itself. So instead of asking how these stocks looked after three years, It asked what a full decade reveals when you're willing to keep watching.

28:54The lessons deepen. Buyouts that weren't failures. Companies that quietly compounded. Others that faded. And the outsized influence of a single great winner. There was humor along the way. Samplers that resembled four weddings and a funeral. All of our silly lore around foolhalla. But the real value is perspective earned the slow way. And most importantly, this episode invited listeners to sit with nuance, with numbers, with the rare chance to see investing decisions properly aged. And by launching our 10 years later series, it signals a new phase of our experiment, one that doesn't just pick and track, but revisits and reflects.

29:41So, for explaining the experiment clearly, extending it meaningfully, and showing what a 10-year view can teach that shorter windows simply can't, 10 years later, 5 Stocks for the Next 5 Years earns a bestie. We've already aired the second 10 Years Later episode that was in November and the next will arrive in February. Huh, I wonder how 5 Stocks to Feed the Bear has been doing. And by the way, every 10 weeks thereafter, another decade comes due.

30:24All right, bestie number four. This one started, well, the date was August 13th, 2025. But really, I first got to know Sam Horne a few years before that, thanks to Conscious Capitalism and the longtime CEO Summit in Austin, Texas. Sam appeared on our Authors in August series, Talking on Eggshells, is her book with Sam Horn. It earns a bestie because it delivered something rare, practical wisdom for the conversations we actually have. This wasn't theory or platitudes. Sam Horn brought decades of experience helping people replace verbal landmines minds with stepping stones, showing us that hard conversations don't have to be hard if we know what to say, and just as importantly, what not to say.

31:15What stayed with me were the tools that immediately stick, the eyebrow test for intrigue, her line, fight fire with water, reframing confrontation as clarification. And one line that has echoed for me all year long here in 2025, Swap but for and As Sam put it If we say but We cancel out what came before I really liked your performance It was great But And The word and moves the conversation forward These weren't just clever turns of phrase They were usable scripts I would say reminder cards for real life That make us better colleagues, partners, and humans The very next day So for the clarity, generosity and calm authority Sam Horn brought to this conversation and for an episode that made many of us pause, reflect, and speak a little more thoughtfully.

32:11This one earns a bestie. Sam Horn, thank you for joining us during Authors in August. Welcome back for a short cameo as we celebrate the year together. Thanks so much, David. I'm looking forward to sharing a wish and a reflection with your community. Excellent. And we're going to go there very shortly. But before we do, Sam, first, well, it's been almost exactly four months since we last saw each other. Any reflections either on that podcast we did together or on how life's been for you the last four months? David, I think I'm going to say something that's a bit of a surprise. We didn't spend enough time on humor.

32:47Do you know how Einstein knew he had a good idea? No. He laughed out loud. Think about it. It's the aha combined with the ha-ha, right? The lights go on and the band plays. And now you're thinking, Sam, what does that have to do with talking on eggshells? Well, I think we would agree that things are kind of contentious these days. And we can be annoyed, we can be offended, or we can be amused. Now, let me give you a real-life example of how this works. I'm at the San Francisco airport. I'm on one of those lazy sidewalks. You know what I'm talking about? Yeah, I use them all the time. I love those things.

33:23Okay, so I'm on one. And there's a very tall man coming the opposite direction. I can't believe it. There's people in front of me pointing at him and laughing. And I'm thinking, this is so rude. There's no excuse for this. When he got closer, I could see why they were laughing. He had on a T-shirt, in very large letters, it said, no, I'm not a basketball player. So I got to the end of the lazy sidewalk and I chased after him and I caught up. I said, this is brilliant. I said, how did you come up with this? He said, this is nothing. He said, I have a whole drawer full of these at home. And he turned around and guess what the back of his t-shirt said?

34:05It's going to be something funny, but I'm not going to dare guess. It's like, are you a jockey?

34:12And he said, I grew a foot between the time I was 13 and 16 years old, and I didn't even want to go outside. Everyone's got to make a smart aleck remark. And my mom finally said, if you can't beat them, join them. So he said, I've got other shirts that are just as funny. One of them is like, the weather up here is fine. I'm 6 '13". And David, here's the point. He said, ever since I started wearing these shirts, I have had fun with my height instead instead of being frustrated by my height. Now think, he didn't want to go outside because he was so offended, annoyed with people's remarks. Once he lightened up instead of fighting up, you know, now he can have fun with it instead of be frustrated by it.

35:01So that's one of the reflections. I love it. And, you know, even in the context of just casual human relations, I mean, there was no particular tension around the lazy walker at the airport, but we are living in a time where there are some hard conversations and just trying to diffuse through the use of the power tool of humor. Sam, you do that so well. You did it on that podcast we did together. You just did it right now. And thank you, not just for embodying it, but for the reminder for each of us here in the holiday season, maybe there's some family tension around a tree or two. I certainly hope not.

35:38But a reminder that humor is, I'm not going to say the great equalizer, but it's at least the great normalizer, human relations. And I kept using that phrase stepping stone instead of landmine when I thought about your work and our conversation, specifically your book, Talking with Eggshells. You've written a number of them. Sam, my second question, my parting question for you is, what is a wish, an interesting thought, or a prediction you have for the year 2026? My wish for 2026 is in alignment with what we just talked about. I hope that we replace infobesity with an aha or a ha-ha. And once again, I'll give you an example.

36:20I'm working with a friend and a client, Denise Brousseau, who is founder of the Thought Leadership Lab, on her TEDx talk and her book. And we reviewed her book, and it wasn't infobesity, David, because it had actionable insights, real-life examples. It was kind of dense. It was a little bit dry. And I will always be grateful to Gary Marshall, who was the director of Pretty Woman, because he said something at the Maui Writers Conference that I use in my books and my presentations and with my clients. He said Hollywood directors can predict when their comedies will make money by one thing. You know what it was?

36:56Since I've read your stuff, I think it's something like, are people walking out of the theater afterwards laughing or saying like the key takeaway line? Is that it? Well, that is true. can they repeat anything they heard word for word? And he also said something equally brilliant. He said, do people laugh in the first two minutes of the movie? Laugh early, laugh often. Because see, if we laugh early, we've just made a decision that this isn't going to be so bad after all. This isn't going to be boring or hard work or something. And it increases its likability, which means we're more likely to pay attention.

37:33So when I told Denise that, I said, okay, so we need to lighten up this book because it's brilliant. It's just too serious. It's bordering on infobesity, TMI, right? Too long, didn't read. So I asked her, what's made you laugh out loud recently? And she said, Sam, there's nothing funny about thought leadership. And I said, that's not what I asked. I said, what has made you laugh out loud? And now she's a Stanford professor. She's in Silicon Valley and she thought about, and then she lit up, David, I knew we had something. And she said, a friend is having a baby and I needed a gift for the baby shower.

38:09So I went to our local Babies Are Us. And I found the perfect gift. I'm waiting in line. There's a couple in front of me. The woman's about eight months pregnant and they're buying a crib for their newborn and they're arguing. And the woman says, I don't know, this looks pretty complicated. I don't know if we're going to be able to put it together. And the guy said, I'll ask the cashier. So he asked the cashier, do you think we're going to be able to put this together ourselves? And she looked at him all innocence and said, well, do you have advanced degrees? And he kind of puffed up a little bit.

38:39He says, oh, yes, I have an MBA and my wife has a PhD. And she said, then you're going to need to hire someone.

38:49Okay, now think. Early in a TEDx talk, she could say, and now you don't need an advanced degree to be a thought leader. See, she could tell them, right? Infobesity, information. No, no. What's a real life example that makes you laugh? Now, hook and hinge it back to your topic. Tell the example. And then were you thinking maybe you need an advanced degree to be a thought leader? And you see how when we replace important information and we make it interesting by replacing infobesity with an aha and a haha, we increase our likability, we increase our listenability. I just came for the laughs, but what I ended up getting was some good TEDx coaching.

39:31I don't think I'm giving a TEDx talk in 2026, but I'm quite sure at least one of our listeners is, Sam. And thank you for that additional insight. And thank you for helping us replace eggshells with stepping stones. I am grateful, Sam Horn, for your clarity, your generosity, and the calm confidence that you bring to hard conversations. Sam, I wish you a year full of good dialogue and being a force for good. Thank you, David. Fool on.

40:07All right. And now on to bestie number five. The date was June 4th, 2025, right about the middle of this year. Mind your PQ with Shirzad Shamin. It earns a bestie, and yes, this makes Shirzad a repeat besties winner. And what made his return so special was how naturally it built on our earlier conversations while meeting the moment that we're living in now. In a world that feels faster, louder, sometimes a bit more stressed maybe than usual, Shirzad didn't just revisit positive intelligence. He showed us why it may be more helpful today than when we first spoke back in 2020 and 2021. You know, several moments stayed with me, but one in particular keeps echoing.

40:53Shirzad's reminder that pain is useful, but only for a second. Just long enough to get the message. And then it's time to shift from saboteur to sage. Whether he was unpacking you'll be happy when Or urging us to remember who you are Or explaining why the PQ channel matters more than the data channel This episode delivered what the very best self-development conversations do Language we can actually use As one listener put it after earlier conversations with Shirzad This work doesn't just inform, it changes how you show up for returning with clarity, humility, and fresh insight, and for continuing to help us quiet our inner Darth Vaders and strengthen our inner Jedi.

41:42This episode, appearing on June 4th of this year, earns another bestie in Shirzad Shamin. Thank you for coming back, for raising our mental fitness, for reminding us that being positively intelligent may be one of the most rule-breaker things we can do. I love that intro. I am so delighted to be back here. Thank you. And I hope that the last six months have treated you well. We were talking just offline that you just got back from a wedding in Cabo or something like that. So it sounds to me like you're living the good life right now, Shirzah, but I suspect that's been true for a while. Yes, I hope we are teaching everybody to turn whatever life they have into the good life and start living it today.

42:25We all have access to that. That is such a wonderful thought. And indeed, you and I were also talking about how when you share a good idea like positive intelligence or a good stock pick with somebody, there's no reason not to just hope that they'll share that with somebody else. And the sharing keeps going. There's such a win-win when we exchange information and best thoughts with fellow humans. And I don't think we can ever do that too much. You've also pointed out to me, Sherzad, that what you've been building out, your whole PQ network, really was global. Before COVID had us all working remotely, you were already operating at a scale around the world.

43:03And I think what you're here to tell us, well, this is not the purpose of your return, but let's just go here briefly, is that remote work can be very meaningful and very effective. It doesn't play second fiddle to that nine to five office culture we all grew up with. Yeah, we think that if you have the right culture and the right tools, you can absolutely build deeply intimate and trusting relationships with people you have never met. So our company has been remote, global, before pandemic made it more popular. And we have people and we are working with whom we have never met. And yet the level of trust and intimacy and connection and creativity that's possible is absolutely comparable to those who work in person.

43:47So it is possible if you have the right tools and energize the right part of the brain amongst all the participants, which is the work we do. Thank you for sharing that. And Shuzad, we last saw each other six months ago. Any new developments, anything you want to share or reflecting back on the latter half of 2025? Yeah, actually, I just came back from a wedding as I was sharing with you. And it was a large wedding in Cabo. And the person who was asked to officiate the wedding was actually a CEO of a relatively well-known company. And so he gave a very thoughtful, very inspiring officiating of the wedding ceremonies.

44:24And then afterwards, he came and introduced himself to me. I had not met him before. He said that he has been using our work, our mental fitness program, our app-guided positive intelligence program. and he said before that he was actually quite anxious in public speaking and he had used these methods of developing self-command over your mind to him being able to deliver a very different ceremony in front of all these people and his wife was there and he said they have just given birth to a child just six days ago so they were there with the six day old brand new baby wow And his wife said that she had been quite anxious before the birth, wanting very much to have it be a natural childbirth and not use any medication or pain medicine, but was really terrified of that.

45:19And she said that she switched into using the PQ methods and conned herself so much that she was able to actually not use any medication and give birth, which was the first time I've heard this application of our positive intelligence disorder giving NASHA a birth if it was any pain medication. And I asked her if I could tell that story, and she said yes. So I think the main thing that I want to say is I'm a big fan of meaningful coincidences. And just before this session, I happened to run into two people who have used this work for a profound level of self-mastery, self-command over their own mind.

46:00And it had allowed them to step into a new Jedi level, a clarity and ability. And so that's maybe the message that I want to bring in that I would love if you ask yourself the question, if you were able to develop much stronger self-command over your own mind, what would be one area that you would really want to apply it to? So in her case, it was giving birth without medication. In his case, it was delivering the kind of ceremony that he did in a very relaxed, thoughtful, loving way without the fear. What would it be for you if you were to be able to use these methods of positive intelligence to develop far greater self-command over your own mind, which is the muscle that we build?

46:46What would you want to apply it to first and foremost? What's the transformation you would seek? and hopefully that would inspire you to say, oh, I want to go build that muscle and then go back and listen to the podcast and do those practices so that you can develop those muscles. Thank you. And yes, all of our besties when we do this once a year is always an advertisement to go back and listen for any listeners who may have missed any of these 10 special podcasts this year to go back. And I obviously feel exactly the same about this one, Shirzad. I highly recommend anybody who is at a point in their life where they could use a little bit of positive reinforcement or maybe just rethinking things, would really enjoy our conversation, Mind Your PQ, with Shirzad Shamin, June 4th of this year.

47:28Of course, your book, Positive Intelligence, sits back, waiting for any readers to come and dip into its pages and go a little bit deeper than just a podcast. But thank you for that. You know, I was just thinking about this because, I don't know if you're an NFL football fan, but there was a remarkable occurrence in this past weekend where a quarterback took over a winning team starting and he had not played in five years, and he was the age of 44. His name is Phillip Rivers. He was quarterback in the Indianapolis Colts. Actually played pretty well. His team lost by a couple of points. It wasn't his fault.

48:00But the emotional outpouring in the press conference afterwards, specifically from him, he looked at the camera and spoke to the media, and he said, I hope the kids that I coach back home, because what he was doing was coaching high school football as a retired quarterback. I hope them and my family will know and see that I wasn't scared. Yeah. That I tried this. And it would have been very easy for any 44-year-old, or in my case, 59-year-old, to say, I'm going to take a pass on this one. I don't want to take that kind of risk to my health or my reputation. But what a remarkable example for all of us.

48:37That's a great example of self-command. And we absolutely use this work with a lot of athletes because athletes choke in the most important moments of their professional career precisely because the voices in their head are all the negative voices about, don't you dare fail. If you fail, it's going to be the end of your career. And the very fact that we have those voices so loud brings that reality. And so self-command is about how do you quiet those voices and command your mind to focus on what's needed right now, which is what he was doing. So that's an awesome example. Thank you for that. reminder, Shuzad Shamin.

49:10And the second and final question for you, what is a wish, an interesting thought, or a prediction that you have for 2026? You know, we talk about saboteurs in your brain versus sage. Old saboteurs are fear-based. Old saboteurs are instruments of fear and anxiety in trying to survive. And old sage is about love. So fear and love are the two forces that make life possible. And too often we are being run by fear. And so the way we operate is how do we minimize the chances of things that we are afraid of happening? So our focus is too much in minimizing the fear-based outcomes. And I would wish for everyone to start focusing on not that, but maximizing the love-based outcomes.

49:59So instead of minimizing fear, my invitation is for you. Ask yourself, what is it that you love that you want to have more of and maximize? Starting with yourself. So rather than beating yourself up about what you don't like about yourself, how can you be less of that? I would love for you to really ask yourself what you love about yourself and how do you bring that even more to fruition? And so start with yourself. You know, what do you love about yourself that you want to bring out more? and then look at your partners, your loved ones, people around you. Rather than beating them up for what's irritating about them and you wanting to have less of that, I would love for you to focus on what you love about them and how do you bring more of that out of them, more of their beautiful sage being.

50:46Because everybody around us is far more magnificent than they realize or often we realize. And we get to bring out the best in others by just focusing on what's possible for them and loving them for it and having them feel and see that in themselves and bringing more of that in them. So I'd love focusing the next year to be on love rather than fear and bringing more of what you love rather than less of what you fear. I love that. Thank you, Shuzad. For 2026 for all this, Shuzad, thank you for reminding us that the loudest voice in our heads doesn't have to win. And I'm grateful for your wisdom.

51:21I hope the year ahead for you is very high PQ. Awesome, David. I hope the same for you.

51:55euro wechselbonus wirst du fünf monate lang mit gratis surfen verwöhnt mach schluss mit deinem alten tarif sicher dir bis 17 februar deinen deal auf spasen.de

52:08bestie number six goes to blast from the past volume 11 character which appeared on the first day of october 10 1 25 it's an episode that champions the revisiting of old ideas which can be just as powerful as introducing new ones, or sometimes even more so. In a year full of national noise and hot takes, this episode chose a different path. I returned to a handful of enduring principles about how I believe you can and will win in life, and why character matters, and what it looks like, Fred Rogers' sweater included. I took profound pleasure in sharing back in that episode the merits of first, being a four-person.

52:58Second, on seeking out and curating wildly different types of friendships. Third, on accepting responsibility and blaming no one. And fourth, on judging ourselves by results while extending grace toward others' intentions. I wasn't trying to throw down abstract ideas or motivational slogans in 40 minutes of focused talk, I was giving you a handful of the best thoughts leading to the best actions that I have seen in life. Any one of those four practical lived examples is, I hope, deeply enriching. Taken all together, though, I hope they point toward a way of living and investing that leaves the campfire way, way better than you found it.

53:46I also hope that episode felt in some ways like a pause button, not from the world, but within it. A reminder that how we invest, how we work, and how we treat one another all spring from the same source. For bringing timeless lessons back into the present with clarity, intended kindness, and conviction, Blast from the Past, Volume 11, Character, earns a bestie.

54:24All right, on to lucky number seven. Bestie number seven was in the seventh month of this year. It was July 23rd, 2025, when Wimbledon champion and fool Sem Verbeek rejoined with this podcast. And that podcast earned a bestie because it captured, to me, one of the most vivid long game stories we've ever had told on this podcast. as Sem walked us through an almost cinematic sequence of events, a desperate, rule-bending drive across Florida, changing clothes on a golf cart with seconds to spare, winning a match he nearly missed, and using that one improbable break as the spark that ultimately carried him all the way to center court at Wimbledon.

55:08Years of patience, preparation, and persistence suddenly compounded, and the payoff could not have been larger. What made the episode resonate even more was how naturally Sam connected elite athletics with investing. From surviving his meme stock baptism in 2021 to staying invested through the brutal markets of 2022. By the way, that was when he first joined us on Rule Breaker Investing and won his first bestie that year. from dollar cost averaging to paying himself first. Sam showed how financial literacy, mindset, and discipline travel well across domains, and his reflections on zero-sum tennis versus positive-sum investing, his appreciation for long-term compounding, his repeated Atlanta trips for neurological training all underscored the same principle that real progress is built quietly, then revealed suddenly.

56:07Again, the date was July 23rd, 2025. If you didn't get to hear my podcast that week with Sam, you'll see how rewarding it is now to go back and listen. So for the humility, curiosity, and joy Sam brought to this conversation and for reminding us that luck favors the prepared, whether in markets or mixed doubles, this episode earns a bestie. And Sam, you've now won Wimbledon and you've won your second bestie. I'm not saying one is bigger than the other, but I am curious how you're processing this moment. Oh, well, first of all, thank you for having me back. It's a real honor. Multiple time bestie winner is something that I'd like to put on my resume.

56:50It is a delight to have you and Sam as we schedule this time together this week. You are calling in from where? Atlanta, Georgia. Is that because you're back for some neurological training? That's right. Yeah, I chose to do my, what they call pre-season here. So my preparation for the upcoming 2026 season at George R. Chiopractic Neurology Center, where I've been going for years now already to prepare my body and also just my brain on for hopefully another successful season coming next year. And you did reference that in our July podcast. But since you are in Atlanta right now, I'm just curious, Sam, what is it like a day at the center?

57:30How are you spending your time? What does it consist of? I'm sure a lot of listeners are curious exactly how it works. Yeah, it's a great question. So every day looks a little bit different. But I come in, obviously, with my tennis challenges and my tennis questions that I pose to them like, hey, I feel this on court or I feel this happening during matches. Could there be some sort of brain based solution that we can implement? Or can we find where let's say my movement patterns break down and just build better habits from there. So it's kind of like an inverted question of, hey, this is the result.

58:05Can we find the origin of that in my neurological system and then build that back up in a better way? It's kind of the rule breaking the neurological system. It is very rule breakery. And I know it's been very successful for you. Could you give an example in the past of a previous misgiving or question you had about why you're thinking a certain way and how that changed and how it then changed your on-court behavior? I think that's something that I also referenced in our podcast this year is the sense of belonging where you are. And one of the very cool aspects that they do here in Georgia is something called neuroemotional training.

58:41So we actually went through my nervous system and the way it responded to certain statements and the energy that that brought. And it turned out that when I, in this example, I told myself, I am comfortable belonging at the top of the game. my neurological system actually was triggered by that so we went in and we found out that something happened in my previous years that something encapsulated that word of belonging that needed to get out there before i could actually believe myself or my body believed what my mind was telling me like hey you actually do belong here and yeah that's been massive in in making sure that my training actually corresponds to knowing that i can be at the top of the game That is just so interesting.

59:26And I love that example. And we were talking offline before being on this podcast together and you were mentioning you have a special guest with you joining you in Georgia this particular week. Yeah, my mom is here as well. So the more the merrier, that's for sure. But no, just it doesn't always have to be in tennis. But if you can just work on your brain and work on making better decisions and knowing where you are in space, feeling your body better, I think you're just going to be a better human and better humans make better athletes, but also make better decisions. So I think also better investors.

59:59Yeah, and that is just such a wonderful insight. I love that you brought her along. And of course, the work that you're doing, while it's very helpful for an elite athlete, for the rest of our lives, when we retire from whatever, we have all kinds of human interactions, hopes, dreams, etc. So I feel as if you're just setting up, not just you, but now increasingly your family for success going forward. You're also helping our listeners here at Rule Breaker Investing start to see with new eyes the possibilities for themselves and their families. So Sam, thank you for being an out front leader in so many ways.

1:00:35And I think we've covered sort of the first question, how are things going? But do you want to share anything else about that before I ask you the second question? It's funny that you asked that because right now, we're in December, there's a competition running and I got nominated, thankfully, for Athlete of the Year in Amsterdam, which is I think the third time that a tennis player was nominated. it, but I could be the first tennis player ever to win it. So it's kind of just a, I guess, a reminder or a testament to the season that we've had. But if fools want to help another fool, then they can hop over to my LinkedIn or my Instagram and follow that link to submit their vote for me as athlete of the year.

1:01:15So that would be very helpful. Wonderful. Well, and I will say, I have already done that. And I highly encourage all Motley Fool members and all Rule Breaker investing listeners to log in. You can Google it. You'll find Sam and his LinkedIn. And vote for Sam is the Amsterdam Athlete of the Year. Now, it's some stiff competition, Sam. You're not the only one on that list, but you do have my vote. And I know you'll have that of some others who are thinking about you this December. Well, speaking of thinking, let's close, Sam, with my question for you. You've done this once before when you won your first bestie three years ago.

1:01:46I need to go back and see what you said at the time. But here it is once again. I remember. Excellent. Sam Verbeek, What is a wish, an interesting thought, or a prediction you have for the year 2026? Well, my wish is, and this goes back to our conversation that we had in your wonderful introduction, where you said luck favors the prepared. And I realized that the last 18 months I've had some incredible luck and that my preparation has met that luck. So my wish is for all the Fool listeners that are listening to this right now to get lucky in 2026 and to use that luck to propel their careers or their relationships and hopefully their portfolios to new heights.

1:02:28Because it's happened to me and it's a wonderful feeling. And just like me, I didn't know when it was going to happen and what that inflection point was going to be or where it was going to take me. But yeah, I really wish that all capital F fools have a lucky moment next year and can use it for good. Thank you, Sam Verbeek. You know, it reminds me of one of my favorite lines, and you really, again, embody this. The harder I work, the luckier I get. Sam, thank you again for that story you told that reminded us how close sometimes failure and greatness can sit. Sometimes separated by a frantic drive and a change of clothes, a story that I really loved.

1:03:07I'm grateful, Sem, for your openness and perspective. I wish you a year full of clean winners on and off the court. And Sem Verbeek, good luck. Thank you very much, David. Pull on.

1:03:27All right, bestie number eight. The day was July 2nd, 2025. Of course, the week of independence here in the United States. And it was our episode, What You've Done to Create Financial Freedom, Volume 3. This bestie episode put the spotlight exactly where it belongs, on you. It is now an annual tradition. Rule Breaker Investing steps back from my frameworks and forecasts and lets our community show in real practical ways what financial freedom actually looks like in motion. What have you done, I ask each year, dear listeners, what have you done to create more financial freedom for yourself and or for others in the year that has been?

1:04:15Well, in that episode, we heard from fellow fools who negotiated raises instead of job hopping, who built emergency funds before buying stocks, who paid down high interest debt card by card and finally took control of their own retirement accounts. We heard from parents opening IRAs for their kids and matching their contributions, from investors simplifying hundreds of positions into portfolios that finally fit their lives, and from fools using their own progress to help others, encouraging a parent to retire, say, or a co-worker to seek advice, a friend to take a first step. These weren't grand gestures.

1:04:59They were small, intentional actions taken steadily by our listeners, by this community that will compound. And I think what made this episode special beyond being replete with inspirational real-life story examples from you is how clearly it connects with The Motley Fool's purpose to make the world smarter, happier, and richer, and also with the on-the-ground work of our Fool Community Foundation and this broader Motley Fool community. You know, financial freedom is not a finish line, and I don't ever mean to present it that way because it's really more of a practice. Learning, sharing, helping, and then pulling others along as you go.

1:05:44So for celebrating real progress, real people, and the idea that financial freedom for one is best when it becomes financial freedom for many, what you've done to create financial freedom, volume three, earns a bestie. Keep those stories pouring in and keep that progress going forward in 2026.

1:06:17All right, we've made it to number nine. And if you're sitting there wondering, wait, what about the Market Cap Game Show? Especially the March Market Cap Madness World Championships featuring Andy Cross and Emily Flippen. I mean, you're sitting there thinking, wouldn't that be a bestie? Well, if that's you wondering that, you're right. The day was March 19th, and Andy and Emily threw down great performances, showing off our market cap game show at its best. This episode brought together two of our sharpest minds of The Motley Fool, put real stakes on the line, and turned what most investors overlook, market capitalization, into an hour of learning, laughter, and, well, suspense, although it was admittedly kind of over for the last 10 minutes, but made this championship special.

1:07:05It was not their final score, Emily 6, Andy 4. But how much investing wisdom emerged in the process, from Emily's fearless tight ranges to group conversations that ranged from Peloton's rise and fall to Kinder Morgan's stubborn underperformance. This episode reminded us why market cap matters more than share price and why great investors can be right about the world sometimes, but still sometimes wrong about a stock. There was humor throughout, Andy rocking his pie socks. There was a jab at how exercise equipment sometimes ends up as expensive coat racks. We alluded briefly to Emily's year-long plus journey to positively reinforce her cat actually using its litter box.

1:07:47And Emily pulling back out and reusing her famous phrase uttered on the TV show Survivor, risk it for the biscuit. Most of all, this episode felt like a celebration of Rule Breaker Investing and our community, you, our listeners. because you're not just listening, right? You're playing along with us, scoring at home, maybe arguing with your car radio, maybe even outscoring my finalists, but wait, no way. So for making market caps memorable, competitive, and genuinely fun, and for delivering a world championship worthy of the name, the 2025 March Market Cap Madness World Championship earns a bestie.

1:08:26And Emily Flippen, Andy Cross, congratulations, and welcome back. Hey, it's great to be here. It's great to be back with the champion. Six to four, it wasn't really even that close, David, I don't think. Yes, it was. You know, my memory is so bad, I had to go back and recheck. But it was six to three going into the final question. But I will also say, Emily then presented for Viking Therapeutics, which is a pretty small biotech, I think. I'm not keeping up that well. But an incredibly tight range, three to$3.43 billion. and Andy, you agreed and it was$3.40 billion. So you both, you know, you got a point, Andy.

1:09:06Anyway, you both are very good at the game and I wanted to start by asking you each for maybe a tip for all the rest of us because I have two of the very best players in market cap game show history right here, right now. Let me turn first to Emily. Emily, what is a tip that our players can benefit from the next time they play? I'm actually stealing this tip from another analyst here at The Fool, Jim Mueller. When I was going through the interview process to come on as an analyst, one of the, I guess you could call it exam questions, interview questions, really, that Jim would ask is to give a 90 % confidence interval for a bunch of crazy things that you would never know, right?

1:09:45So 10 questions like, what is the gestation period of an African elephant? And then you have to give an interval, a 90 % confidence interval. And his point is to show that you can be overconfident with your guesses. But I love taking a 90 % confidence interval to the market caps. And so if I'm given a market cap or given a company that I'm not familiar with, I try to think to myself, what is my 90 % confidence interval for this market cap? And then I take the halfway point. That is really cool. And I think we can all use that outside of the market cap game show in life. It is a good life lesson.

1:10:16Thank you, Emily. Andy, how about a tip from you? Well, I'm not 90 % confident in anything, let alone, gosh, maybe go down to like 20%. I think that's a great guidance, Emily, just as David was saying in life too. David, I try to make it relative. I try to understand, have a pretty good sense of across most industries, one or two market caps that I know pretty well. And so based on the way that you're talking and the company, then I know the industry in the market so I can say, okay, well, Salesforce is a 200 plus billion dollar market cap company. How do I think this company compares against Salesforce?

1:10:58And it gives me some guess if I don't know the company, some range, even if I do know the company, some better understanding if I make it relative to one key leader in the industry. That is another great tip. So having sort of an exemplar, an industry leader, something that gives you a little bit of a measuring stick that but everything else can be compared against that. And Emily's 90 % confidence interval. I'm learning a lot just about how to go through life. Let me turn, speaking of life, and ask you my question, of course, for the besties. And I'll turn back to you first, Andy. Andy Cross, what is a wish, an interesting thought, or a prediction you have for the year 2026?

1:11:34Well, I'll tell you, just quickly, a prediction. I think Axon's going to make a little bit of a resurgence in 2026. It's actually down for the year. It's down like 15 % AXON, Axon Enterprises. and it's kind of struggled the later part of the year, I think it has a better year. So that's my prediction for those of us who are still owning and believers in Axon Enterprises. Sure. You know, David, my wish is I'm really interested in following these prediction markets that are coming out from the likes of Polymarket and Kalshi and how it's impacting not just investing in the way that people are thinking about putting capital at risk, but sports betting, that market as well.

1:12:10But I know it's very popular with a lot of young consumers, and I can understand it. However, my wish is I hope we can reach some younger consumers to encourage them to don't leave out business-focused investing like we've taught at The Motley Fool for many, many years. I think longer term can lead to better outcomes and better performance than a lot of prediction bets, I'll call them. Thank you. Very well said, Andy. And you gave us both a prediction. Most people don't give predictions, so thank you. and a wish. And I would also say an interesting thought, something to pay attention to in 2026.

1:12:46Emily, how about you? Well, let me just start off by saying a wish is really just a low-level conviction prediction, no? And I think we should make Andy's wish a prediction. There's a lot that we can do here at The Fool to make that a reality. And I look forward to hopefully being part of the group of people that can execute upon that wish and turn it into a higher-level conviction prediction for 2026. But I actually have more of an interesting thought for you, David. Not to take the easy way out, but I've been spending some more of my time this year reflecting on some of the best books that I've read throughout my life, not necessarily investing related.

1:13:18And there's one book that I read as a teenager that left a big impression on me. It was called Feed, written by M.T. Anderson. And it says a lot about consumerism and attention. And I feel like it's so topical for investors today because it does feel a little bit like businesses have been built around how they monetize our data, our privacy, our own attention and engagement. And I guess my interesting thought for 2026 is, I guess you could call it a wish, which is a very low level prediction. Yes. Is that I hope the companies that win here are the companies that really respect the attention of consumers as opposed to just harvesting it or monetizing it.

1:13:54Because I do think having respect and a key attention to where those consumers are spending their time and their energy and understanding your customer is such a key part of making a business successful for the long term as opposed to the short term. I hope we see more of that next year. Love that, Emily. To the respecters go the spoils. A lovely, interesting thought, borderline wish, borderline prediction. Emily and Andy, thank you for a world championship earlier this year worthy of the name. Emily took the title. Andy took the title the year before, and you've both already qualified for our upcoming March 2026, Market Cap Madness.

1:14:32We've got Lauren Hurst joining as well. And next week, it's going to be Bill Barker versus Matt Argersinger for the final seat of the Final Four. So I'm always excited to play the Market Cap Game Show, but even more so with people that I so enjoy spending time with, as I know our listeners do, and so many Motley Fool members do with both of you. So thank you both. Best wishes for 2026, especially come March. Thanks, David. Thanks, David. Happy holidays, everybody.

1:15:09Earlier in this Besties episode, we honored Sam Horn with a well-earned Bestie from Authors in August. But she wasn't the only one to emerge from that series with something special this year. the final bestie of 2025, goes to Authors in August, Rule Breaker Investing with David Gardner and Chris Hill, which aired on August 20th. So for the first time in our 11 years of this weekly Rule Breaker Investing podcast, I wasn't the host. Longtime fellow fool Chris Hill stepped in. I got to take the guest chair to talk about my book, Rule Breaker Investing, which for those keeping score at home lives at RuleBreakerInvesting.com.

1:15:49What followed was a conversation that felt relaxed, curious, and quietly revealing, shaped by two people who've been thinking out loud about investing together for more than three decades. There was humor too, of course. Kombucha as a mood stabilizer. Rule Breaker magnets? Sports betting called out for what it is, but always, always these things in service of clarity. You know, one line in particular captured the heart of it all, and that's winners keep winning. And the beauty of the stock market is you get to invest the whole race. Now, if you're going to hand over your own podcast, it helps to give it to someone who knows the material, and maybe you too, inside and out.

1:16:34So for turning authors in August into something a little unexpected, for helping tell the story behind my book, And for closing out this year's Besties with another one full of insight and good humor, this one earns a Bestie. And with that, I'm delighted to welcome back the person who pulled double duty here, Besties winner and guest host, Chris Hill. Chris, welcome back. It's such a pleasure to be here. It's an honor to be on the Besties episode. So thank you for that. I was happy to get the invitation. And you mentioned handing me the keys to the car, the Rule Breaker Investing Podcast car. And when I think about that, David, when I think about this episode, and this is something that I got text messages from people.

1:17:20I got email from people saying, you're really going to you're going to be on David's show. David's letting you host his show. You know, and after the fact, like David let you host his show. That's really my main reflection on the episode, David, because and I may have said this. I don't recall, but for people listening, I really can't overstate what a big deal it is for the host of a show to just hand over the host chair to someone else because there were no preconditions. This was not like, you know, you hear about celebrities sometimes sitting down for an interview saying, okay, you can't ask me about these topics, but I'll answer these other questions.

1:18:01There was none of that. There was not even a, hey, make sure you ask me about this part of the book. I got the book. I read it. And for people who haven't listened to that episode, or they want to go back and listen to it again, I would just encourage you to go into that with the knowledge that David really had no idea where I was going to take the conversation. Other than just the basics of, hey, would you host this? I have this idea. You interview me. And we worked out the time of when we were going to do it. Other than that, that was it. And it showed great faith in me, so I'm honored by that.

1:18:39But really, it took guts because, again, people who host shows don't do this sort of thing. They just don't. They don't just hand over the host chair to someone else. So thank you for that. Well, you're welcome, Chris, and thank you. And truly, first of all, I think there was one precondition and it was maybe like, could you could you read the book? And you did. And you did. So, I mean, it wouldn't have been the same if you hadn't read any of the book. But I even think had you not read the book, it would have been just as good a conversation because you've gotten to know me and this kind of material really well over the years.

1:19:13And speaking of calling out podcasts, your wonderful podcast, Money Unplugged with Chris Hill. I had the privilege of being on that podcast this year as well. And I got so many nice comments about my time on your podcast, Chris, because I think in part you take a new angle that many people in the money world don't take. I found myself talking about the early days of my life and how that made me think about investing. And you just asked one question after another on your own podcast of me that we couldn't have done on this podcast because every podcast is its own thing. But Money Unplugged, I'm consistently hearing from people.

1:19:48You're just having new kinds of conversations that they hadn't heard before from your various guests. So I want to thank you for that invitation, Chris, and also just for how much fun it was to be together on Authors in August for the first time together this year. And maybe we'll get to do it again sometime. Chris, let me ask you the question I've been asking everyone else on our awards show. Chris Hill, what is a wish, an interesting thought or a prediction you have for the year 2026? Well, David, you know from being on Money Unplugged, one of the questions I ask my guests is, what is something about money that you wished you knew earlier in life?

1:20:27And I had a guest this fall, a guy by the name of Paul Olinger, who made his career working at companies like Yahoo and Facebook and made a bunch of money and then decided he wanted to pursue his real dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. And he's doing that now. But when I asked Paul that question, he gave an answer that really stuck with me. And he said, I wish I knew that comparison never stops. And he talked about our every one of us on some level, we are comparing ourselves to our neighbors, to our friends in all sorts of ways. And so I guess my wish for 2026 for everyone listening is to recognize that comparison never stops for any of us as investors, as human beings.

1:21:14So just recognize that and then figure out your own personal way of dealing with it. It's going to happen. So what is your plan for dealing with the fact that, yeah, sometimes you look at your neighbor's new car or new house or what? But how are you going to deal with comparison? It's going to happen. My wish is that everyone figures out their own way of dealing with it in a mentally healthy way. You know, you're reminding me of Jack Bogle's wonderful book Enough, where he tells the story of Kurt Vonnegut and Joseph Heller. Heller, the author of Catch-22. And you already know the punchline, but I'll just throw it out there once again.

1:21:52They were together at a party. I think it was a birthday party on an island owned by a hedge fund manager. So there's two famous writers. Vonnegut, always a little bit of a cynic, turns to Heller and says, Joe, do you realize that our host tonight, the birthday boy, made more money yesterday than you have in your entire career with all of your royalties on Catch-22? And Heller memorably turned back to Vonnegut and said, and I know you know this, I'm going to let you give the punchline here, Chris. He said, yes, but I have something our host will never have. Enough. enough. It is worth thinking about here during this holiday of plenty here at the end of another great year, another up year for the market.

1:22:33You know, Chris, a lot of people thought the market would go down in 2025. Well, it didn't. It went up sometimes against our own expectations. Talk about comparing things one year to the next. But it is worth remembering that I think the happiest people are probably the Joseph Hellers in this world who can say, you know what? I have enough and that is enough. Chris, thank you for proving that my podcast survives just fine without me hosting it. I'm grateful for your insight, your steadiness, of course, your humor and the way you always make conversations better. Chris, Happy New Year and Fool on.

1:23:10Happy New Year.

1:23:20all right well in addition to thanking again all my friends my talented world-class guests this week i also want to thank another bestie for me and that would be my best new producer for 2025 bart shannon bart it has been a delight working with you to make this podcast happen and special thanks to you this week because there is a lot that goes in to producing our besties. And Bart and I want to thank you, most of all, our dear listeners. Much gratitude. I had such fun this year. I learned a lot. We hope you did too. At its heart, that's probably what the besties are about. Timely and timeless learning and fun.

1:24:01So thank you for suffering this fool gladly. Fool on! As always, people on this program may have interest in the stocks they talk about, and The Motley Fool may have formal recommendations for or against. So don't buy or sell stocks based solely on what you hear. Learn more about Rule Breaker Investing at rbi.fool.com.