#739: Brené Brown and Edward O. Thorp

This episode is a two-for-one, and that’s because the podcast recently hit its 10-year anniversary and passed one billion downloads. To celebrate, I’ve curated some of the best of the best—some of my favorites—from more than 700 episodes over the last decade. I could not be more excited. The episode features segments from episode #409 "Brené Brown — Striving versus Self-Acceptance, Saving Marriages, and More" and episode #596 "Edward O. Thorp, A Man for All Markets — Beating Blackjack and Roulette, Beating the Stock Market, Spotting Bernie Madoff Early, and Knowing When Enough Is Enough." Please enjoy! Sponsors: AG1 all-in-one nutritional supplement: https://drinkag1.com/tim (1-year supply of Vitamin D (and 5 free AG1 travel packs) with your first subscription purchase.) LinkedIn Ads marketing platform with 1B+ users: https://linkedin.com/TFS (free $100 LinkedIn ad credit for your first campaign) LMNT electrolyte supplement: https://drinklmnt.com/Tim (free LMNT sample pack with any drink mix purchase) Timestamps: [00:00] Start [06:06] Notes about this supercombo format. [07:09] Enter Brené Brown. [07:30] Changing in a lasting, meaningful way. [08:03] Is self-accepted complacency possible? [10:53] My woo confession about a crux skill. [13:06] Narcissism: the shame-based fear of being ordinary. [14:06] Efficacy isn’t always efficient. [15:48] Pathology as armor that can’t be discarded. [16:28] What are you unwilling to feel? [17:04] Discarding armor that no longer serves us. [21:26] Curiosity as midlife’s superpower. [22:53] There’s trauma for all of us. [23:33] An 80/20 marriage hack. [25:18] Decisions in a family-focused family. [27:04] Parenting from compliance to commitment. [29:31] Enter Edward O. Thorp. [29:54] Edward’s background, and what drew him to apply mathematics to gambling. [37:04] Edward’s first blackjack trip to Vegas, reference materials used, and his meeting with Claude Shannon at MIT. [40:13] Edward and Claude devised a method to beat roulette using the first wearable computer, according to MIT. [42:16] Despite being 89, Edward looks great for his age; he discusses his approach to staying in shape over the years. [50:22] Edward explains how he got into finance and investing, and the people he met along the way. [59:25] Edward shares what convinced him that Warren Buffett would one day be the richest man in the world after their first meeting. [1:03:58] Edward discusses the frameworks he would teach in an investing seminar for modern students, including those without a strong math aptitude. [1:08:52] Edward shares lessons learned from investing that are transferable to other areas of life. [1:11:02] Edward, a long-term thinker at 89, offers advice for those who struggle to think beyond the short-term. [1:15:40] Edward explains how he discovered something suspicious about the Madoff brothers’ business practices 17 years before others caught on. [1:24:17] Exploring mental models of externalities, the tragedy of the commons, and fundamental attribution errors. [1:33:32] Edward recommends reading and listening material for those who want to enact positive change in the world, politically or evolutionarily. [1:38:51] Edward shares which investors, besides Warren Buffett, impress him and why. [1:42:52] Edward discusses how he balanced growing a business with personal life and what led him to wind things down. [1:47:56] Edward defines independence and shares how he spent his time after winding down the investment side of his life. [1:49:30] Edward shares what he’s particularly curious about learning at the moment. [1:51:40] Reflecting on a conversation between Joseph Heller and Kurt Vonnegut, and other parting thoughts. * For show notes and past guests on The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast. For deals from sponsors of The Tim Ferriss Show, please visit tim.blog/podcast-sponsors Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (5-Bullet Friday) at tim.blog/friday. For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts. Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books. 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