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Category: Interviews

Ep. 176: Fabian Lim Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Fabian Lim
Fabian Lim

My guest today is Fabian Lim, an internationally acknowledged digital marketing expert and, in a sense, a life coach focused on helping individuals to discover their true selves. He is a serial entrepreneur, best-selling author, and licensed jet pilot.

The topic is entrepreneur.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • Life in Singapore generally, and how Singapore has become “the gleaming city on the hill”
  • Singapore’s success despite its lack of natural resources, and how its airport represents the forward thinking found there
  • Lim’s first entrepreneurial ventures
  • The varied reasons that cause us to become entrepreneurs, and the difference between online and offline entrepreneurs
  • Experience in the context of entrepreneurship, and how it can be used as an excuse
  • Timeframes and getting out of the “employee” mindset
  • Becoming rich, and why it’s a choice
  • Classical conditioning, self-limiting beliefs, and breaking the mold to become an entrepreneur
  • The idea of “failing faster”
  • The connection between Lim’s flight training and entrepreneurship
  • Risk and uncertainty
  • Using simulations to practice
  • Success traits and failure philosophy
  • Why choice can be the enemy of a successful entrepreneur

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Ep. 175: Dylan Evans Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Dylan Evans
Dylan Evans

My guest today is Dylan Evans, a British former academic and author who has written books on emotion and the placebo effect as well as the theories of Jacques Lacan.

The topic is risk intelligence.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • Definition of risk intelligence
  • Optimism bias
  • Correlations between IQ and risk intelligence
  • The Brandywine Raceway in Delaware and unconscious statistical modeling
  • Probabilities and the nuclear power risk issue
  • Making decisions on uncertain information
  • The expected value mindset
  • Bet sizing
  • How luck is always part of the game
  • Knowing when not to bet
  • The hidden costs of trying to eliminate risk in a system where risk can never be eliminated
  • The “calibration test” for risk intelligence.

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Ep. 171: Nick Atkeson Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Nick Atkeson
Nick Atkeson

Michael Covel talks with Nick Atkeson. Atkeson’s book is titled “Win By Not Losing: A Disciplined Approach to Building and Protecting Your Wealth in the Stock Market by Managing Your Risk”. Covel and Atkeson talk about momentum and streaks; some of the stories contained in Atkeson’s book, including “Sonny” in Vegas and his ability to disrupt the earnings of the Rio Casino, and the idea of the “theo”; why people should invest at all; uncertainty in the markets, with jobs, and in retirement; market timing; asset allocation decisions; negative tail risk; black swans; what happens when/if the US potentially defaults on its debt; the idea of “systematic”, taking your losses, and behavioral finance; loss avoidance; and how Atkeson got started in his career. Atkeson can be found at deltaim.com.

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Ep. 168: Larry Williams Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Larry Williams
Larry Williams

My guest today is Larry Williams, an American author, stock and commodity trader, and politician from the state of Montana.

The topic is trading.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • IRS and Congress
  • Targeting of individuals and groups by the government
  • Facing the government in a court case and negotiating with the IRS
  • How Williams approached trading at the beginning, and his motivations to do so
  • How growing up in Montana affected Williams personally
  • How Williams came to run for Senate and his reasoning for doing so
  • The importance of speculation, and the difference between speculation and gambling
  • How Williams made the migration from stocks to thinking about futures
  • How Williams approached the emotional and money management sides of the equation
  • Risk control
  • Understanding what kind of system “fits” you best
  • The changing condition of markets
  • Keeping it simple
  • The importance of learning from injury
  • How Williams came to his Libertarian mindset

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Ep. 167: Ryan Holiday Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Ryan Holiday
Ryan Holiday

My guest today is Ryan Holiday, an American author, public-relations strategist, bookstore owner and host of the podcast The Daily Stoic. He is a former director of marketing for American Apparel.

The topic is his book Growth Hacker Marketing: A Primer on the Future of PR, Marketing, and Advertising.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • The definition of “growth hacking”
  • The different forms of growth hacking
  • Why many other marketing books pertain to big business rather than startups
  • The startup mentality
  • How Holiday turned to Bittorrent to launch Tim Ferriss’ “The 4-Hour Chef”
  • Platforms in the growth hacking mindset
  • Letting others be lucky
  • Growth hacking in the context of startups
  • The idea of a product market fit, changing your product, and assessing its strengths and weaknesses
  • The marketing implications of knowing that “the product is never done”
  • Standing by your convictions but being open minded to change
  • The anachronism of press releases
  • Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
  • The concept of other people’s money, the lack of flexibility that goes along with that, and the importance of being able to change

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Ep. 166: Harry Binswanger Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Harry Binswanger
Harry Binswanger

My guest today is Harry Binswanger, an American philosopher, writer, and Objectivist as a long-time associate of Ayn Rand.

The topic is his article on the value of 1%.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • Being inspired by the 1%, and why his article caused such an uproar
  • The nature of trade
  • Envy and jealousy
  • Understanding where entrepreneurs start and how wealth is created
  • The bailouts of 2008
  • Wal-Mart and its many innovations
  • Why money isn’t the root of all evil
  • Seeing Ayn Rand’s work woven into the cultural fabric
  • Statism
  • Navigators and the new health care laws
  • Why the wealthiest counties in America all surround Washington, DC
  • Why we’re at the “tipping point” in society today
  • Thoughts on Ron Paul vs. the principles of Ayn Rand

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Ep. 164: Richard Noble Interview with Michael Covel on Trend Following Radio

Posted on by Michael Covel
Richard Noble
Richard Noble

My guest today is Richard Noble, a Scottish entrepreneur who was holder of the land speed record between 1983 and 1997. He was also the project director of ThrustSSC, the vehicle which holds the current land speed record, set at Black Rock Desert, Nevada in 1997.

The topic is entrepreneur.

In this episode of Trend Following Radio we discuss:

  • What 600 MPH feels like to someone who has never been there before
  • The mental processes when you’re going at high speeds
  • Process vs. outcome
  • The danger of emotional highs
  • Noble’s entrepreneurial spirit
  • How Noble got the desire for the land-speed record at the age of six
  • Whether Noble views his endeavors as “life threatening”
  • The idea of “higher risk” in life and society today
  • The importance of taking risks
  • The idea of developing a “risk culture”
  • Motivating people to come over to your own perspective
  • The difficulties Noble experienced with British culture, the media, and with big companies
  • The parallel experiences Covel and Noble have had on the web
  • Where Noble stands on breaking the 1000 MPH barrier right now

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richard noble

More awesome Noble pictures: 1, 2, 3, 4.