Jacob Shapiro is a geopolitical analyst who helps investors and businesses navigate the complexities of a multipolar world. Jacob oversees geopolitical analysis at Cognitive Investments and hosts the Jacob Shapiro podcast.

In this episode, we question longstanding alliances, explore the intricate balance of power in the Middle East, and contemplate the future of U.S. foreign policy in the region.

We begin by tracing the historical roots of the U.S.-Israel alliance, primarily forged during the Cold War and heavily influenced by U.S. energy dependencies in the Middle East. Shapiro explains how the fall of the Soviet Union and the rise of American energy independence from the shale revolution have significantly altered these dynamics, making Israel less of a strategic asset today.

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Alan shared an hour of his time to explain how he was able to retire at 35 and lays out the principles by which he lived.

Alan’s three core principles

1. Keep your spending in check so you save a lot - preferably by automating your savings
2. Seek out ways to increase your income through education, hard work, and challenging careers
3. Implement a sound investment strategy that keeps fees low and generates high rates of return early on

Alan discusses the merits of going back to school to get a graduate degree. He also explains why living in a low-cost city like Pittsburgh was a boon and how he lost more than 100 lbs after he retired.

THIS EPISODE WAS RECORDED ON SEPTEMBER 30TH, INTERNATIONAL PODCASTING DAY, at the EPICAST NETWORK STUDIOS.

Alan’s Challenge; Keep a journal of all your expenses for one week and reflect on necessary vs. discretionary purchases. By investing savings in securities generating an average of 10%/year (i.e. total stock market funds), in 20 years, each dollar saved could turn into $7. If you’d rather have the $7, automate your savings.

Reading Suggestion; BogleHeads

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Shane Parrish is the founder, curator and wisdom seeker behind Farnam Street. He is also  a bestselling author and entrepreneur known for his popular podcast The Knowledge Project and Brain Food newsletter.

Originally a personal blog where Shane could explore the discoveries made by others about decision-making, purposeful living, and the mechanics of the world, it swiftly transformed into a leading website for personal development.

Shane Parrish just released his book Clear Thinking. It is a book that equips you with the instruments to identify those pivotal moments capable of altering your path and influencing how you navigate the crucial gap between stimulus and response.

In this episode, Aaron and Shane discuss the importance of clear thinking, identifying blind spots, and making better decisions. They also explore the power of reading and the impact it can have on our lives. 

Shane’s Challenge: I want to know which part of that book changed your life, which part of that book changed your thinking.

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If you liked this interview, I'm confident you'd also enjoy the content on my YouTube channel. You will think more clearly after consuming some of the video essays on the channel, including our breakdown of why Apple is Screwed if China ends up invading Taiwan.

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David McCormick is the former CEO of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds. He has also previously worked in the Bush White House and as President of FreeMarkets, a Pittsburgh-based startup from the early 2000s.

He accomplished the sale of FreeMarkets to Ariba in 2004 for an estimated sum of $500 million and ensured that his team retained their jobs after the acquisition.

McCormick ran in the GOP primaries for Pennsylvania senator against Dr. Mehmet Oz in 2022. It is speculated that he may run again in 2024 against Democratic incumbent Bob Casey.

In this episode, Aaron and David talk about his winding career, his book Superpower In Peril, and the major points in his game plan to renew America.

David McCormick’s Challenge; Embrace the privilege and responsibility to be born in the greatest country in the world by registering to vote.

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If you liked this interview, check out our episode about Storing Family Memories Forever & Losing $1 Billion w/ Glen Meakem

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Chris Powers is the Founder & Executive Chairman of Fort Capital. Fort Capital is a Fort Worth, Texas-based Real Estate Private Equity firm. 

In 2016, Chris made the decision to focus on Class B Industrial full time and that is where the firm has dedicated the majority of its resources since.

After graduating in 2008, Chris started a leasing and property management business and flipped houses on the side. Wells Fargo gave him a $250,000 line of credit, and the plan was to keep flipping homes near TCU. Chris started buying foreclosed homes all over the Dallas Fort Worth area. From there, he started building high-end custom homes. He later got into land development and entitlement for several years, where he would assemble unentitled urban land and take the entitlement risk to develop from ground-up. He has since learned the value of focusing on a specific niche.
In this episode, Aaron and Chris talk about how he's built his team, how he balances the identity of investor and entrepreneur, and how focusing on a specific niche of real estate has led to stratospheric growth.

Chris Powers’ Challenge;  if you don't have a mentor, go find someone that you trust that will pass their wisdom on to you. Connect with Chris Powers

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If you liked this interview, check out our episode with Brent B. Shore. His firm, Permanent Equity, specializes in buying small businesses and has built their specialty and niche focus.

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David Tobin is the Founder and Managing Partner of TobinLeff, where they help clients convert business value into family wealth. 

David is a serial entrepreneur who has founded, grown, and sold four companies. David has worked with over 100 businesses to build value, retain key employees, and achieve profitable exits.

TobinLeff is an M&A advisory and exit planning firm that assists business owners in maximizing enterprise value and converting it into personal wealth. They offer consulting services to prepare companies for transactions, M&A services for acquisitions and sales to strategic buyers and private equity groups, and exit planning services such as management buy-out plans.

In this episode, Aaron and David talk about how these mergers and acquisition transactions occur, who the important parties are, what the most important terms are as a part of these deals, and a whole lot more.

David Tobin’s Challenge; Do vision planning, and make sure you have a mission that truly ties to this vision. 

Connect with David Tobin Linkedin

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If you liked this interview, check out our episode on How to Sell a Midsize Digital Agency w/ Amanda Dixon (Barney)

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Kevin Kelly co-founded Wired magazine in 1993, served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years, and was a pioneer from the early days of the internet. He is an author of several bestselling books and is a return guest on this podcast.

Kevin’s book Excellent Advice for Living is a small book of wisdom, in a pocketable format with 450 tweetable bits of advice that he wished he had known earlier. Kevin was prompted to collect these thoughts after a recent birthday caused him to reflect on which lessons he could pass to his children.

In this episode, Aaron and Kevin talk about aphorisms, why it was important for him to write this book now, and the impact he hopes he has on his family.

Kevin Kelly’s Challenge; Think about how to be a good ancestor. Work on one good thing that you think your future generation will thank you for, or thank your great grandparents for something that they have done that you’re proud and thankful for.

Connect with Kevin Kelly Twitter

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Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I'd Known Earlier

If you liked this interview, check out our episode about Four Huge Startup Exits w/ Jason Wolfe

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Jason Wolfe is the definition of a serial entrepreneur. He sold MyCoupons.com for roughly $23 million in 2000, shortly before the DotCom bubble burst.

Jason rolled over his proceeds into successive wins with his companies Direct Response Technologies (acquired by Digital River for $22 million), Jambo Media (for $15 million) and Giftcards.com (by Blackhawk Network for $120 million).

Pretty impressive. Even more so when you consider how he grew up. After growing up in the Milton Hershey School, an orphanage founded by Milton Hershey, Jason was living out of his car.

He taught himself how to code by using books at the local library and CompUSA's 'Building the Perfect Web'. This led to building the first coupon website and launching his first internet business. From 1995 to 2000, Jason built the business, raising $500k in VC from Jupiter Media and garnering >$1 million in annual sales and 20 million page views per month.

Today, he is building GiftYa, GiveInKind, and PerfectGift, which have the potential to be his biggest businesses yet.

​Jason’s Challenge; Give more. Be Kind. Pull someone else up.

Connect with Jason Wolfe Linkedin

Website

jason@wolfe.com​

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