Trail Magic - Lessons from Two Years of the Podcast

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (0:04)
Hello, and welcome everyone. I'm Patrick O'Shaughnessy, and this is Invest Like the Best. This show is an open-ended exploration of markets, ideas, methods, stories, and of strategies that will help you better invest both your time and your money. You can learn more and stay up to date at investorfieldguide.com.

**SPEAKER_1** (0:24)
Patrick O'Shaughnessy is the CEO of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. All opinions expressed by Patrick and podcast guests are solely their own opinions and do not reflect the opinion of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management. This podcast is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a basis for investment decisions.
Clients of O'Shaughnessy Asset Management may maintain positions and the securities discussed in this podcast.

**Patrick O'Shaughnessy** (0:49)
This week, to mark the two-year anniversary of the podcast, I offer a quick summary looking back and forward.
Yesterday, I heard about an Appalachian trail thru-hiker named Crow Atoan, or Crow for short.
Crow is his trail name, which all AT thru-hikers carry. Importantly, you can't give yourself a trail name. Someone else has to name you along the way. Crow's girlfriend's name was Porridge. Another hiker he encountered was named Bear Wrestler, and more on him in a few minutes.
Crow was a Sobo, a southbound hiker heading from Maine to Georgia. This is a far more unique route, as most thru-hikers are nobos hiking north. These hikers maintain a rich culture. Each wears their own trail flair and has their own trail style. They're obsessed with their gear and with food. They developed their own improved walking method to cover ground efficiently. Hikers typically won't veer far off course, no more than a tenth of a mile for almost any reason. Crow once left a meaningful gift he had received by a riverbed, realized it two tenths of a mile later, and just kept moving. Two exceptions to this rule are to visit a brewery or find some homemade ice cream. Now there are different types of thru-hikers. White blazers are hikers who follow the main trail, lit by the famous white blazes marking the way. Blue blazers often go a step further, exploring side trails in addition to the main trail. Green blazers smoke weed the whole time. There are other colorful ones I'll stay away from here because they aren't safe for work.
Apparently you can spot an imposter in a number of ways. My favorite was that anyone wearing big, sturdy hiking boots should be questioned, because most thru-hikers realized quickly that they're too heavy and opt instead for lightweight shoes. Crow had a nice pair of ultras. This brings us back to Bear Wrestler. Around a campfire, Bear Wrestler was telling Crow and his girlfriend all about his long trail adventures and feats. But Crow noticed that Bear Wrestler was still chubby, carrying 40 pounds of fat. This is a second way to spot a potential imposter. When hiking intensely for months on end, it is impossible to keep any weight on. So Bear Wrestler was clearly a yellow blazer, which is a type of hiker who drives between trailheads instead of hiking the entire way like purists.
As I heard about Crow and his adventure, I was thinking about what to say in this short episode about what I've learned across two years running this podcast. What I quickly realized is how many yellow blazers there are in the world, and that at many times in my life, I too have been a yellow blazer, opting for easier but less authentic and less interesting routes. The podcast is part of a portfolio of things that I put in place in my life to try to avoid being a yellow blazer, to instead push myself to be more like a blue blazer, exploring anywhere I can.
Looking back on the incredible guests I've had, I realize now the common mindset that unites them, and I'd like to highlight that mindset here. Even though my guests have come from just about every conceivable background, investing in otherwise, they are all in persistent and consistent pursuit of original experience. Now that might sound obvious, but it's quite rare to meet people whose default is to chase original experience. These people stand out quickly to me now because I can recognize freshness in them, patterns that I haven't seen 10 other times elsewhere. I now think to myself often, am I doing this because it's conventional or because I'm watching what other people do? I think if you do the same exercise, you'll be alarmed by how often the answer is yes. Diving a bit deeper into what unites so many of my past guests, there are four elements that I see over and over again. The first common trait is deep curiosity. My take on curiosity after meeting all these people is that it works best in two ways, through building units of exploration and through embracing strange intersections.