If the synopsis I released last week for the Irreplaceable Spark Conference 2 was the Pep Rally, this is The Game. On Saturday morning, Jonathan Hoenig took the stage for a second time with two themes for his Three Investment Rules presentation: 1) Behavioral Management, and 2) Risk Control.
These two skills are necessary to finally rid ourselves of the moral hazard that Hoenig identified in his Pep Rally talk: reliance on central bank bailouts. However, the Federal Reserve is charged with the stability of prices and employment - over which they are largely impotent - and the president’s Treasury department sets the table for bailouts and currency devaluation or stability.
Just ask the Fed chairmen who resigned under FDR and Nixon. It is true, however, the Fed is a political institution. Even for us, independence from the economic dogma of government institutions is not easy, but it is necessary to realize the theme of this conference. One that was inspired by philsopher Ayn Rand in her 1957 novel, Atlas Shrugged::
Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not all. Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserve but have never been able to reach.
That was John Galt speaking, but speaking last on Saturday afternoon was Don Hauptman, author of Share What You Know and Get Paid for It.
The Versatile Freelancer
In his talk, Don recommended public speaking as a revenue source or to promote other products and services. Of course, developing expertise that people want to hear and see plus your presentation skills is the challenge. For that, Don had been a speechwriter, and later he was paid to critique the speeches created by others.
More useful to the audience, Hauptman recommended the repurposing of published content across platforms to create subscription revenue. And for maximum benefit, use storytelling and credible testimonials, focus on the goals of the audience rather than the product or service, and deal with concrete examples instead of generalizations.
But Sunday morning is where the Spark 2 conference really got interesting. Catching the ball in stride was Daniel T. Richards, co-founder of the Return on Ideas (ROI) creative agency.
The Selfish Rhetorician
As a producer of three feature documentaries including They Say It Can’t Be Done (which won more than a dozen film festival awards), Richards spoke with authority when he began his talk by telling the Spark 2 audience: “Being right does not mean you deserve to be heard.”
Richards’ ideas were radical, which means grounded in fundamentals and reality. He told us that the fundamental question is not “who is your audience?” The fundamental question is “who am I?” In abstract terms, it is your spark - or should be, but in more concrete terms, it is what you control - your character.
Holding the title of Chief Rhetorician at ROI, Richards invoked the original life on earth philosopher - Aristotle, to anchor his talk: Selfish Persuasion.
In this context, Richards explained that to be selfish is to have studied your specialty and done it repeatedly over time. Only then does anyone have the “practical wisdom” to prove they know what they are talking about. Only then are you worthy of anyone’s trust. Only then can anyone say with honesty that they give a damn.
Or as Richards told his audience: “Do not try to win an argument until you become someone worthy of winning an argument.” But when does making an argument and employing the tools of logic become persuasive? When character has been established and people have a reason to care. The next step is to build an audience from real individuals rather than abstractions such as “everyone.”
About the importance of rhetoricians, Richards quoted Cicero, “Bestow virtue on the ignorant or deliver weapons into the hands of barbarians.” And on the rising tide of AI agents: “AI will produce slick, cheap, numerous content but you will be the unique product.” But in the end, a video or blog post will not win many followers - only consistent and habitual content may move people over time.
At this point I was thinking to myself, if the next speaker needs a podium, or a script, or has not studied their specialty or not done it repeatedly, and does not have real individuals or real life examples to make their case, it would look really bad. Conversely, a speaker who had prepared themselves for what this audience deserves would see Richards’ talk as the baton being passed in full stride.
The Objective Investor
The latter turned out to be the case as I was introduced on stage before being miked, the podium removed, or the title slide oaded for display. In other words, an opportunity to prove the flexibility and resilience of my talk: Winning Your Life with Moneyball.
The first important question to answer was “Who am I? And having been born in Buffalo New York, I began with the Robert Redford baseball movie, The Natural, and tossing sponge baseballs to the audience. It was filmed in Buffalo and the games were played in the old stadium where my father had season tickets to Bills games.
Next, I mentioned Field of Dreams, which was filmed in Iowa where my son and I had ridden our bicycles several times. We had also visited the movie site in Dyersville for a little pitch and catch - as in the final scene of the movie. Both films were about the irreplaceable spark and keeping it lit. But that is the Pep Rally again. I needed to prove I had studied my discipline, done it, and repeated the process over time, so I asked the audience:
But what does a high correlation to winning baseball games have to do with your personal financial decisions? And why should you listen to me? Two years ago I was working on my book. I had never written a book. There is no good reason for anyone to read my book. Who here has read my book? My anonymity is well deserved.
What followed were four real-life experiences featuring: 1) a consultant to top financial advisors, 2) my trust department clients, 2) my bank’s investment strategy committee, and 4) a principled asset management firm. On top of that, there were four quotes from Forbes review of The Moneyball Method plus the specific metrics of Objective Investing: reliable data, spending and risk capacity, and money-weighted performance.
Objective Investing is an integrated system with explicitly defined goals and values that become the new performance benchmark. As such, it does everything in reverse of the common wisdom that attempts the impossible and the irrelevant: predict the future, beat the market, and measure performance looking backward.
In other words, “do not let the hero in your soul perish in the hopeless swamps of the not quite, the not yet, and the not all” of the “magical market whisperers.” A phrase that was coined by Amber - one of my treasured Amazon book reviewers. But like money is a tool, Moneyball is merely a tool. Once we gain a healthy respect for money, my concluding remarks should resonate more loudly:
Dreams, dollars and deadlines. Reason, purpose and self-esteem. My challenge for you is to think radically, declare your independence from the common wisdom - and win your life through the lens of money.
The Persuasive Egoist
From there, the conference presentations and festivities wound down with Catherine Dickerson leading the way with Uncompromising Egoism. Its core tenets are active listening, clear self-expression, principled problem solving, and she employed role-playing with an audience member to demonstrate the skills.
Next up was Linda Cordair, curator of Quent Cordair Fine Art Studio who brought fellow Wyoming resident and speaker Jim Brown back to the stage for her Fireside Chat: Living with Art. To be surrounded or in the presence of beauty and inspiration is vital for keeping your fire lit.
The grand finale was Brown’s survey of optimism and optimists - starting with Admiral James Stockdale, the highest ranking prisoner at the Hanoi Hilton who taught, “Deal with facts. Never lose your ability to deal with facts.” Put briefly, Ayn Rand taught that optimism is confidence in the future and Brown added that being optimistic is what rationality feels like inside. Naturally, all of that aligns perfectly with The Moneyball Method.