scripod.com

Patrick O’Shaughnessy - Creating on Principle - [Invest Like the Best, EP.455]

Shownote

This week is a special episode. Only David Senra [https://x.com/davidsenra] could get me to be on the other side of the mic. Because I don’t plan on being interviewed often, I wanted to share this conversation, which I so enjoyed, with our audience. It went in a very different direction than I expected. We barely talk about investing or interviewing. Instead, we talk about finding an organizing principle for life, undiscovered talent, and the idea that “the reward for good work is more work.” We also discuss the principles that guide how I think about building Invest Like the Best, Colossus, and Positive Sum. This conversation was originally recorded and released on David Senra [https://www.davidsenra.com/episode/patrick-oshaughnessy], and I wanted to share on the Invest Like The Best feed as well. Please go follow [https://www.davidsenra.com/] what he’s doing, there’s no one like David. Enjoy! For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://colossus.com/episode/creating-on-principle/].⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Ramp⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [http://ramp.com/invest]. Ramp’s mission is to help companies manage their spend in a way that reduces expenses and frees up time for teams to work on more valuable projects. Go to⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://ramp.com/250-signup-bonus?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=paid-podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-colossus-250&utm_content=invest] ⁠ramp.com/invest⁠ [http://ramp.com/invest] to sign up for free and get a $250 welcome bonus. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ http://ramp.com/investVanta [http://vanta.com/invest]. Trusted by thousands of businesses, Vanta continuously monitors your security posture and streamlines audits so you can win enterprise deals and build customer trust without the traditional overhead. Visit vanta.com/invest [http://vanta.com/invest].  ----- This episode is brought to you by Rogo [https://rogo.ai/]. Rogo is an AI-powered platform that automates accounts payable workflows, enabling finance teams to process invoices faster and with greater accuracy. Learn more at Rogo.ai/invest [http://rogo.ai/invest]. ----- This episode is brought to you by ⁠WorkOS⁠ [https://workos.com/]. WorkOS is a developer platform that enables SaaS companies to quickly add enterprise features to their applications. Visit ⁠WorkOS.com⁠ [https://workos.com/] to transform your application into an enterprise-ready solution in minutes, not months. ----- This episode is brought to you by⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Ridgeline⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.ridgelineapps.com/]. Ridgeline has built a complete, real-time, modern operating system for investment managers. It handles trading, portfolio management, compliance, customer reporting, and much more through an all-in-one real-time cloud platform. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ridgelineapps.com [https://www.ridgelineapps.com/]. ----- Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant (⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://thepodcastconsultant.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://thepodcastconsultant.com/]). Timestamps (00:00:00) Welcome to Invest Like The Best (00:04:26) Intro (00:05:14) The Joy of Championing Undiscovered Talent (00:07:33) How One Tweet Changed David's Life (00:10:16) The Upanishads Passage That Shaped Patrick's Worldview (00:15:32) Growth Without Goals  (00:17:24) Why Media and Investing Are the Same Thing (00:33:05) The Search for True Understanding (00:35:36) The Daniel Ek Dinner That Launched David’s Podcast (00:39:02) Making Your Own Recipe From the Ingredients of Great Lives (00:43:46) The Privilege of a Lifetime Is Being Who You Are (00:52:06) Bruce Springsteen (00:57:23) Clean Fuel vs Dirty Fuel: The Source of Your Ambition (01:01:43) The Unfair Advantage of Podcasting (01:04:12) Relationships Run the World (01:11:10) The Origin Story of Invest Like the Best (01:12:45) Building Colossus: Why Start a Magazine in 2025 (01:18:42) People Are More Interested in People Than Anything Else (01:22:12) Hiring Through Output (01:26:23) Learn, Build, Share, Repeat (01:30:01) The Daisy Chain: How Reading Books Led to Everything (01:33:15) Red on the Color Wheel: Sam Hinkie's Observation (01:40:17) Finding Your Superpower and Becoming More Yourself (01:45:06) Repetition Doesn't Spoil the Prayer: Teaching as Leadership (01:48:11) Life's Work: A Lifelong Quest to Build Something for Others (01:52:00) The Ten Roles Game and What Matters Most (01:59:12) Husband, Father, Grandfather (02:01:52) The Kindest Thing

Highlights

In this deeply reflective conversation, the host steps into the role of guest, engaging in a rich dialogue that transcends typical discussions of investing or media. Instead, the focus turns to the personal principles that shape a meaningful life and creative work.
05:16
Championing others brings more gratification than personal accolades
09:44
Patrick’s tweet calling the Founders Podcast excellent led to a major audience shift.
16:05
One should find a principle rather than a goal.
31:17
You can break from the given path and start anew
33:05
Bruce Springsteen's autobiography deeply resonated with the speaker on work and identity
37:34
People should use insights from others' lives to forge their own paths, not blindly follow or be deterred by base rates.
41:31
Creating things that reflect oneself is the most sustainable form of creation.
43:54
Chasing money, power, and fame can be a trap—seek abiding joy instead
54:48
True fulfillment comes not from fame but from serving others and facing inner pain.
57:23
Money follows as an act of service when you love what you do
1:07:06
Jesse Beirutti is an influential, principled investor worth watching
1:11:11
Jeremy's profile on Josh Kushner included crucial Holocaust family history that deepened the narrative.
1:17:35
A fight with Bill Gates elevated Oracle's profile and product visibility
1:21:13
People can't resist a magazine cover—it's the ultimate form of spotlight.
1:24:41
Put your work out in the world and let people find you
1:28:20
Learning by doing makes one better at something
1:31:00
Growth without goals: success emerged from following passion, not planning it.
1:33:15
Sam Hinkie said the speaker was 'red on the color wheel'
1:42:27
A great leader is someone others want to follow.
1:45:10
The reward for great work is more work.
1:48:14
The reward for great work is more work.
1:57:43
Sam Hinkie believed the first song from the podcast was a sign from God.
1:59:15
The small set of people I'd do anything for is my prized possession
2:04:42
Tim's introduction led to meeting my wife on my first night at Notre Dame.

Chapters

Welcome to Invest Like The Best
00:00
Intro
04:26
The Joy of Championing Undiscovered Talent
05:14
How One Tweet Changed David's Life
07:33
The Upanishads Passage That Shaped Patrick's Worldview
10:16
Growth Without Goals
15:32
Why Media and Investing Are the Same Thing
17:24
The Search for True Understanding
33:05
The Daniel Ek Dinner That Launched David’s Podcast
35:36
Making Your Own Recipe From the Ingredients of Great Lives
39:02
The Privilege of a Lifetime Is Being Who You Are
43:46
Bruce Springsteen
52:06
Clean Fuel vs Dirty Fuel: The Source of Your Ambition
57:23
The Unfair Advantage of Podcasting
1:01:43
Relationships Run the World
1:04:12
The Origin Story of Invest Like the Best
1:11:10
Building Colossus: Why Start a Magazine in 2025
1:12:45
People Are More Interested in People Than Anything Else
1:18:42
Hiring Through Output
1:22:12
Learn, Build, Share, Repeat
1:26:23
The Daisy Chain: How Reading Books Led to Everything
1:30:01
Red on the Color Wheel: Sam Hinkie's Observation
1:33:15
Finding Your Superpower and Becoming More Yourself
1:40:17
Repetition Doesn't Spoil the Prayer: Teaching as Leadership
1:45:06
Life's Work: A Lifelong Quest to Build Something for Others
1:48:11
The Ten Roles Game and What Matters Most
1:52:00
Husband, Father, Grandfather
1:59:12
The Kindest Thing
2:01:52

Transcript

Patrick O'Shaughnessy: Here's an interesting question to think about. If your finance team suddenly had an extra week every month, what would you have them work on? Most CFOs don't know because their finance teams are grinding it out on lost expense report...