Greg Smyth Podcast Greg Smyth

Profile:
Greg Smyth is from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada and currently living with his wife Amanda and Daughter Poppy in the San Francisco Bay Area. He studied Mechanical Engineering at Memorial University. He spent 10 years working in the Oil and Gas industry, before moving to Silicon Valley in 2016. Greg is also the founder of GlobalNL, a non-profit organization building a global community of people passionate about Newfoundland and Labrador.

Jared's Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-ottmann-3531676b/

Introduction
1:16 Societal impact of podcast & youtube
7:44 Ethics and Philosophy
19:34 The ethics of global fishery
27:26 First amendment & tech company control
29:44 Technological progress
31:28 Climate Change
49:16 Political division related to climate change
53:46 How do you learn / how do you pick books to read?
1:06:16 Consuming social media
1:11:16 The benefits of reading fiction
1:13:16 Jared's favorite books
1:21:16 Wrap-up discussion on the podcast

Links:
Jared's Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-ottmann-3531676b/
Philosophy bites podcast - https://philosophybites.com
Sam Harris / Jordan Peterson Debates:
- #1 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jey_CzIOfYE&t=5946s
- #2 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEf6X-FueMo&t=2581s
- #3 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqpYxD71hJU

Misc. links:
- Larry Flint Letter:
https://www.blackrock.com/corporate/investor-relations/larry-fink-ceo-letter
- Nancy Pearl Seattle Public Librarian:
https://www.nancypearl.com
- 5 Books Club:
https://www.nancypearl.com

Books Discussed during the episode:

- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold: A George Smiley Novel (George Smiley Novels)
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143124757/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

- Ultimate Questions by Bryan Magee
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Questions-Bryan-Magee/dp/0691178127/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Brian+McGee+ultimate+questions&qid=1617653970&sr=8-1

- Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling
https://www.amazon.com/Factfulness-Reasons-World-Things-Better/dp/1250123828/ref=sr_1_2?crid=298ZUPEXIEV7R&dchild=1&keywords=hans+rosling+s+factfulness&qid=1617655305&sprefix=Hans+ros%2Caps%2C222&sr=8-2

- How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need By Bill Gates
https://www.amazon.com/How-Avoid-Climate-Disaster-Breakthroughs/dp/B082QYFLDR/ref=sr_1_1?crid=GE00SPVGJLY8&dchild=1&keywords=bill+gates+how+to+avoid+a+climate+disaster&qid=1617655371&sprefix=bill+gates%2Caps%2C253&sr=8-1

- The Price of Peace: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynesbr...

Profiles:
Greg Smyth is from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada and currently living with his wife Amanda and Daughter Poppy in the San Francisco Bay Area. He studied Mechanical Engineering at memorial university. He spent 10 years working in the Oil and Gas industry, prior to moving to Silicon Valley in 2016. Greg is also the founder of GlobalNL.com, a non-profit organization building a global community of people passionate about Newfoundland and Labrador.

Justin Hanson currently resides in Houston, Texas. He studied Mechanical Engineering at the University of Colorado, then later on received an MBA from the University of Notre Dame. He has worked the last 13 years in the energy industry.

Outline:
1:41 How Greg and Justin know each other; shared interests (Elon Musk, TED Talks, Warren Buffett, Investing)
6:08 Career arcs; finding meaning in your career; the idea of retirement
12:35 Why do the podcast? (Clip)
16:30 Learning through conversations / Jordan Peterson Self Authoring Program
21:03 Peter Thiel's contrarian way of thinking & stagnation in the economy
23:50 Warren Buffett shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska
26:36 What we have learned from Warren Buffett?
33:48 Speculation vs Investing & Warren Buffett’s approach to investing for “regular people”
39:00 Jordan Peterson’s view on Capitalism vs. Socialism “the road to hell is paved with good intentions”
41:58 Warren Buffett’s lack of ego and bringing humility to investing
44:16 Meeting Bill Ackman at a bar in Omaha and his connection to Andrew Wilkenson, who is bringing the Buffett approach to start-up investing This week in start-ups interview).
47:42 What I have learned from Bill Gurley (e.g. Grand Slam analog)
53:00 Bill Ackman’s investment in Berkshire Hathaway
55:10 How important is the job of a capital allocator?
57:40 Discussion of Chamath Palipitya’s talk at Stanford & frameworks for thinking about money/capital. Using money to shape your world view.
1:00:53 Eric Weinstein’s idea around young people not having access to enough capital.
1:06:07 Discussion about Bill Gurley and Benchmark Capital (abovethecrowd.com)
1:08:10 Greg discusses what he has learned about Angel investing after reading Jason Calacanis book Angel as well as attending his only course called “Angel University.
1:11:47 Why is Greg considering doing Angel investing?
1:13:45 Greg shares what his 3 main focus areas for the career transition he is currently working on 1) Start-up investing 2) Podcasting 3) Coaching/Advising.