3302: The Number One Impact on Your Investments is YOU by Kent Thune with Get Rich Slowly

Summary

---

Podcast Episode Summary

Podcast: Optimal Finance Daily
Host: Diania Merriam
Episode: 3302: “The Number One Impact on Your Investments is YOU” by Kent Thune with Get Rich Slowly
Original Air Date: October 1, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode, hosted by Diania Merriam, centers on the profound yet often overlooked truth in personal finance: the biggest influence on your investment success is not the market, the economy, or government policy—but you, the investor. Drawing from a guest post by Kent Thune via Get Rich Slowly, the show delves into the importance of self-understanding, self-control, and the need to shift attention from uncontrollable external events to the factors you can control in your financial journey.

---

Key Discussion Points and Insights

Market Volatility & Fear: Where Do We Turn?

• Context: Recent market volatility and economic fragility have shaken many investors' confidence.

• Insight: Standard questions in times of uncertainty—“What if the market crashes?”, “Should I adjust my investments?”—are inherently reactive and focus on the external. Instead, the episode urges listeners to ask deeper, more personal questions about their own goals and paths.

  “Those kinds of questions suggest we’ve not sought answers from internal sources and perhaps have failed to ask questions that may be a bit more difficult, such as 'Who am I? And where am I going?'” (Kent Thune, 02:08)

What You Can’t Control

1. Financial Markets

• Markets are unpredictable: Echoed in the famous Keynes quote:

  “The markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent.” (02:23)

2. The Economy

• Cycles are inevitable, but history doesn’t precisely repeat:

  “History may rhyme, but it does not repeat itself.” (02:43)

3. Government Actions

• Tax rates, interest rates, or geopolitical moves: All are impactful, none are in your hands.

What Is Within Your Control

1. Asset Allocation

• Diversification decisions and choosing the type of investments (mutual funds, index funds, etc.) are up to you.

2. Time in the Market

• Emphasizes long-term investing over market timing:

  “Miss the market’s greatest moves and you’re doomed to underperformance.” (03:55)

3. Savings Rate

• Maximizing how much you save/invest will have a larger cumulative effect than market performance:

  “Increasing the amount you’re saving or investing will have a much larger impact on your long-term account value than market movements or economic activity.” (04:13)

4. Your Personal Goals and Risk Tolerance

• Get clear on your reasons and time horizons before crafting an investment plan.

---

The Power of Self-Reflection: Practical Guidance

1. Find Yourself

• Self-awareness is step one—for personal finance and for life.
• Recommended resources:
  • Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman (for understanding yourself as a human)
  • Online Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (for understanding your individuality)

2. Define Yourself

• Don’t just accept society’s definitions. Define terms like "retirement," "wealth," "success," and "freedom" for yourself.

3. Allocate Attention

• Be intentional with information consumption.

  “If we’re consumers of information, we must stop to think of what it is that information consumes—our attention.” (Kent Thune, 06:19)

• Create a media “portfolio” to avoid drowning in market noise.

4. Think About Thinking

• Metacognition (reflecting on your thought patterns) strengthens judgment.
• Suggested reading: The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Philosophy for accessible philosophy insights.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Control:
  ​> "Allocate attention to things we can control and ultimately to set forth on our own path rather than the path of others.” (Kent Thune, 02:04)

• Lao Tzu Reference:

  “If I’ve even just a little sense, I’ll walk on the main road and my only fear will be straying from it.” (Kent Thune, quoting Lao Tzu, 05:08)

• On Growth & Mistakes:

  "We will make mistakes, of course, but they will be our own. And because of our self-awareness, they’ll help us to grow stronger and to continue in the right direction." (Kent Thune, 07:21)

---

Host Commentary & Supplemental Reflections

Diania Merriam brings personal perspective to Kent Thune’s advice:

• Investing is Easy; Saving is Harder:

  “Investing is the really easy part when it comes to money. The much harder part is money management and actually having enough of a gap between your income and expenses to put towards investments.” (Diania Merriam, 10:27)

• Embrace Volatility:

  “We need to expect volatility. The stock market is a roller coaster. That’s just how it works. But if we’re in it for the long haul and we’re properly diversified, we’re going to be fine.” (Diania Merriam, 10:41)

• On Index Funds & Savings Rate:

  “I could probably drive myself crazy diving into investment strategies that get the absolute best return, but matching the overall market return through index fund investing is going to get me to my financial goals... Think of it this way. If person A saves $100 with a 50% return and person B saves $150 with a 10% return, who’s better off? Person B.” (Diania Merriam, 11:01)

---

Important Timestamps

• 02:00-02:55: What’s out of your control (markets, economy, government policy)
• 03:10-04:20: Asset allocation, holding periods, and savings rate explained
• 05:00-07:30: Deep self-reflection—finding, defining, and allocating attention
• 10:27-11:10: Diania Merriam’s commentary—focus on savings rate, long-term investing, and practical optimism

---

Conclusion

This episode serves as a vital reminder for seasoned and novice investors alike: self-awareness, discipline, and focusing on what you can control matters infinitely more than predicting markets or chasing external signals. Anchoring investment decisions in a clear understanding of your values, goals, and behaviors is the surest path to financial growth and peace of mind.

---

Transcript

[Narrator/Host]

Introducing the new Dell PC powered by.

[Dell/Intel Advertiser]

The Intel Core Ultra processor. It's not just an AI computer. It's a computer built for AI.

[Narrator/Host]

That means it's built to help do.

[Dell/Intel Advertiser]

Your busy work for you so you can fast forward through editing images, designing presentations, generating code, debugging code, running lots of apps without lag, creating live translations and captions, summarizing meeting notes, extending battery life, enhancing security, finding that file you were looking for, managing your schedule, meeting your deadlines, responding to Jim's long emails.

[Narrator/Host]

Leaving all the time in the world.

[Dell/Intel Advertiser]

For more you time and for the things you actually want to do. No offense, Jim. Get A new Dell [e-mail] AI PC how those ahead?

[Narrator/Host]

Stay ahead.

[Carvana Host]

All right, Remember, the machine knows if you're lying. First statement Carvana will give you a real offer on your car. All online.

[Carvana Participant]

False.

[Jimmy Fallon Promoter]

True.

[Carvana Host]

Actually sell your car in minutes.

[Carvana Participant]

False. That's gotta be true again.

[Carvana Host]

Carvana will pick up your car from your door, or you can drop it off at one of their car vending machines.

[Carvana Participant]

Sounds too good to be true. So true.

[Carvana Host]

Finally caught on. Nice job. Honesty isn't just their policy, it's their entire model. So sell your car today too, Carvana. Pickup fees may apply.

[Narrator/Host]

This is Optimal Finance Daily. The number one impact on your investments is you. By Kent Thune with getrichslowly.org Recent volatility in the financial markets and a weakening US economy have tested the resolve of even the most patient of investors and cast a shadow of doubt upon the most resolute in personal finance. What if the stock market continues its decline? What if the economy slips into a recession? What should I do, if anything, to protect my investments? Where can I find the answers? While these questions are normal in the face of uncertainty, the problem with them is that they're reactionary and seek answers from external sources. Those kinds of questions suggest we've not sought answers from internal sources and perhaps have failed to ask questions that may be a bit more difficult, such as who am I? And where am I going? I believe that it's important for us to limit our attention to those external sources we cannot control and instead allocate attention to things we can control and ultimately to set forth on our own path rather than the path of others. From a financial perspective, there are significant events that are not within our control. 1. Financial markets. As legendary economist John Maynard Keynes famously said, the markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent. 2. The economy. As with financial markets, the economy moves in cycles. That's about where our absolute knowledge ends. To paraphrase Mark Twain. His history may rhyme, but it does not repeat itself. And Number three Government actions. Fiscal acts such as tax rates, monetary acts such as interest rates, and geopolitical acts such as foreign government have an incredible impact on the big picture of our finances, but no individual has any meaningful control over them. There are, however, many items that are within our control as investors. 1. Asset allocation we have the power to select a diversified mix of stocks, bonds and cash. We also have the ability to control investment selection and investment types, such as mutual funds versus individual securities, index funds versus Actively managed funds, or even the use of life cycle funds. 2. Holding periods while timing the market is a fool's game, time in the market is prudent. Based on history, between 80% and 90% of the returns attributable to market performance come from just 2 to 7% of the time in the market. Miss the market's greatest moves and you're doomed to underperformance. Savings Rate this is a no brainer. All other things being equal, increasing the amount you're saving or investing will have a much larger impact on your long term account value than the market movements or economic activity. Of course, in order to have a positive savings rate, we must spend less than we make. All of these controllable determinants of investing depend on your goals, objectives, tolerance for risk, and time horizon. None of these can be accurately determined without asking those challenging questions. Who am I and where am I going? If I've even just a little sense, I'll walk on the main road and my only fear will be straying from it. Lao Tzu Lao Tzu sought the Tao or the way. Buddha called it Nirvana, Socrates promoted the examined life, and Maslow suggested it is self actualization which we all seek. Before success in finances or any other area in life, we must first know ourselves. Here are some suggestions for finding your own path and staying on it. Number one Find yourself. Who am I? Why do I think and feel differently than others? How can I leverage this knowledge to benefit myself, my relationships, my personal finances? First you're a human, then you're an individual. For understanding of yourself as a human, I suggest the book Emotional why It Can Matter More than IQ by Daniel Goleman. For understanding yourself as an individual, I suggest the online version of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator. These are only beginnings. Self awareness is a lifelong pursuit. Seek information that will enhance knowledge of yourself. Number two Define yourself. Our path may be easily diverted by social conventions and language. For example, what's your definition of retirement? Where does your definition come from is your ultimate financial goal financial freedom? What is your definition of freedom? Define other words for yourself as well, such as rich, wealth, success, strength, weakness and happiness. Otherwise you're following the definition of others. Number three Allocate attention, meaning happiness and control in our lives best derive from internal sources. So how do we limit external noise? A good start is with our informational media consumption such as television, Internet and paper media. If we're consumers of information, we must stop to think of what it is that information consumes our attention. Were you seeking the information or was it seeking you? Be aware that information sources, especially those that are in the business of selling advertising, are trying to capture your attention. Capture your own attention first by creating a portfolio of information sources. For example, 40% music, 30% books, 10% blogs and Internet, 10% periodicals, and 10% television. And number four, think about thinking. Anyone can think, but to strengthen our reasoning capabilities, we must learn to think about thinking. To provoke this level of thought, try studying philosophy. For some relatively easy reading, start with the Complete Idiot's Guide to Philosophy. Then gravitate to philosophies or philosophers that speak to your interests. No matter which direction we're walking or what life brings us, whether it's personal finance or anything else, we can't be wrong as long as we're following our own path. We will make mistakes, of course, but they will be our own. And because of our self awareness, they'll help us to grow stronger and to continue in the right direction. You just listened to the post titled the number one impact on your investments is you. By Kent Thune with getrichslowly.org Imagine you're a business owner who has to rely on a dozen different software programs to run your company, none of which are connected, and each one is more expensive and more complicated than the last. It can be pretty stressful.

[Dell/Intel Advertiser]

Now imagine Odoo.

[Narrator/Host]

Odoo has all the programs you'll ever need and they're all connected on one simple, easy to use platform, giving you peace of mind that your business is always being taken care of from every angle. Odoo has user friendly open source applications for everything. We're talking CRM, accounting, inventory, manufacturing, marketing, HR and everything in between. Basically, if your business needs it, Odoo's got it. Odoo sounds pretty amazing, right? So stop wasting your time and money on those expensive disconnected platforms and let Odoo harmonize your business with simple, efficient software that can handle everything for a fraction of the price. It doesn't get much better than that. So what are you waiting for? Discover how Odoo can take your business.

[Dell/Intel Advertiser]

To the next level by visiting odoo.com that's o d o o.com odoo Modern.

[Narrator/Host]

Management Made Simple Tonight on NBC, Jimmy.

[Jimmy Fallon Promoter]

Fallon and Bozma St. John host the highly anticipated new competition show.

[Jimmy Fallon Co-host]

I hired 10 creatives from all walks of life. They will be battling it out to see who can impress the world biggest brands. This is a huge opportunity.

[Jimmy Fallon Promoter]

This is the battle for the next big idea.

[Jimmy Fallon Co-host]

This is not Play Play.

[Carvana Participant]

We're spending millions of dollars.

[Jimmy Fallon Co-host]

I'm so excited to embark on this adventure with all of you.

[Jimmy Fallon Promoter]

May the best idea win on Brand with Jimmy Fallon. Series premiere tonight on NBC.

[Narrator/Host]

I think focusing on the things you can control when it comes to investing is a great way to manage the fear many of us have about losing money. I was talking to my friend Sarah Catherine Gutierrez the other day who's a cfp, and she assured me that investing is the really easy part when it comes to money. The much harder part is money management and actually having enough of a gap between your income and expenses to put towards investments. We need to expect volatility. The stock market is a roller coaster. That's just how it works. But if we're in it for the long haul and we're properly diversified, we're going to be fine. One thing that makes me feel slightly better about any lack I have in being a savvy investor is that I make up for it with the amount I'm investing. I could probably drive myself crazy diving into investment strategies that get the absolute best return, but matching the overall market return through index fund investing is going to get me to my financial goals. So spending time and energy trying to beat the market doesn't appeal to me. Think of it this way. If person A saves $100 with a 50% return and person B saves $150 with a 10% return, who's better off? Person B. And that should do it for today. Have a happy rest of your day and I'll see you on the Thursday show tomorrow, where your optimal life awaits.