TIP785: My Reflections on Money, Life, and Happiness w/ Stig Brodersen

Podcast: We Study Billionaires – The Investor’s Podcast Network
Host: Stig Brodersen
Date: January 18, 2026

Episode Overview

In this deeply personal episode, host Stig Brodersen offers his own reflections at the intersection of money, life, and happiness. Rather than sharing universally prescriptive truths, Stig lays out ten key observations based on his own experiences, mistakes, and continuing personal growth. Throughout the episode, he weaves practical lessons with stories—both anecdotal and from the world of investing—emphasizing the nuanced relationship between wealth and well-being.

Key Reflections and Talking Points

1. Money Magnifies Who You Are (01:15)

• Money isn’t a transformative force: it amplifies existing qualities in a person.
• “Some of my friends are kind, and with money they’re even kinder than before. And then some of my acquaintances... they’re jerks. And now, with money, the jerk genius on steroids.” —Stig Brodersen [03:13]
• Incremental upgrades provide the most satisfaction—"small, deliberate lifestyle improvements" over sudden leaps stave off numbness and maximize happiness.
• Beware of “lifestyle creep” and increasing your costs too rapidly.
• Money is best used to avoid being a bad version of yourself: e.g., paying for sunlight, time outside, or a gym you’ll actually use [04:29].

2. Grow Rich, Grow Kinder (07:49)

• With financial and social power comes the temptation for blunt honesty, but kindness should outpace candor.
• Honesty is not always the highest good—sometimes compassion must take precedence (e.g., comforting the dying) [09:32].
• “The richer you get, the easier it becomes to be, well, honest, and the harder it becomes to be kind.” —Stig Brodersen [08:33]
• Make it a conscious goal to become “even nicer than the previous year” and resist the downward escalator of entitlement.

3. You Can’t Change People for Them (11:09)

• Personal change must be self-driven; external “nudges” and moral pressure are rarely effective, especially when there are powerful psychological biases at play.
• Reflection on the SEC’s executive pay ratio rules as failed attempts to shame CEOs into moderation [12:59].
• “If you don't accept that everyone else is running on their own internal clock, shaped by experiences you will never fully see, you'll be banging your head against the wall.” —Stig Brodersen [14:31]
• Be a guide by quietly holding your values, not by force.

4. Surround Yourself with People Who “Play Cricket” (19:08)

• Powerful conversation with Guy Spier on “it’s just not cricket”—unwritten rules of decency and respect that go beyond formal codes [19:16].
  • “There are rules behind the rules... There's plenty more, and there's a kind of shared understanding of what this game is supposed to be about.” —Guy Spier [19:23]
  • Infinite game principle: preserve relationships and reputation; don’t push advantages to the limit.
• In life and business, surround yourself with people who play fair and share your values.

5. You Can Have Anything, But Not Everything (24:25)

• Trade-offs are inherent in life, business, and relationships.
• Daniel Ek (Spotify) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) each took different paths using regret minimization; happiness sometimes lies in contentment, not endless striving.
• “You can have anything but not everything—in business as well as in life. And I would be very sad to go through life without such a wonderful friend.” —Stig Brodersen [28:54]
• Modern consumer culture’s customization illusion fosters unrealistic expectations, both in business and personal relationships.

6. Know (and Use) Your Unfair Advantage (33:04)

• Seek situations where you have unique “edge” or resources; examples include unique skills, circumstances, or temperament (like the ability to save aggressively).
• Famous cases: Bill Gates had exclusive computer access as a youth; Bezos’s unusual long-term thinking.
• Equally important: know your limits and cap downside risk.
• Vulnerability about personal limitations can foster understanding and connection [36:56].

7. Welcome Surprises of Growing Wealth (38:40)

• Greater wealth can allow choice of workmates, flexible schedules, and seeking out kindred spirits.
• “Working with the right people became even more important... it might feel less like a trade-off and more like a blessing where you can have your cake and eat it too.” —Stig Brodersen [40:17]
• Money can reduce negative emotions and remove obstacles (access to healthcare, time, travel).

8. Unwelcome Surprises of Growing Wealth (41:58)

• Adaptation: Higher income leads to higher baseline expectations and new sources of envy.
• “Well, they artificially just inflate. Yes, the world is just not that kind because your allergy changes with money.” —Stig Brodersen [43:10]
• Wealth brings obligation—the “Godfather” analogy shows that power brings requests, not just privilege [47:12].
• Sometimes, wealth means having to say ‘no’ often, which can be emotionally taxing.

9. Be Useful in the Best Way You Can (49:45)

• Early lessons from charity work: usefulness is both practical and psychological.
• Giving brings purpose, but giving to those only “less wealthy” carries new complexities (helping friends and family).
• Techniques for giving to friends: sign a loan document, mentally write off the sum, expect relationship changes, and donate repayments to charity [52:33].
• “If you do decide to give it a try and don't get this happiness boost, perhaps you can be useful in a different way.” —Stig Brodersen [55:41]
• Anonymous giving and giving in someone else’s name proved more meaningful over time.

10. The Journey is the Best Part (58:40)

• Happiness literature often misses the point that different people need different things—possessions, relationships, travel, or work.
• Rejects universal prescriptions regarding consumerism or asceticism.
• “Whatever you choose to do with your money to increase your happiness, make sure that the journey is the best part.” —Stig Brodersen [62:30]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Incremental Upgrades:
  “If you want to optimize for your happiness, get excited about upgrading to economy premium. Get accustomed to that. Then get excited about flying business class... Small gradual changes tend to give you the most satisfaction per dollar, because you’re not numbing yourself with too much too fast.” —[02:02]

• On Honesty and Compassion:
  “What a great example of neat principles around honesty — not always standing up to compassion.” —[09:55] (on comforting the dying)

• On Corporate Pay and Human Nature:
  “No CEO opens his proxy, see that he earns 200 times as much as the average employee and thinks, ah, yes, clearly the board must reduce my pay. That is just not how the CEO species operate.” —[13:59]

• On Helping Friends and Obligations:
  “Helping friends make their dream come true... has just been a wonderful experience and I would with no hesitation do it again. But with most things in life, you don’t only get the upside, and this is no different.” —[51:02]

• On the Universality of Wanting More:
  “We focus on what we don’t have rather than what we do have.... I called this unique condition being human.” —[45:52]

Key Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | | --- | --- | | 01:15 | Money Magnifies Who You Are | | 07:49 | Grow Rich, Grow Kinder | | 11:09 | You Can’t Change People for Them | | 19:08 | Surround Yourself with People Who "Play Cricket" (w/ Guy Spier) | | 24:25 | You Can Have Anything, But Not Everything | | 33:04 | Know (and Use) Your Unfair Advantage | | 38:40 | Welcome Surprises of Growing Wealth | | 41:58 | Unwelcome Surprises of Growing Wealth | | 49:45 | Be Useful in the Best Way You Can | | 58:40 | The Journey is the Best Part |

Episode Takeaways

• Money is best at removing obstacles, not buying happiness outright.
• Character is magnified, not changed, by wealth—use this awareness to become a kinder, more deliberate version of yourself.
• Even as you gain power and means, anchor your actions in kindness and compassion, not just candor or personal comfort.
• Trade-offs are present in all aspects of life; happiness often lies in contentment rather than infinite pursuit.
• Your unique “unfair advantage” can be the cornerstone of your happiness and success.
• Focus on relationships and usefulness to others—both yield more lasting well-being than mere consumer pleasures.
• Make the journey the point, not just the destination.