What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars

By: Jim Paul, Brendan Moynihan, Jack Schwager - foreword

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

Tim Ferriss Book Club Selection

Jim Paul's meteoric rise took him from a small town in Northern Kentucky to governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, yet he lost it all - his fortune, his reputation, and his job - in one fatal attack of excessive economic hubris. In this honest, frank analysis, Paul and Brendan Moynihan revisit the events that led to Paul's disastrous decision and examine the psychological factors behind bad financial practices in several economic sectors. This book - winner of a 2014 Axiom Business Book award gold medal - begins with the unbroken string of successes that helped Paul achieve a jet-setting lifestyle and land a key spot with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. It then describes the circumstances leading up to Paul's $1.6 million loss and the essential lessons he learned from it - primarily that, although there are as many ways to make money in the markets as there are people participating in them, all losses come from the same few sources.

Investors lose money in the markets either because of errors in their analysis or because of psychological barriers preventing the application of analysis. While all analytical methods have some validity and make allowances for instances in which they do not work, psychological factors can keep an investor in a losing position, causing him to abandon one method for another in order to rationalize the decisions already made. Paul and Moynihan's cautionary tale includes strategies for avoiding loss tied to a simple framework for understanding, accepting, and dodging the dangers of investing, trading, and speculating.

Also included is a bonus hour-long interview between co-author Brendon Moynihan and noted investor, business advisor, and best-selling author Tim Ferriss.

About the Tim Ferriss Book Club

#1 New York Times best-selling author Tim Ferriss (The 4-Hour Workweek, The 4-Hour Body) is a big fan of audiobooks and their potential to alter and improve lives. So, in 2013, he started an audiobook club for his community of 1.5 million blog readers. He selected books that had a dramatic impact on his life and thinking, producing great new recordings that bring these influential gems into the limelight. For more listens from Tim Ferriss’ Book Club, click here.

©2013 Brendan Moynihan (P)2014 Tim Ferriss

Critic reviews

"One of the rare noncharlatanic books in finance." (Nassim Nicholas Taleb, from Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder)

“The book points out very early that many successful investors have opposing styles and theories on how to make money, and that they can not all be right at the same time. The most important point to take from the book is how to avoid losing money...” (Steve Osbiston, Financial Times Advisor)

“A novel approach aimed at pushing you inside your head and outside the losing habits most folks adopt right after multiple successes. A must-have for traders blessed with a string of hot trades.” (Ken Fisher, Fisher Investments, FORBES)

Outstanding Read

Focused on controlling downside risk in portfolio management, this book provides an excellent, informative, as well as entertaining journey.

awesome

quick easy and story based so it was relatable when listening to the theory in it

If you love the stock market, you'll love this

Any additional comments?

haha great story and great lessons from someone who failed pretty hard. Worth a listen if you have ever or going to invest in stocks.

Good principles.

The quote he uses at the beginning about the wise using others mistakes to learn from is a quote I've long enjoyed. The book to me was a success. As long as you can apply the principles he teaches you while investing.

Great book with practical advice.

Gives a new or seasoned investor insight into decision behavior. I can see my own mistakes described in the story. I think this book is a must read.....it's entertaining as well.

Decent book worth the read

This book is an entertaining story, it appears it is beging to show the signs of time, it speaks of a the 60's - 90's and at the pace of today's world that feels like lifetimes ago. Well narrated. and a good lesson. However much of the book is just a man confessing he was a "right place right time" guy who lost it all because he never should have been there.

Must read, gets a bit dull at times

This book has to be read by anybody so you can understand the importance of protecting your downside, having a gameplan and defining your purpose in the market or in your business ventures. After a while I had some problems pushing on and kept losing attention but that might have been because of my personal state of mind.

A Trader's Guide on how to control his/her ego

Thank you Tim Ferris for publishing this book. Thank you Nassim Taleb for recommending this book.

very good intuitive read. very well analyzed.

Author has used his life story to analyze the life approach and how you need to Master the trade to create real success.

Outstanding!!!

Read, reread, and read again. If you want to be a speculator or are in business this book is a must!!! To be a speculator read all the Jack Swagger’s Market Wizard books and Trend Following by Michael Covel and this!! It is an absolutely must have for any speculator!!!