| Changing My "Information Diet" So, what's a recovering short seller to do? I can tell you that I didn't stop following the news. I didn't move to a cabin in the woods or start pretending that risks don't exist. Instead, I started asking myself one simple question every time I read a headline or tuned into the news. "Is this helping me make better decisions...or is it just making me more anxious?" If it wasn't helping me decide, I treated the "news" as noise. I cut down on the time I spent on following breaking news and "hot takes." Then I returned to my roots by focusing on my primary information sources: company reports, long-term data, and thoughtful, not exploitive, analysis. And I became much more selective about what (and who) I let into my head. The result? I didn't become more reckless. I became clearer. The less I fed my mind a diet of doom and gloom, the more I could see real opportunity right in front of me. That's when I understood: My mindset is an asset that I have to manage just as carefully as any stock, bond, or fund. Protecting My Most Important Asset Once I began thinking of my mindset as an asset, I began to manage it like one. I asked myself the important questions: - What strengthens this asset... and what weakens it?
- What kind of "return" do I want from it over the next 10, 20, or 30 years?
Then, I began the process of retraining my brain and my personal and professional habits that I'd developed over the last few decades. I made quite a few changes... First, I turned off the news. I stopped checking headlines every spare moment. Instead, I scheduled a news time slot - then moved on. Next, I began tracking how often the worst-case predictions actually came true. Spoiler alert: not very often. Sure, the world has plenty of problems. But it also has a long track record of solving them in ways that few people predict. Finally, I started paying more attention to progress...not just problems. Innovation, new technologies and tools, rising living standards in many parts of the world - all the things negative headlines tend to bury. I didn't do this to feel good. I did it to see reality more clearly. Because if you only look at what's broken, you'll miss what's being built. Wealth is built in the gap between those two. The Story You Tell Yourself Of course, mindset isn't just about what you read. It's also about what you say to yourself. There will always be someone faster, younger, richer, or more connected than you or me. We can't control that. We also can't control the noise that drives the negative headlines like election results, central bank policy, stock market swings, or the latest crisis of the week. What we can control are our costs, our level of diversification, our time horizon, our reactions, and our mindset. I've been watching investors chase every possible "edge" - secret indicators, special algorithms, insider-sounding commentary - for years. And don't get me wrong, some of those tools can be useful. But I've also learned that a calm, opportunity-focused mindset is the edge that really lasts, and it's difficult to copy. This mindset is the asset that helps you stay invested when others panic, see value when others only see fear, and make steady, rational decisions while the crowd runs from one extreme to another. Why Pessimism Sells (But You Shouldn't Buy It) There's an easy explanation for why the negative voices are so loud. Pessimism sells. It sounds smart. It sounds serious. It makes for dramatic headlines and viral videos. But sounding smart and being right are not the same thing. Over time, I've noticed a pattern. The loudest doom-and-gloom narratives almost never matched the actual results of the real economy or the stock market. Crisis passed. Businesses adapted and innovation marched on. Chief Investment Strategist Alexander Green has spent decades pushing back against this "mania of pessimism." He's been making the case that informed, rational optimism has been the winning stance for investors and anyone pursuing the American Dream. While he doesn't deny there are problems, he refuses to let them be the whole story. In Alex's new book, The American Dream: Why It's Alive...and How to Achieve It, Alex takes direct aim at the idea that "it's all downhill from here." He also shows how media-fueled fear and false narratives can quietly distort your world view...and your portfolio. And how to build wealth on a foundation of facts instead of fear. If you haven't read his new book, I encourage you to get a copy of it here today. Your mindset is your most valuable asset. Protect it from pessimism and it can work for you for the rest of your life. Good investing, Kristin | 
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