My success in the market has been predicated on viewing the world
from a different perspective." — Jim Rogers
In this week's Alert:
- A note from Mark
- AdventureView: Jim Rogers, "The Indiana Jones
of Finance"
- Fabulous Frog Cards:
Now in store for Christmas! See photos below.
Dear Friends,
Last week's Tele-class, my first ever, entitled Follow Your Passion,
was a resounding success. I base this judgment not on the number of people registered
but rather on the feedback and testimonials I received from my students. One made
a commitment to take a four-month overseas trip after many weeks of indecision.
Another credited the class with making her aware of a monstrous self-limiting
belief she had regarding pursuing her dreams. Notice my use of the word "had"
— the belief evaporated when it was brought to light! To read their own words,
click here.
But don't feel bad if you missed out! The class was recorded
and you can get the same information and inspiration via an audio CD mailed
direct to you!
Click here!
In the weeks to come I will let you know about more Tele-classes.
Please enjoy this week's Adventure Alert!
Mark
 AdventureView:
Jim Rogers,
"The Indiana Jones of Finance"
Author/Adventurer Jim Rogers,
Around the World — Again!
If you're a fan of
"Wayne's World" from "Saturday Night Live," you'll certainly
remember Wayne and Garth bowing down before Rock God Alice Cooper repeating: "We're
not worthy! We're not worthy!" That's how I felt in the presence of Adventure
God, twice-'round-the-world author, Jim Rogers. His first trip in 1990 was on
a motorcycle. It yielded the book Investment Biker. In his more recent
Millennium Tour, he traveled for three years to 116 countries in his custom-built,
sunburst yellow, hybrid Mercedes. This trip was the genesis of his book, Adventure
Capitalist. The financial reference in both titles is no coincidence. Rogers
entered the investment business in 1968 with $600 in his pocket. Thanks to some
brilliant investment strategies he was able to retire 12 years later. But this
was just the beginning of an even bigger adventure. As he says in Adventure
Capitalist, "What I wanted out of Wall Street, and ultimately out of
long-term investing, was not typical of the business. I wanted to buy the freedom
to taste as much of life as possible — I wanted to see the world." And though
everyone's goal may not be to retire young and travel around the world, Rogers
is still an inspiration to all of us! He figured out what he was passionate about
and went for it — risk, thrills, and all.
In our interview, Rogers talks about the future of America, exciting
investment opportunities, his new book, Hot Commodities, and his biggest
adventure
yet — his precious baby girl.
LYA: Are you a fan of "Wayne’s World"?
JR: Who?
LYA: "Wayne’s World" from "Saturday
Night Live." Wayne and Garth were talking to Alice Cooper and they said,
“We're not worthy, We're not worthy,” you went on through 116 countries and I
just went through 16. So I feel awed and inspired by the scope of your adventure
and I’m looking forward to using a lot of what I learned in your book. When I
finished your book I was touched by a lot of the same emotions that I had when
I came back after being on the road for four years. Did you feel like the country
was a totally different place when you got back?
JR: Well, yes and no. A country can't change that quickly in
three years. I couldn't help but notice how much more expensive things have become.
I got a physical from my doctor and the price was over twice what it was before
I left. Who can afford to dry clean their clothes any more? A can of soup for
nearly $3? Movies for $10 and popcorn priced like gold nuggets? But most things
were still the same. Such as our inattention to the rest of the world. There was
a blip there with 9/11, which caused a huge outcry, and justly so. Now there are
a couple of wars where we are having serious problems, but the country is more
or less the same. I wish we understood the rest of the world more. I wish everybody
understood the world more, not just Americans. But essentially Americans because
we’re the nation that has been on top. The events of 9/11 awakened some interest
in the rest of the world but unfortunately I’m afraid it didn’t do it in the right
way. Things are getting worse instead of better. Investors (and citizens) need
to look outward rather than inward. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:
Closing off from the rest of the world only hurts us, both politically and economically.
LYA: I think it’s interesting the way you said
we have been on top. It seems to me we might have reached a point were
we’re on a downhill slide in a lot of respects.
JR: There is no question that we have peaked. Whether
it’s downhill now or walking across the  top
of a mountain ridge, I don’t know. History will decide that. There’s no
question that we’re the world’s largest debtor nation, by a factor of
many times. We owe the rest of the world eight trillion dollars. Trillion
with a "T". Our debt increases at a rate of one trillion dollars
every 21 months. Do the arithmetic. That’s not a nation that will continue
to ascend. We’re a nation with serious problems. No country in the world
in history has ever gotten itself into this kind of situation and gotten
out without a problem.
LYA: I read a quote on the back of your book,
Adventure Capitalist that says, “My success in the market has been predicated
on viewing the world from a different perspective.” You obviously don’t go with
traditional wisdom. How much of your success do you think is based on your gut
or intuition about situations?
JR: Not much. My success comes from analysis and research, understanding…
If you call understanding the “gut” then all of it. Emotion is not a usually good
way to be successful, unless you’re a rock star or something. No, it’s the desire,
the longing and passion to go out and see what’s happening, then explore it and
figure it out.
LYA: So essentially a desire to learn about things,
and then take action based on what you learn.
JR: Yes, and to take the action to learn.
LYA: So tell me a little about your forthcoming
book, Hot Commodities.
JR: I never wanted to do a book about the investment world. I’ve
always refused, in fact. But my publisher, Random House, pointed out that I had
been talking about commodities at a time when nobody else had much interest. Now
commodities have been booming, as you may know. And the publisher said, “Look,
I’ve been trying to buy some books on commodities and there aren’t any. Certainly
not any designed for the public. Why don’t you do one? It will be easy for you.
We’ll get somebody to do the leg work if you need it.” It was a compelling case
so I said, “Okay, I'll do it”. I do believe commodities need more explanation.
It's not a very well understood subject at all.
LYA: So you created the index years ago? [Editor's
note: Rogers Raw Materials Fund (RRMF) index]
JR: Yes, I created it in 1998.
LYA: I’m not a financial person myself so I
have a question about your index and how that relates to investing. It shows historical
trends?
JR: Do you know what the Dow-Jones index is?
LYA: Yes.
JR: Well this is the same thing. It just tracks commodities instead
of stocks. The Dow Jones tells you what is happening in the stock market in any
period and that’s what this does. It's an index fund that tracks the price moves
of 35 raw materials on commodities.
LYA: Is the index going to be a big part of that
book?
JR: No, no. It’s going to be a part of it obviously, but not
much. It's more about explaining commodities. Commodities are real assets — raw
materials and natural resources from all over the world. And while raw materials
can lose value, the price of a commodity will never go to zero. When you invest
in commodities futures, you're not buying a piece of paper that says you own an
intangible piece of company that can go bankrupt. You're buying a contract to
purchase a real, tangible bushel of corn or several hundred pounds of coffee.
They're perhaps the best investment opportunity I see these days.
LYA: So what's your next big adventure?
JR: My baby girl. I used to feel sorry for people encumbered
with the care of small children. But I was wrong. I'm glad I didn't miss it. It's
given me feelings I didn't know I had.
LYA: I read your daughter has her own Swiss
bank account?
JR: That's right! My baby girl doesn't own any dollars, all her
money is in Swiss francs. She knows the U.S. dollar is in decline [laughs]. And
I'm making sure she learns mandarin Chinese. The 21st century belongs to China...
my baby girl has a Chinese nanny and already she's beginning to learn words. She'll
be ready.
LYA: Thank you for your time! It was an honor
to interview you.
JR: Your welcome, Mark. You did a good job.
Visit Jim Rogers' website at www.jimrogers.com
Fabulous Frog Cards
A Christmas gift you won't find anywhere else!
Photographing frogs in the jungle isn't easy.
The dense vegetation doesn't allow enought light for good photos. So what I would
do was catch a frog and take it to a clearing with more light. How did I get them
to pose? As you might expect, they tend to hop away. A drop of Krazy Glue on each
foot kept them in place long enough... just kidding. I would place them on a leaf
or flower and try to get a quick shot before they would leap away. Needless to
say, it took a lot of chasing to finally get a good shot.
Package of 4 blank note cards (5x7), captured
by
photographer Mark McMahon, are only $9.99.
To order these fabulous cards, click here!
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