Rich Lumelleau

Obviously we are a website and a podcast for investors.

So for investors, the first question I was going to ask you was kind of how early in AI are we?

But probably the better question is, are there any misconceptions out there from your perspective of how early we are?

Well, I'll ask you, Rich, where do you think humans are in the human experience?

Welcome to Motley Fool Conversations.

I'm your host, Motley Fool contributor, Rich Lamello.

Today's guest is someone who's spent his career helping people rethink the way they build wealth.

Mark Mattson is an entrepreneur, investor, and founder of Mattson Money, and the author of several books, including Main Street Money, The Dirty, Filthy Lives My Broker Taught Me, and most recently, Experiencing the American Dream.

His work draws heavily on academic research and behavioral finance.

He's known for challenging the traditional Wall Street mindset while empowering everyday investors to make smarter, more intentional decisions.

Mark, welcome to The Motley Fool.

Thank you so much for taking the time to come on.

And as the intro would indicate, there's a lot to get to.

But I guess for the listener who doesn't know your full story, how did you first become, for lack of a better word, kind of passionate about rethinking how Americans invest?

How would you summarize your core investing philosophy in a couple of sentences?

I know you said that investors don't need to try to outsmart the market, but instead try to stop outsmarting themselves.

What do you mean by that?

And what's an example of a way an investor, you know, kind of tries to outsmart himself in a way he can, you know, kind of arrest that?

Your first book, which we'll get to in a second, came out about 20 years ago.

What do you think has changed the most in the investing world over the last two decades?