Dr. Phil Pearlman — Take care of your body and mind to trade better

Smarter Trading Podcast Episode 13

Our guest today is Dr. Phil Pearlman. Phil earned his doctorate in clinical psychology and has been involved in markets since the 1990s. He’s currently the chief behavioral officer at Osprey Funds and has held roles at Yahoo Finance, Stocktwits, and Bank of the Ozarks.

In this episode we talk about the importance of taking care of your body through good nutrition. Trading after all, is about performance and execution, so who wouldn’t want to get a leg up on their competition?

Phil shares insights on how to improve key cognitive skills, increase energy levels, regulate your emotions, and a whole lot more. He talks about the hard-wired skills of top performing traders, and why it’s so important to direct our attention to the things we can control.

You’re not going to get any fancy trading strategy tips in this episode, but if you want to live a healthier, higher performing lifestyle, then this one’s for you.

Please enjoy this episode with Dr. Phil Pearlman.

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Watch the interview in video here

Episode show notes and Phil’s book recommendations

• Extraordinary Popular Delusions and The Madness of Crowds: All Volumes – Complete and Unabridged: Mackay, Charles Amazon.com: Books

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Key learning points & timestamps

• 0:00 Introduction
• 2:28 Intermittent fasting, letting your body rest, and eating nutritious foods
• 8:00 Living life to the fullest & taking care of ourselves the long run
• 11:00 Metabolic health improves: focus, energy levels, emotional regulation, stamina
• 14:40 Your body and your mind is a tool that you need to care of
• 16:00 There are things we can control and things we cannot control
• 18:07 The problem with willpower and being a contrarian
• 25:00 Identify yourself as the person you want to be
• 31:00 Phil getting started in the 90s and recognizing the mania
• 37:55 The hardwired skills of top performing traders
• 43:30 How to improve your cognitive skills for trading & finding your tribe
• 47:50 passive investing, dollar cost averaging, wealth management
• 51:20 Focus on the things you can control to become a better trader

Highlight clip: Trading identities, forming habits, and not relying on willpower