Who is this Hussman guy?

 

 

Thanks for visiting my site! I hope it helps with your fitness goals.

I'm not a self-proclaimed "expert" or a "fitness guru", but I've always thought that people should use the gifts they've been given for the benefit of others. Mine is research, and hopefully a little bit of support and motivation too. Since I always got picked last for teams when I was growing up, I spent my time studying everything in sight.

By trade, I'm an economist and the head of an investment company ("a maverick, and a shrewd observer of the investment scene", according to Barron's 5/22/00). The Ph.D. is in economics from Stanford, and the MSEd. is in education and social policy from Northwestern.  My corporate site is www.hussmanfunds.com and my charitable foundation is www.hussmanfoundation.org.

Doesn't this fitness stuff detract from my professional work? Not at all. Most of this site was constructed during a "quiet" period when our securities were in registration with the SEC. I do plan to continue updating and adding to the site regularly. At this point, maintaining the site and writing periodic updates requires less than an hour a week, on average. I'll certainly continue that. 

What's the real motivation here?  

I get this question often, sometimes with a lot of cynicism. My motivation is simple really.

"To give encouragement, to impart sympathy, to show interest, to banish fear, to build self confidence and awaken hope in the hearts of others - in short, to love them and to show it, is to render the most precious service"
- Bryant S. Hinckley

I'd also be thrilled if you would sign your organ donor card. 

To love and serve others is to be, in Saint Francis' words, an instrument of peace. That goal makes sense to me, despite my numerous faults. The Buddha taught that we're empty of a separate self - that what we call self is comprised of nothing but non-self elements. So to take good care of others is ultimately to take good care of yourself. Christ basically asked two things - that we love God, and that we do toward others what we would have them do toward us.

Will love and service to others lead them to make you happy? Maybe. Maybe not. But the source of happiness isn't in what others do anyway. It's in the habit of taking nothing for granted, taking a few minutes each day to enjoy just breathing and smiling, and to appreciate life. Maybe even to leave a good mark on the world.

If you wonder what would be in that for you, keep in mind that even profit is based on service to others. As Zig Ziglar often says, you can have everything in life you want, if you'll just help enough other people get what they want. Take that idea seriously and it'll change your life and your career.

Start where you are. Look, we all have our faults, but we also have our actions. To the extent that we're able to choose those, we all have the ability to change our lives.

Best wishes,  John

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