This episode of Off The Charts may become one of the most important episodes we ever publish. Please give it a watch (or a listen).
Jason Perz has grown comfortable with risk.
His whole life has manifested risk in every form. From being an adopted child who was teased at school for being "different," to riding BMX bikes and performing "shows" and dangerous stunts professionally, to living with and battling through drug and alcohol addiction, to trading on behalf on investors -- very little in Jason's life did not entail some forms of risk. And much of it was life threatening!
So, you can forgive him for being a little more nonchalant than most of us about the occasional measly 30% drawdowns in his individual positions.
From a very young age, Jason was different. He was adopted to a white family and inherited an "odd" Great Great Uncle who bootstrapped himself from a humble childhood with undiagnosed autism (it was the early 1900's) into a successful business man who took care of his extended family. This Great Uncle took an interest in a young Jason, taught him a lot of what he had learned in entrepreneurship, and sparked Jason's first interest in the markets.
But first, Jason had to make an escape from his own humble beginning and playground bullying. He found that first escape in the world of competitive BMX riding, which eventually resulted in a prolific career in which he was able to tour around the world performing for and wowing audiences everywhere he went. But sadly, the pay wasn't good. And it was a struggle. And eventually injuries piled up which led him down a dark path that began with prescription drugs and ended with him lost in the mire of a spiraling drug and alcohol addiction.
Jason said that when he was at the very depths of his addiction, he couldn't see a way out. "And the people around me couldn't see a way out."
How does one come back from that?
Tune in to find out how.
The audio version of this podcast can also be found on Apple Podcasts, or wherever else you stream your favorite podcasts!
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