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Exclusive – Jim Rogers: “What Kept Us Alive Was We Were Constantly Alert to the Fact That We Could Probably Get Killed”

May 29, 2012 | By Tekoa Da Silva

    jimI was lucky enough to reconnect with legendary investor and commodities bull, Jim Rogers, for another short telephone interview. He shared some of his investment philosophies, moments of danger during his trip around the world, plus an address to the recent announcement of his joining the board of directors of a junior gold mining development company.

    Here are highlights from the interview:

    In terms of what brought his career success to far higher levels than those of his peers, Jim said, “The thing that comes to mind is persistence, not ever giving up or quitting. Many of my friends and peers didn’t seem to work as long or as hard as I would. So I guess if there’s one word, it would be persistence, or perseverance if anything else. Just keep doing it until you succeed.”

    In identifying success and describing the solitude that often comes with it, Jim commented, “I usually don’t quite know when I’ve succeeded or not until the success is there, if you invest, it’s an ongoing, never ending process. So I never really know when I’ve succeeded or not until I reverse the investment…at the end, of course I’m the only one making the decision, so I guess it is…I wouldn’t call it lonesome, but I am the only one[there] when the decision comes to finally reverse. Likewise with other things I do, if I make speeches or write books or articles, at the end yes, I’m there doing it alone that’s for sure.”

    In Michael Brennan / Corbisreflecting on the hidden dangers present during his trip around the world with his wife Paige, Jim said, “We had plenty of times of danger, we went through several war zones…I guess the only thing that kept us alive was we were constantly alert to the fact that we could probably get killed. We always tried to find the safest way, and take as few chances as possible—we couldn’t always do that given the fact that there were war zones, etc, but we tried to avoid getting killed, and as you see, we did.”

    In regards to his accepting a directorship role in junior gold mining development company, Spanish Mountain Gold, Jim said, “I wouldn’t have accepted it if I didn’t think there was something, some possibilities there, I guess the main reason that caused me to accept was I knew three of the directors who I know and admire, so because of them more than anything else, I accepted.”

    In regards to the mining sector in general, Jim said, “I usually don’t invest in junior mining companies, I don’t invest in mining companies period…I invest in the commodities themselves, I’m usually skeptical of mining companies, especially junior mining companies because so many of them have turned out not to develop historically…I’d rather own the metal itself…except for this one example which you asked about[Spanish Mountain Gold].”

    When asked for a single philosophy to help investors in their decision making, Jim concluded, “Persistence and skepticism. Always assume that what you’re being told or what you’re reading is incorrect or inaccurate, so take your time and double check everything. Be very careful.”

    As always, Jim is way ahead of the crowd with his investments, and his commentary is required listening for all serious market students.

    To listen to the interview, left click the following link and/or right click and “save target as” or “save link as” to to your desktop:

    Interview with Jim Rogers

    Interview also available through our YouTube Channel

    To learn more about Jim visit: JimRogers.com

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    Thanks,
    Tekoa

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