When shifts happen, as in seismic ones, they have the power to alter the trajectory of a life, business, or industry. We can anticipate or react to these life-altering situations by thinking independently to put ourselves in a position to prosper from them. Or, we can delude ourselves, via wishful thinking, leaving us exposed to suffering catastrophic financial and/or emotional consequences by not learning from the experience. 

Living in Southern California, Gary Carmell has become very familiar with tectonic shifts in the earth’s crust. Carmell, author of the new book The Philosophical Investor: Transforming Wisdom into Wealth (March 2015), has also experienced numerous tectonic shifts in the economic landscape in his nearly thirty-year investing career. Correctly anticipating economic trends has allowed his real estate investment and management firm, CWS Capital Partners LLC, to grow from assets of $250 million in the late 1980s to over $3 billion today.

 “Wealth goes far beyond the financial realm,” says Carmell. “The Philosophical Investor helps investors establish a life well-lived that avoids catastrophic decisions, offers financial, physical, and emotional resiliency in the face of inevitable setbacks, encourages readers to search for and correct their shortcomings to avoid repeating big mistakes, and to have the courage to seize life-changing opportunities. Although it might seem like a never ending roller coaster, I’ll help investors survive the ride with confidence and even some fun.”

Like most investment professionals, Carmell is passionate about helping individuals become wealthy. What sets him apart, however, is how — in his practice and his new book — he incorporates the philosophical teachings of some of the greatest minds of our time into his innovative financial-planning strategies. These great minds include German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, William Shakespeare, famed investor Charlie Munger, economist John Maynard Keynes, Warren Buffett, George Soros, Bob Dylan, Aristotle, the Grateful Dead, and more. A literature enthusiast from a young age, each of these scholars and artists have taught Carmell that truly wealthy individuals possess far more than abundant financial resources. 

While having financial resources is important, The Philosophical Investor also highlights that building the long-term, financial aspect of wealth is very difficult without possessing the non-financial resources. Using real-world examples and thought-provoking firsthand narratives, Carmell urges readers to be cognizant of and focused on these other areas of personal abundance, which in turn can help increase the odds significantly of protecting and growing one’s financial resources. Carmell teaches investors how to think more independently and invest more wisely by seeing the bigger picture, understanding cycles, paying close attention to their psychological pitfalls to avoid following the herd, having the strength to overcome adversity, and the skills to execute a disciplined, yet opportunistic plan. Complete with historic and current stats in charts and graphs, The Philosophical Investor helps readers put unique, proven advice into practice. It also includes the following themes: 

• The Munger Moment - what it is and how to capitalize on it
• How right-brained thinkers can succeed in a left-brained world
• Evaluation of risk-reward to know when the odds are in your favor
• When “Shift Happens” investors can either succeed or stagnate
• What Schopenhauer, Shakespeare, and Bob Dylan have in common
• How to identify and take advantage of wealth-building opportunities
• The characteristics of a healthy ecosystem and how to apply them to evaluating investment management firms

Gary Carmell is the President of CWS Capital Partners, a real estate investment management firm based in California and Texas, and founded in 1969. He specializes in the acquisition, development, and management of apartment communities throughout the United States, where his company owns and operates more than twenty thousand units with a value of over $3 billion.  

A Chartered Financial Analyst, Mr. Carmell received his B.A. from the University of California Los Angeles in political science and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California. He is the father to two adult children, and he lives in Southern California with his wife.  

Carmell can be reached through his website www.garycarmell.com, and through LinkedIn and Twitter.

The Philosophical Investor is available for purchase on Amazon and other fine booksellers.