Summit Flagship Event: Interview With Ray Dalio

 *An interview I conducted with Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, author of New York Times #1 Best-Seller, “Principles: Life and Work,” and founder of OceanX. Interviews were conducted while working as a journalist for Summit at their annual flagship event

You were talking with Al Gore about despair and fear. I think despair is a thing that we all feel if we're being realistic with the state of the world. How do you utilize that despair as a stimulus for positive change?

Ray Dalio: There is a fear and greed element that actually produces motivation. What we're missing in a lot of the climate change talk is that element. We say, "Maybe one day," and, "It's the world and the world will take care of it." If instead you actually started to get people understanding what the consequences of these are by 2025, 2030, you start to think about where you are living and what that will mean. I think they have to personalize it. it's okay to feel fear. I want to make it palatable, but also I think they have to feel it.

There’s a stat that says Americans spend 95% of our time indoors. Given our chronic disconnection from nature, what can we do to allow people to experience and personalize “nature”?

Ray Dalio: Through entertainment, through social media, through that actual experience. That's what I'm trying to do with OceanX. I've got this ship with explorers who are going down in the ocean as Joshua Steel did. Take them down there and then put them in a position where they're seeing that happen on a real basis, so that they empathize and that they love it. I think that's the first thing. Then you can almost change the mindset, but it has to come through experiencing it on a regular basis. 

That's the reason I'm doing OceanX, this initiative, where you're having the ship, the exploration, and taking you to down into the depths of the ocean then posting to social media as well as for regular television or Hulu.  It gives regular viewers a chance to internalize nature on a regular basis.

How has meditation influenced your view of business and corporations?

Ray Dalio: I started meditating in 1969. It's not a matter of business or anything else. I do transcendental meditation. I have a mantra sound that I repeat, and it takes my thoughts away from the conscious thoughts that are racing in my head to that sound. By repeating that over and over again, I'd pay attention to it, and then I go into a subconscious state. 

From that subconscious state, I get this calmness, equanimity, and also creativity. You think about creativity, where do the ideas come from? It's not like you say, "I'm going to work hard and be creative," it's more relaxed. When you're taking a hot shower, a great idea comes to you and you grab it, it comes from the subconscious state. 

Everything comes at you slower, you're together, and you can respond in a calm way. That's what meditation has been for me. It's been essential in all of my decision-making. That emotional hijacking or not reconciling your subconscious feelings with your conscious feelings, these are all barriers to your effectiveness and your well-being. 

Hearing you speak to how much internal work you've done, but also, a great amount of external work. What does the American dream look like to Ray Dalio?

Ray Dalio: The American dream for me is a country of equal opportunity. It's a country of immigrants. I love the diversity. I think it's unique in bringing people from all over the world on a meritocratic basis, and to appreciate the diversity of thought, the diversity of approaches, and provide those with equal opportunity. I love the immigrants, I love the best ideas winning out, America's unique because of its immigrants, and because of its diversity of thought, and because of its view that we should strive for equal opportunity. There's no country in the world that you can go other than the United States in which you can be an immigrant and be treated as an equal. Equal opportunity for striving is what America means for me.

It sounds like you're optimistic about the future, is that fair to say?

Ray Dalio: I'm worried about the future. I'm more worried about the future because I think that we're not working together on what are our common principles. How do you bring together all of these disparate ways of operating, to operate for the benefit of the whole? I think that we're at odds with each other. The amount of tolerance there is for the differences, the amount of empathy, the desire to work it out, and find the common solutions, I think is diminished. What are the common principles that bind us together? I don't know that we could say what binds us together as easily today as we could have done that in the past.

From philanthropy to investment to environmentalism to transcendental meditation, at times, it can seem a bit superhuman. What makes Ray Dalio human?

Ray Dalio: I'm just experiencing these things and I evolve. My goal is to personally evolve as fast as I can to contribute as much to evolution as I can. I know what I want. I know that I want meaningful work and meaningful relationships. 

What brought you to Summit? What do you hope people will take away from your talk?

Ray Dalio: This audience is a wonderful audience. My objective is to pass along the things that have helped at a certain stage in my life, there are these three stages. In the first stage, you're dependent on others. You're a kid, you're learning, you're studying in school. In your second phase, you are working, others are dependent on you, and you're trying to be successful. A lot of these people are curious people who are in the early phases of their second stage in life. I'm at the end of that second stage of my life, and I've been wanting to pass along these things, not to say that they should do them, but in other words to put them out there and let them decide for themselves whether it's going to be helpful. This is an audience that I can communicate and feel that it's helpful for. I really appreciate being here for that reason.