Blog on Value Investing | Safal Niveshak

The Long Game of Investing: A Podcast on Money, Markets, and Meaning

A Special Offer on My Books (Until 15th November 2026)

Through The Sketchbook of Wisdom and The Long Game, I hope to help you think more clearly, make wiser decisions, and live more thoughtfully. Both books are available at special prices until 15th November.

Get The Sketchbook of Wisdom ~~₹1799~~ ₹1499
Get The Long Game ~~₹1799~~ ₹1499
Get Both Books (Combo) ~~₹3598~~ ₹2599

The world probably doesn’t need another podcast. There are already more conversations out there than any of us could listen to in several lifetimes.

And yet, here I am, adding one more to the pile. 🙂

But I hope you’ll forgive me for this one.

I recently had a conversation with Avanne Dubash about investing, wealth, and life. Among other things, we spoke about a lesson the market has taught me over the years, which is that no matter how much you think you know, there’s always something you don’t.

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See, and the Light Appears

Diwali Gifts of Wisdom: Save on My Books (Until 15th Nov. 2026)

Every Diwali, we clean corners we don’t usually look at. It’s a nice metaphor for our inner world too…for our habits and biases that need some fresh air. Through The Sketchbook of Wisdom and The Long Game, I hope to help you think more clearly, make wiser decisions, and live a little more thoughtfully. So this Diwali, I’m sharing limited-time offers on both books.

Get The Sketchbook of Wisdom ~~₹1799~~ ₹1499
Get The Long Game ~~₹1799~~ ₹1499
Get Both Books (Combo) ~~₹3598~~ ₹2599

See, and the Light Appears

I recently read this beautiful couplet from Sant Kabir:

जब मैं था तब हरी नहीं, अब हरी है मैं नाही, सब अँधियारा मिट गया, दीपक देखा माही |

When I was, God was not; now God is, and I am not. All darkness has vanished—the lamp is lit within.

Kabir is not speaking of a deity outside of us. He is pointing to something far more subtle—the end of the “I,” the end of the self that is forever seeking, comparing, and becoming.

When that ceases, what remains is “light,” or the illumination that arises when the mind is still and free from its own shadow.

We spend much of life chasing light outside us, in wealth, possessions, status, knowledge, and even in spirituality. But as long as the self seeks, the darkness continues.

Perhaps then, our real work is not to search for light, but to see the darkness as it is… without running away from it, and without naming it. In that seeing, the light appears.

As you celebrate Diwali with your family and friends, may you come upon that light.

There is no greater clarity and no deeper freedom than that.

Happy Diwali.

—Vishal

Deskilling the Investor’s Mind

A Small Diwali Gift: I’m offering a special discount on my books until 15th Nov. 2026. If you’ve been meaning to pick up a copy for yourself or gift one to someone you care about, this may be a good time. Explore the Diwali book offer.

I was recently driving to a hill resort in the Konkan region of Maharashtra with my family.

We were somewhere in the middle of nowhere when Google Maps started behaving a bit strangely. The route it suggested was around 30 km shorter than the one we were intending to take earlier.

I doubted it, and so stopped at a petrol pump to ask for directions. The pump attendant confidently suggested a route.

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The Lost Art of Knowing How

One of my favourite snacks while growing up was a moong dal kachori. And I especially loved the ones made at Ram Bhandar.

It was a small shop in my hometown that, at least to my younger self, made the world’s best kachoris.

The shop had been around for years. Makhan Lal ji, who ran it, had spent much of his life making kachoris. And he probably did this without giving much thought to how much he knew about his craft.

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The Market Owes You Nothing

The Ford Motor Company faced a unique problem in the mid-1950s. It was developing a new car and couldn’t decide what to call it.

Its marketing research division, along with its advertising agency, came up with 18,000 possible names. The list was reduced to 6,000, and then to 10. The company also approached Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Marianne Moore for suggestions. She offered names like Utopian Turtletop, Mongoose Civique, and even Andante con Moto.

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The Rules We Choose to Break

Two Books. One Purpose. A Better Life.

“Template on how to lead a happier and fuller life.”

—Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE

“Teaches you how to think, judge, and behave…”

—Arnold V. D. Berg, Century Mgt.

It was early afternoon on 10th May 1996. Rob Hall was leading a group of climbers toward the summit of Mt. Everest.

Hall had climbed Everest several times and built a successful business taking paying clients to the summit. He was considered among the most experienced guides on the mountain.

He also had a rule.

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Fighting the Last War

Two Books. One Purpose. A Better Life.

“Template on how to lead a happier and fuller life.”

—Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE

“Teaches you how to think, judge, and behave…”

—Arnold V. D. Berg, Century Mgt.

Hiroo Onoda was a 22-year-old Japanese soldier who, in December 1944, was sent to Lubang, a small island in the Philippines. The Second World War was nearing its end, although nobody knew exactly when it would finish.

Onoda was an intelligence officer, assigned to disrupt enemy operations and continue fighting, even if the Japanese forces on the island were defeated. He was specifically ordered not to surrender or take his own life. Whatever happened, he had to carry on his mission.

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The High Price of Feeling Safe

Two Books. One Purpose. A Better Life.

“Template on how to lead a happier and fuller life.”

—Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE

“Teaches you how to think, judge, and behave…”

—Arnold V. D. Berg, Century Mgt.

It’s really hard to disagree with much of the financial advice that’s available these days.

Save more. Borrow less. Keep enough cash. Be prepared for a job loss. Don’t assume your salary will keep rising. Don’t stretch yourself to buy a house. Build a large emergency fund.

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Overpaying for Greatness: A Base-Rate Check

Two Books. One Purpose. A Better Life.

“Template on how to lead a happier and fuller life.”

—Ramesh Damani, Member, BSE

“Teaches you how to think, judge, and behave…”

—Arnold V. D. Berg, Century Mgt.

On Christmas morning of 2025, a passenger flight from Bengaluru landed at the new Navi Mumbai airport (NMI). It was the first commercial landing there, and so it got the water cannon salute that airports give their first commercial arrival.

The airport isn’t far from where I have lived the past 23 years of my life. And so, when I saw the pictures, I thought about all the dates this place had been given over the years.

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Making of a Great Stock Picker: Ian Cassel on The Long Game

New Book Alert: The Long Game is Available

My new book, The Long Game, is available now. The book contains reflections from 30 investors who’ve survived decades of market cycles. You’ll learn how to tune out the noise that makes you second-guess yourself, handle the fear and greed that hurt your decisions, and stick to principles that actually compound wealth over time. Click here to get your copy.

Click Here to Order Now

I first interviewed Ian Cassel in 2015, and then again in 2021. This is our third conversation, and it may be the one I have thought about most since we stopped recording.

Ian runs MicroCapClub and manages money through Intelligent Fanatics Capital Management. And for more than 20 years of microcap investing, he has done it from a quiet corner of rural Pennsylvania, living off his own capital since the age of 28.

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