Dragon's Gold: The Magic of Mindset

This Too Shall Pass: Louis O’Connor on Resilience and Long-Term Vision

• Justin Mills • Season 1 • Episode 30

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Sometimes the most radical thing you can do is not give up.

This week on Dragon’s Gold, we’re joined by Louis O’Connor. A global entrepreneur and founder of Strategic Metals Invest, whose story is one of stubborn resilience, soulful wisdom, and relentless forward motion.

From walking away from comfort to returning home decades later as a changed man, Louis has lived a life of bold choices and deeper meanings.

Here’s what you’ll uncover in this week’s adventure:

  • How a homesick 19-year-old became a lifelong traveler and entrepreneur
  • Why perseverance is the real key to success
  • The Celtic spiritual lesson that helped Louis weather life’s hardest storms
  • What "purity of intention" has to do with legacy
  • How being teachable is a competitive advantage most ignore

Tools & Weapons:

  • Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl – Choosing your attitude in any circumstance
  • “Every day is a school day” – The discipline of staying teachable
  • Celtic Inner World Principle – Get your mindset right, results follow
  • “This too shall pass” – Staying grounded in life’s hardest seasons 
  • Purity of Intention – Building legacy from aligned decisions, not ego

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About Gold Dragon Investments:

At Gold Dragon Investments, our mission is to bring joy to others by helping them win the game of investing. Helping every client become the hero of their financial journey. We believe that wealth is a tool, but joy is the ultimate outcome.

Through meaningful partnerships, we strive to empower our investors to create freedom, and build lasting legacies of purpose, fulfillment, and wealth.

Join Us on the Adventure:

ladies and gentlemen, welcome once again to another episode of Dragon's Gold, the magic of mindset. Today we have the pleasure of having Louis O'Connor, founder of Strategic Metals Invest. Louis, welcome. Thank you very much Justin, it's a pleasure to be here from Ireland. Thank you very much for taking the time and joining us today. Amazing thing about technology that we can all connect at such a range, right? It's amazing. Well, my friend, the way that I like to start is we dive right in. Let's go to the origin story. Where did it all begin for Louis O'Connor? OK, so well, it began in Dublin in Ireland. And I would say, though, I mean, obviously, one always remains teachable. You know, like when I grew up in Ireland, I was born in 1965. growing up during the 70s and the 80s here, had, you know, we still had the Troubles up in the north of Ireland and stuff. so I emigrated. I think it all began when I for me. imaginatively, creatively. It all began when I went on, when I left, I emigrated. went, I've traveled all over the world. I've lived in different continents. And for me still today, the most exciting thing is to go somewhere I've never been before. You know, when you're in a brand new city or place and you you, you, you walk up to it you don't know what's around the corner. That's, that's where it all began for me. I love that. I still get that. And that's a great thing. Like I got that at 19 when I went first Heidelberg in Germany was very exciting. It was still like 1984, 85. the wall, the iron curtain was still up and the Soviet Union was there. And there was that, you know, that aura of what was going on. So, but yeah, I just loved that excitement of arriving somewhere I've never been before and what's ahead and what's around the corner. Awesome, I love it. the thing about always like what's next, right? What's around the corner, the unknown, right? The sense of adventure and traveling around the world that has, I'm sure created amazing memories for you and possibly some tense situations. And I'd love to share some of those with the listeners. Is there a point, Lily, in your journey that you knew that you were destined for something different? Something, I call it greatness, but. really just anything different, not to go the norm that a lot of people do, status quo. Yeah, you know, it's funny you bring that up, actually, Justin, because, you know, I just turned 60 and I can remember vividly, I don't know what age I was, I was less than 10 years of age, maybe seven or eight. And I remember to this day, and I've always remembered, it's one of the things, one of the strongest sort of vibrant memories I have. I remember I don't know, was almost like a spiritual experience, like a voice or a message or a feeling came to me and it said that everything's going to be not just good, everything's going to be amazing in the end, but there was going to be hardships first. And can you imagine seven or eight years of age, you know, trying to, I didn't know what to make it at, but it was such a very vivid message that I've always remembered it, you know, and it's always come back up. especially when there's tough times or challenges. And, you know, it's one of my earliest memories and not that I've always have leant into that and maybe I should have, but it's funny, I was just thinking about it recently and you bring it up and that is a very vivid memory wherever that came from, I don't know. Hopefully I'll find out one day. I love. you sharing that idea about that, that voice in your mind, right? And not sure where it came from. Some people talk about infinite intelligence, right? Maybe it was something that someone said, a family member or a friend, or maybe like the universe aligned to send it, but to be able to have that touch, that thought, and then to be able to reflect upon it for years. Right. And even as you said, even if you didn't lean into it all the time, like it kept coming back. And I think that one of the most powerful pieces about what you said there is that there will be tough times ahead before, right? And I think that very commonly that's the whetstone. Those hard times are the whetstone that sharpen the blade. That's what allows us to become stronger so that we can handle more responsibility and that growth, that evolution. And much like you mentioned at the very beginning of this podcast, that idea about that constant learning, right? Always learning. And Always learning and growing. think if you operate with that type of mindset, you will succeed in anything that you do. Yeah. Success does not come without trials and tribulations. We call this the gauntlet. Moments in time, things that have come about that were hard to overcome that you had to come through in that. And so is there any trials or tribulations that you might share with our listeners? Yes, I think one of the most challenging things for me was when I first left home, you know, even though growing up in Dublin during that period of time was quite turbulent as far as, you know, the north of Ireland and things that was home and, you know, it was everything I knew was familiar. But I remember when I first arrived in Germany and in Heidelberg in Germany, about 19 years of age and. And even, know, Frankfurt was only a two hour flight from Dublin, but it was another world. mean, this was pre internet. So when you left home, you know, you left home, you might call on the phone maybe every week or so, but you really were disconnected, if you will, from everything you knew or had known. And, you know, that experience, I remember was tough. mean, it was you can be physically homesick, you know, miss, you know, it's just those. you know, the food, the people, the culture, everything like that, your social capital. And I remember that, you know, being very difficult. But, you know, as they say, necessity is the mother of invention, you know. And at the time, you know, even though it was a tough time and I wasn't quite sure what to do, I just knew just to stay the course, you know, and I did. I stayed the course. And again, This happened a few times and I suppose something that I learned later as well is that expression that I love now today, which is this too shall pass. know, if things are gone, if you're having a tough time, it will not last. It just won't. That's But also if things are going really, really well, this too shall pass. you and I definitely that is a part of my life today. you know, which sort of allows me to look at the bigger picture or, you know, look at life in a bigger, in a bigger way that it's just, you know, I tried to say in the moment and in the day. But I know that, you know, as good as every day is or as bad as every day might be or a day, the evening will always come, you know, and we put our head on the pillow and we wake up to a new day. Amazing. Thank you, Louis, for that. I think so much in that idea of this too shall pass, good or ill, maintaining that neutrality to a degree, but also maintaining positivity, knowing that, yeah, in the dark times, this is rough, but how can we overcome it? And how can we come out of that? And then when you are on Cloud 9 and everything's going great, recognizing that, enjoying the moment and the experience, but also being conscious that that anytime things can shift. so being careful to set the groundwork, use these wins. And if we're talking specifically about the idea about financial aspects and business, when we're winning, great, but short up the walls and create that foundation, right? Create that war chest, if you will, to be prepared for when things aren't going, you know, going fantastic. um And so When you spoke to traveling and traveling the world and with the business that you've created along the way on all of those things, it's a journey. And we talk about on the journey, there's a fellowship. There are people that come along this journey with us, whether they help us along or that we bring up or just help there for support. Are there any members or people that you may comment on that were integral to your journey. Absolutely, you know, in there, I would say yes. And at all times during, you know, you know, growing up in Ireland and first few years in Heidelberg and I went, I lived in Latin America a long time. I think you might, know, in a spiritual sense, people might call them angels, like, you know, these sort of spiritual guides, but I think they're, they're ever present in all of our lives. You know, there's always as I know we can have tough times, but I think there's always, for me anyway, there's always been somebody there or someone there. I'm not saying in any miraculous way. I'll give you one example. The time I just spoke to you about when I was first in Heidelberg, I didn't know many people. I remember I used to go to the old part of town and I used to walk home and I remember just by accident, I met a guy who was American actually, he was an American soldier stationed in Heidelberg, which was the, there was this, the central command for, this was long before the wall came down. And we used to be walking in the same direction, you know, and he was a sort of a singer, you know, and, in Ireland, we have a great history of, of literature and of folk songs and stuff. So we used to start to talk about music and folk songs and he'd sing songs even. And we used to walk our journey home, we'd share for about 10 minutes and then he'd go his way and I would end up bumping into him every couple of weeks or so on a Saturday night or a Sunday night, usually about 2 a.m. and we might be a bit merry as well. But I've never forgotten that guy either. we were both, when I look back on it now, there was a fellowship there of two people a long way from home, you know, singing a song. And that's a very simple experience, it's like, it's one of the only, that's 40 years ago. And I remember how much I enjoyed meeting that fella and talking to him. We were both a long way from home and probably both a little homesick and we shared a bit of fellowship, you know? So, but I also think then if I look closely enough, there's always someone there like that. Maybe it's because I was away from home that it's more, I'm more conscious of it, you know, because maybe you recognize a kindred spirit quicker when you're not around, you're not in your normal, you know, culture and background, you know. What I felt is that there's always people there and it's not, and you know, there's been people there that have been very, very helpful, but also people who just happened to be there like that guy where we just walked home. We walked each other home and sang a song or two, and I'll never forget it. Out of all of the fellowships that I've spoken to people about and discussed, and each one's unique to the person and their perspective, I have to say that is one of the most moving ones that I've ever heard. at the moment, in my mind, the gentleman doesn't have a name. I think that that's so powerful. When you think about that moment where each of you converged, you were both on a path. to your own respective destination, independent of one another, but you were able to come together and share a common ground, make some great memories, right? And literally that decades later, you reflect on those moments and those memories. And so too, wouldn't it be awesome to consider and think that he did the same or is doing the same, right? And that you made as much of an impact in his life as he made in yours. Mm-hmm. Yeah. just being able to share those kinds of moments along the path. And I think in anything that we do, we meet and we meet people along the way. and, if we can add value to someone else, whether it be with a kind word or a song, right, or something that you can relate to, like you literally make people's lives better. And if you do that constantly with intention and put that out there, it's amazing. The ripples that will come from it and things that you may never see. but how much you could impact someone and someone else's life down the way. Thank very grateful for that perspective. Thank you, Louis. Well, Louis, I know we touched a little bit like trials, tribulations, but I really, I'm curious. There's, there's a moment that we call the darkest hour, a moment that where it's just, you're going to throw in the towel. It's game over. You're going to quit. is too much. It's too much pressure, what have you, but then you didn't. And how? What is the mindset that you used to pull yourself through whatever that moment was? Mm Good question. And, you know, I would say just then that's happened, you know, numerous times, as I said, you know, when I first went away from Ireland, like the first two or three years, the homesickness and not knowing people, not speaking the language. And that worked out. I ended up staying in Germany about eight years and built a sort of a life there, you know. But then I went to I went and the road came calling again and I went I traveled again. I went to Central America, South America, to Colombia. And I think I must have gotten to like the idea or the experience of just arriving in a country where you don't know anybody and it'll all work out fine because I did exactly the same thing again in 1994. I went to Panama. Central America, I didn't know one person in the country and state, you know. And same thing again, it was very, I mean, you know, Germany was only two hours from Ireland, but Panama is a world away culturally and stuff. So that was a big, big change. And then I have to say in each, like in each of those experiences, and then just recently I moved back to Ireland. I'm in Ireland now five years ago. with my family and my wife from Mexico. My two daughters were born in Panama. And the first two or three years were very tough, just like they were in Panama and Germany. And do you know what the... And to be honest, I'm not gonna take any credit for it because it's not any mindset other than maybe a bit of stubbornness and a bit of resilience on my part. It's sort of... It was, how would I describe it? It was just, you know, in the most toughest of times what served me and it was really like necessity was just stay the course, you know, a sort of a singleness of purpose, you know, that if you, think intuitively, what I would suggest to anyone in my experience now, if somebody has an intuitive feeling or an idea or something they want to do. particularly if it's something that will benefit them, the community, if it's a service orientated, you know, knowledge or whatever it might be. My, I say the biggest lessons I've learned in the tough times is just keep going, no matter what, keep going. And the lesson that I learned is it's only over when you give up. It's only over when you stop. And You know, I've had a couple of, you know, just recently again, I experienced it coming back to Ireland in my fifties, moved home with my family and COVID hit and every plan I had went out the window and it was sort of survival mode and I hadn't lived here in 30, 40 years, but I had a plan, I had an idea, I had a good feeling about the business I wanted to do. And it was really, really tough some days and I didn't think it was going to work out. And the only thing I didn't do was give up. That was it. That's so powerful. That is so powerful. You talk about coming home and how difficult that was. I, I love to touch on this a bit. You've now traveled the world. You've gone different places. You've met different people, different cultures, right? Different foods. I love that. The, the, all the differences in it. And then to come back to and you find commonality in each of those pieces, even the uniqueness of it itself. We all have a common thread, right? People are people. And so the more that you spent that time and you grew those relationships and you met the people in there, you now come home and get home being a place that we think is going to be safe or comfortable or fond memories, et cetera. But you're not coming back with all this other wisdom, all this other experience, all these other exposures to culture. And you mentioned that it's difficult when you got home. I'm curious, what was it that you found most difficult when you came home? Well, that's a very good question. That is a very good question. I think it was it was maybe I underestimated that I'd be literally starting from zero again. You know, I was going to it was, you know, and even though I had done that a few times, I'd done it as a single man and, you know, moving with a family, there was more responsibility, you know, and there was other factors, you know, as I said, like COVID hit, which wasn't in the plan and What I would say, though, is that there were, it was a good lesson in the sense that, you know, there can be legitimate obstacles in the way life, I mean, it's just, you know, it's just a lesson that, you know, I don't, I don't run the show and I'm not the center of the universe, you know. But so there was quite a few factors involved. But I think I think it's hard to say it was just psychologically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, it was a huge effort. And the only thing I could do was just stay the course. was times where I was completely powerless over situate, like for example, COVID, completely powerless. I had planned on to start a business, there was no way that could happen for a year, maybe two years and we're also in lockdown. you know, just not being able to do what I wanted to do, what I plan to do. And I do know that, you know, my my sort of basic philosophy is is sort of rooted in Celtic in spirituality and Celtic spirituality, which is if you get if you do, if you get the spiritual side of things right, then you don't have to worry about anything else. You know, like you don't have I don't. even though I might have been struggling a bit mentally with not being able to do what I wanted. And I just knew that if I stayed the course, I sort of, I suppose you could say if you do the next right thing, if you continue to do the right thing in all aspects, then eventually it will, it will. And it was absolutely true, you know, that that's how it did happen eventually. You know, it just didn't happen on my time, but you know, that's the thing, you know. If you didn't create the universe, know, you know, the only thing I'm one thing I know is I didn't create the universe. So whoever whoever's in charge, it's it's in his time or her time or their time or whatever it might be. It's just a less. It was a lesson in in powerlessness, I think, which also, you know, teaches you humility, you know, does taught me some humility, you know, more humility, which is, you know, you have to surrender to the fact that I don't make all the decisions and. But you know, there's great freedom learning that as well, isn't there? Absolutely. I think what you said so amazing and unfortunately a reality for all of us, right? Like we don't know what that timeline will be. We have a mission, an idea, an intention, a goal, and we work towards it and we think it's gonna happen in this timeline. And oftentimes things don't unfold the way that you expect and those hurdles come about and even things that you anticipate like. coming home and thinking like you've already got a baseline and you're not starting from zero. And then to come into a world that's upended, right across the, the, all, all of us were affected by, by COVID and the changes that happened in life and having to adapt to that. But also then the relationships of the people that you had, the changes, the life, cause their life continued on too. Right. So you come back and suddenly you meet and these people are now different than who you thought they might've been or where they were. And then you're re-igniting or re-learning and recreating those relationships and those ties. And I love the idea about being stubborn and staying the course, think tenacity, right? Tenacity, setting a goal so big you can't possibly achieve it. And then growing into the person who can. To be tenacious in something is a skill, is a trait perhaps I should say, but one that can be consistently with resolve, resolution, with stubbornness, right? You just keep pressing forward. And I love the idea that you'd said about just one step, one foot in front of the other, right? All you can control is that. And so what is your next step? And the one thing you're not doing is you're not quitting, right? Keep going. it's amazing lesson. mean, I'm just even as you talk about it, I'm getting sort of excited again by it and inspired for anyone that might pick it up because the truth of it is there might be days where you can't do anything that you want or move towards. you might think, you know, I can't do it. you know, this is bad or that or that. But the truth of it is, as long as you don't quit that day, you've done something. You know, and I honestly believe like, and it's happened for me a number of times is you, if you just don't quit and there'll be some days you won't make, you know, just, you I suppose what it is is it's when the tough times come, it's that's when it's, you know, that's why they call them tough times. All right. But yeah, I mean, literally don't quit. I mean, it sounds a bit cliche to know, but it's true. If you don't quit, you'll eventually get there. Right. I absolutely believe it. And I mean, I see it. live it. I've been there like this. Yes. But this is not about me. It's about you. And so I want to talk more about something I'd love to share with listeners is we call this Dragon's Gold. Now, that might be a bit of I love it. And also, it's a little relevant, frankly, because we talk about, precious metals, which is is a specialty of yours. And and so but Dragon's Gold, what are moments? What are mindsets, achievements, accolades, things that you've now acquired through running that gauntlet, through going through the darkest hour. Is there something that you'd share with the listeners that you feel is Dragon's Gold in your journey? You know, it's actually the same theme throughout everything we discussed, Justin, is perseverance, purity of intention. You know, don't give up if you really feel, you know, in your innermost self that this is something you'd really like to do, something you want to do. And as I said, it sort of nearly has to be based in some value for others as well, not just a... selfish sort of a thing. I mean, it can still be a business, but business can provide jobs and things like that. But it can't be rooted, I think, completely in selfishness, if you will, or just just for me to gain from it. But if there's some, there's bound to be some aspect of it. But it's just purely that that sort of singleness of purpose. That's been the biggest lesson for me and still is today. Stay the course. Always, always, always stay the course. you know, in order to do that, you have to at some point, the voice in your own head will tell you to give up. Other people will have to not just ignore them. mean, you're going to hear that and you might have a little discussion with yourself. But, you know, just no matter, no matter what, don't give up because again, if you don't give up on something, you will eventually get there. Yes, I love it. You talked about purity of intention and I love that. And you talk about the idea of not being selfish in that service. Yes, it's okay to want something. It's okay to work for something for you. But when you, whatever that is, work towards a goal of bringing joy to others or bringing value to others, bringing in service. It's so incredibly rewarding and oftentimes you cited the idea about employment, right? You create jobs. You're now helping to feed other people's, you're helping them to feed their family, right? And you're bringing and they're giving them purpose. And this is something that obviously they're working for you. And so it's something that in theory that they want, right? Beyond just the paycheck, it's the joy of whatever the mission is and working towards that common goal. And I think the idea of service and having that, and I really loved the way you said purity of intention. think that that's such a powerful phrase and point that really could be peeled back on. but, but I, I'm grateful for you even making the comment and putting that idea in my mind. I, I would love to share with the listeners, some of the, the, tools, the weapons, the resources, the things that you've used. to get to where you are today and the lessons that you've learned. Are there any books or is there anything at all that you might share with the listeners that might help them on their journey? I think it would be just the idea of always remain teachable. Always, always remain teachable. I every day is a school day, right? I think as well, if you're gonna, if you want to have that singleness of purpose and that doggedness, perseverance, you have to be, and I think all of these things come naturally as well. You have to also be ready for battle, if you will. you know, so what I mean by that is if let's just use it's a business as an example, you have a very good idea for a business. It has to tick off all the boxes in the sense that you have to commit to it. You know, you probably have to get eight hours sleep every day. You have to be, you know, maybe living well. You know, you have to make sure all those other factors. Because it doesn't come for free. think in the spiritual realm, you sort of have to earn it a bit and you won't. It won't come for free. We have to earn it in the sense that, you know, we have to put in in the in the preparation and the work beforehand. And I wouldn't cite any exact examples, except I think people know, like, let's say they have a goal, say for a business, they literally sort of know already what that commitment is going to entail. You know, in terms of time, you know, maybe a little bit away from from their normal family things or something that how has to be looked at and then and applied. I think it's quite common sense. think pretty much anybody who's got it, who's curious enough to be even thinking of doing something like this already knows that, you know, with that commitment comes responsibility and some discipline. and, you know, so, yeah, we have to. You know, it's just like, you know, a sports team or something, you know, they get to the Super Bowl or the World Cup final, you know, they're going to be training the whole week before. They're going to be looking at the competition. They're going to be, you know, looking at their weak spots and their strengths and looking at their own strengths and weaknesses. then collectively, they'll do that individually. They'll do that. so, yeah, I suppose it's it's about realizing as well, you know, in order to, if you want to go on that journey of staying the course of perseverance, you need to be armed for it as well. I think what you need will come to You'll know what you need to do. But obviously, there's no point in going into battle or going into to play that game. If you're not fully ready, you'll know. And so, yeah, you've got to be you've got to really be ready and make the commitment. or know what the commitment is. You know, the last thing you want is to start and realise, I should have done this or you know what mean? you know, suppose, you know that saying fail to prepare and prepare to fail. Right. So just commitment. You know, that general idea. I love that. And frankly, I'm also a bit biased because the preparing for battle is completely on brand, right? And so for, for, for my company, and I just, I love the idea about that. And, and I, and I think that there's a lot also about not just preparing to be in, the battle and for the fight itself, but the things that you need for that, like getting the right amount of sleep, right? Making sure that you have your health, right? Being, and you'd cited this earlier, but being spiritually sound, right, and feeling comfortable in with yourself and where you're at in this universe. And I think that all of those pieces, each of them has their own role, so that you can perform at your best, right, so that you can win that war, win that battle and ultimately the war. Yeah, absolutely. I love the idea. Louis, we call this the Hall of Heroes, right? A legacy, something to leave for future generations. you, if there was a massive statue of Leo Connor and it said anything you want on that plaque, what would you want it to say? my goodness. Now that's a tough one because, you know, to even contemplate the idea there might be a statue, you know, is sort of, you know, where, you know, that's, you know, that's a bit, but if I was to leave anything, you know, I'm trying to think what, what's the thing I most talk to about my kids, you know, or try to, to, to sort of, I think it's, you know, there's, There's a great, it's a Persian, I think a Sanskrit, would you call it a poem? have it. It's, it's look, look to this day for it is life, the very life of life in its brief course, lie all the realities of existence, the bliss of growth, the splendor of action, the glory of power. Yesterday's only a dream tomorrow, a vision. Well, today, well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, to this day. That's what it would be, which is, you know, today. Today, it's all about today, what we can do right now. And what I love about that is in the middle part, they talk about the bliss, the bliss, the glory of the I need to say it all out, so I remember, but it's called about talks about power. and growth and action. And every single day, you know, I wake up, if I'm breathing in and breathing out, I can take action, I can grow and I have the power to do that. again, coming back to, you know, if I'm breathing in and out, there's more right with me than wrong with me. And I might not be able to do exactly what I want that day, but I can do something. And that little poem, is all about that. It's just that we can grow every day. We can take action every day. We have the power to do it every day. know, it sort of reminds me a bit of Victor Frankel as well. know, you know, Victor Frankel, who wrote that Man's Search for Meaning and one of the big, that small book has so many takeaways, but one of the big ones was that regardless of what happens to us, that our last, the last of the human freedoms is our ability to choose. our response or choose our attitude in any given circumstances. So this was a guy right from a concentration camp. So we always, always have power regardless. And that comes a bit from, like I come from Ireland, I the IRA were one of the original revolutionary freedom fighters and fought against oppression. And they always had a saying, you know, you know, we were oppressed by England for 500 years and we had the Vikings before that. So we're well used to fighting off invaders, you know. But the IRA always had a saying that it's not how much you can inflict, like in terms of in battle or in war, it's how much you can take, you know, how much you can take. And you're always in the fight, you know. So I think it all, all of that is sort of, maybe I've gone on a bit. That's a pretty big plaque now, I told you. I'm I love it. Are kidding me? I'm thinking about that that idea about it's it's not just what you inflict. It's what you can endure. It's what you can take. It's what you can deal with. Right. And like that, I think that that idea resonates so much. And I think it will resonate with so many of the listeners that right. No matter how hard it gets, like it's it's the amount of no matter how many times you get knocked down, right, that you get back up. Right. And that you just don't quit. Yeah. think that brings it all back to the idea about being stubborn and tenacious and really digging in and just pushing through while being teachable, while constantly learning. Because every time you get docked down, that's a lesson. If you're open to it, you can learn something from that experience. When you get back up again, you dodge that next punch because you see it coming. You learn. And I think that... that's powerful and I really really want to say thank you for sharing that that poem because I'd never heard it and I loved hearing it and I'm sure that anybody listening to it as well um is inspired by that so thank you. Kalisa who I think was a Persian poet and I think it was written in Sanskrit. But it's funny, know, it's amazing when you have these conversations, Justin. I mean, I've been really enjoying the chat because when you just spoke to you, you just confirmed to me that we've been talking about the same thing the whole way through. It's you know what I mean? The one, you know, of don't give up, you know, and. no matter what we seem to just come on back to that. Sometimes it takes a 20 minutes or 40 minutes or 50 minutes conversation to really flesh it out, you know. And, you know, that's the back and forth between us has really fleshed it out. it's I thank you, you know, I'm very glad to have had the conversation. And I as well, friend, So, truly. So, Louis, what's next? What's the next quest for Louis O'Connor and strategic metals invest? it's Friday afternoon here. I'll probably go for a swim. I'm about 20 minutes from the lake. I like to go see swimming and swimming in the lake, which people think we're crazy, but it's a spiritual experience because your body thinks, here he goes. What's he doing now? He's trying to kill me again. And then you survive. You get a great sort of a, it's a near death experience for the body. So I know it's not so cold now in the summer. It's, you know, in the winter though it is. But we swim in the sea. Oh, I tell you, if, I don't know if you're next time you're close to the lake or the sea, just jump in because it literally, you come out a different person. I love it. I tried to swim every day, but yeah, it's just keep going. mean, look, I'm happy, you know, my kids are here in Ireland. We've been here five years, so they're... My eldest actually is right at the moment doing her final exams for, we call it secondary school, but I guess for you guys it's high school. So yeah, I think, you know, if you're on this path, it keeps opening up. The path keeps opening up. I definitely have learned to... You know, and again, talking about if you can try and get things right in that spiritual sense, is constantly being revealed, you know? So just keep doing. It's funny, it might sound like I'm saying, I'm doing it's exactly the same thing and exactly the same life every day, but it's not actually. If we keep on the right path, that path opens up more and more. I think that's exactly it. the further you go along the path, the more doors open, right? The further you go along and as long as you keep evolving, you keep learning, you keep growing. It's amazing. The opportunities that start to come, become available that you become aware of that may have always been there, but you may not have known it. because you weren't far enough along the path to see it, right? Along your path. And you can see as well, if you look to anybody who has some longevity or legacy, regardless of who they are, sportsman or philosopher or businessman, why do they keep doing what they're doing? Because they're still learning and they're still growing. know, it does maybe on the surface look like, you know, the same deal every day, but it's not. And again, I think it comes to to being, again, to having the spiritual angle and wanting to make sure you're doing the right thing. That's where the growth will come from, that, going in that direction. I love it. All right, Louie, it's time for my favorite question of the entire podcast. And that is, if you could be any mythical creature, what would you be and why? you know, I'd probably, you know, of course, in Ireland, we've many, many mythical features, but the leprechauns being the most famous and or the fairies tell you what's very interesting. Just before I tell you that, Justin, I went to you know what the leprechauns are. There were these little small magical creatures, right? But when I was first in Central America, I went up into the. You know, away from civilization, if you will, I was up traveling with. the indigenous communities, you know, and this is something that will interest you about mythical figures, right? So where I was, there was no internet, no phones. People lived no different than they did 500 years ago. And I was with a guy who who spoke Spanish, but also the local indigenous people spoke Spanish as well. And so we were able to communicate. what we learned was I was telling them about the leprechauns in Ireland. And we have what we call a leprechaun fort or a fairy fort. And you'll still see in Ireland today where you're seeing a ring of trees that's considered like a fairy fort. And people even today will stay away and they don't mess with them, you know. But I was telling them some stories about the fairies and the leprechauns that in Ireland in the 14th, 15th century, the fairies apparently used to snatch boys. So the clans, would dress young, only up to 18 months. So the tribes would dress the boys up as girls at night so they wouldn't be stolen by the fairies. And these guys in Central America had the same superstitions about this. They had the same fairy type, little smaller people who had their little, what blew me away was how similar the Celtic mythology was to their mythology, although they would never have met, you know, so that's interesting. But just to answer your, see, that's the thing when talking to an Irish person, it's hard to get a straight answer. I'll give you the answer now, So the probably the Banshee and the Banshee. There was recently a film called The Banshees of the English era, but Banshee is a sort of a ghost, always a woman, old, and they used to appear mythically. in Ireland and they would, when somebody, would keen, keen is like a wailing. You might see them at a distance and you'd hear this scream and a wail and it was always a warning that somebody was going to die. And now that sound, might sound like a bit of a downer, but when we were sort of invaded by the Vikings and by the English, apparently the myth goes that the only people who could see the Banshee were Celtic people, Irish people, people who'd been born there. So when they would see, it used to be a warning as well, like if the British army were coming or, you know, so although they were, if they did appear, it was a sign that somebody was going to die, but could also be used useful knowing that the... if you know that the British army could be about to do some sort of a maneuver or something like that. So they use the mythology as well. And then what there's an Irish song, you'll often hear people singing at Irish concerts and it goes like this, Oh Roche, the Váha Walia, which is in the song. And what they're singing is, Oh, she's coming home for you. And it was about the Banshees. so even till recently, and I, you know, this is, mean, You know, this is not so good, but it was the reality of the war. Even recently in the north of Ireland, well, the soldiers are gone now, but the 60s and the 70s and 80s, the locals would sing that. And any time any of the foreign forces, whether British or whoever, heard that song, they knew something bad was going to happen, you know? So, yeah, I sort of, not that I would want to be a Banshee, but I just like the role they played. as I suppose what the kids might say in modern parlance that sometimes they say somebody's your frenemy, somebody who you think is your friend, but they're actually your enemy. Well, the Banshees were the opposite. We thought they were our enemies, but they actually ended up being our friends. super, super grateful for all of that. Louis, thank you. I learned something new. I got an awesome story. It gave me perspective in ways that I had never thought of that before. There's just so much that I'm just peeling back in my own mind that I'm thinking about that you shared. And I I told you it's my favorite question to ask here. And it really is. I mean, I'm also a big nerd and I like that stuff. And so that's why I lean into it. But I never know what I'm gonna hear. And this was a perfect example of that. ah And so I just, of why I enjoy it so much and being able to get the perspective and learn something new, right? And so thank you for that, Louis it's just like we said at the beginning, Justin, when you're in a new city, you're walking up and there's a corner ahead and you don't know what's around the corner. It's that feeling of... I think it's complete. You're in the moment. You're so present when you're seeing, when your senses are taking in something for the first time. I think we're as present as we'll ever be. Because after we've been there, like... just for a week and we go around that corner 10 times, our brain already knows what's around the corner and we're a little bit on automatic pilot. So it's when you're, like, as you said, when you're somebody sharing something, which for the first time, we're really sort of focused in on, and then we get a picture painted in our imagination for the first time. And well, it's the same thing we've been talking about all along, which is great, you know, it's been a very good conversation. I think so too, Louis. I'm so grateful. Really appreciate you taking the time with me today and the listeners as well. Anyone who gets a chance to listen to this, I'm sure they're going to glean some value from it. And I thank you for sharing some stories with us, if anybody wanted to connect with you, how would they reach out to you? So my website is um reach out to my email its louis@strategicmetalsinvest.com Thank you, Justin. Thank you very much. My pleasure. My friends, thank you for joining us once again on our quest to inspire, educate, and empower you to turn your dreams into reality, one mindset shift at a time. We'll see you next time.

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Justin Mills

Host
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Aaron Iler

Producer
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Louis O'Connor

Guest