“It takes 20 years to become an overnight success.”
When I was 11, I set a goal of becoming a world champion sailor. Nine years later I was at the top of the podium - and a ‘star’ - albeit within the small world of sailing. Suddenly, I was in demand by journalists wanting to interview me, parents wanting me to coach their kids, etc.
What occurred during that 9-year period from being an unknown junior sailor to a world champion in the spotlight?
A lot of very boring, unglamorous, basic work. Hours upon hours of solo sailing practicing the same things over and over. Simple routines repeated endlessly. That is what it took to become a world champion.
So, how does this apply to investing?
Long-term stock investing should feel boring. Like watching paint dry – for years on end.
But most people approach investing as anything but monotonous.
It does not help that the financial media (and industry at large) promotes a short-term, almost gambling orientation. Financial programs have a countdown clock tracking the minutes – and even the seconds – until the market closes. Titles like “FAST MONEY” suggest that investing needs to be action-filled with quick results. And indeed, many so-called investors (read: speculators) take such an approach and end up materially underperforming the overall market.
In the meantime, others – often with the help of a Financial Advisor – create a plan, and with patience and discipline, stick to the program year in and year out. Sure, they make adjustments as needed; it is not a set and forget approach. But they do not feel the need to make investing ‘exciting’ or action-packed. Successful investors ignore the noise (either from financial pundits or the headlines at large) and focus on the basics. Sound familiar?
It can be deceptive when you see some big event like the SpaceX IPO or the New York Knicks NBA world championship victory. What was behind that – what preceded those events – was a series of disciplined choices, away from the bright lights, of daily, weekly, monthly, yearly grind.
The power of boring.