Marathon Investing, Cuckoo For Crypto & Starting Fresh!
Re-post from my BP blog. Hoping it provides some positive motivation and guidance as you kick off 2018 and re-set!
All feedback is welcome and encouraged ;)
---
READ TIME = 4 min
MARATHON INVESTING
The Pursuit of Wealth, Not Money
There’s an accelerating phenomenon across my peer group…we’re going cuckoo for crypto.
It’s exciting, intellectually stimulating, financially rewarding…and it’s scaring the cr*p out of me.
With incredible short-term wins, crypto hysteria is teaching extraordinarily bad investor habits at an accelerating rate. The result? The beginning of our long-term demise.
Investors need to adopt a winning long-term strategy, even when facing unprecedented short-term opportunity. I call this “marathon investing”.
If you’re after real wealth, a win much more broadly defined than money, then a “back to basics” mindset needs to be reinforced.
Let’s re-set.
---
Since first investing via Vanguard mutual funds 17 years ago, my favorite investor adage remains “set it and forget it”. This phrase underpins my core investor values:
- Market timing is exhausting and fails most.
- Time over money.
- Money is not wealth.
- Time leads to wisdom.
- Wisdom leads to wealth.
Allow me to quickly break this down.
MARKET TIMING IS EXHAUSTING AND FAILS MOST.
The 2018 global economy is highly-tech enabled and real-time connected. An overwhelming array of variables influence our financial markets. No more are the days of stock price movements based solely on earnings reports…today stock prices are driven by CEO tweets, foreign political victories, threats of terrorist attack, rumored product launches, customer PR backlash, insider information and more.
Keeping up is exhausting.
Therefore, investing based on long term fundamentals is a more prudent and reliable strategy than betting on a singular info bit…only a rare few (if any) know what’s truly driving the market each day. As a retail investor, you don’t want to compete with the pros, who are advantaged by greater resources and market-moving financial scale.
TIME OVER MONEY.
I’ve received collegial feedback that I maintain a strong work-life balance; working hard but always taking time for personal pursuits (int’l travel, Malibu surf in the AM). My balance isn’t a result of personal riches, but a steadfast commitment to what matters most.
Contrast this to my early career as a NYC investment banker.
I sacrificed my entire waking life to work, nearly killing myself in the process (I fell asleep at the wheel during diligence tours in Wyoming, Puerto Rico, and Kansas…shout-out to highway rumble strips).
All this in exchange for my first Wall Street bonus. I’ll never forget what I felt while downing a beer in Chelsea after being told “my number”…
Fear.
Fear at how it changed nothing. No happy switch flipped. No less stress. No feeling of control.
My values shifted quickly.
MONEY IS NOT WEALTH.
Wealth is when money works for you, providing abundance of what matters most (time for family, friendships, health).
Therefore, money is means to an end (and a small part at that), because money without time and wisdom is a sucker’s game.
TIME LEADS TO WISDOM.
Books. White papers. Blogs. Observation. Writing. Analysis. Debate.
Time creates space to absorb and reflect, which leads to experience, knowledge and good judgment. We exist in a “do” culture, often leapfrogging the thinking process.
Overly “do-ing” cuts us off at the knees.
WISDOM LEADS TO WEALTH.
Soundness in judgment allows one to make fewer decisions of greater financial impact, and confidence in letting those decisions “ride”.
Fewer decisions reduce time waste and mental scatter, and confidence provides peace of mind…collectively, allowing one to be in the moment for what matters most.
True wealth achieved.
---
Back to crypto.
Late millennials are riding the crypto bandwagon like woah (more on why in another newsletter), and I’ve been officially swept up. I’ve made good money, and quickly. But, at what cost?
Time. And lots of it.
Over the past 6 months it was the 1st thing I did when I woke up and the last thing I did before bed. In between were countless texts, email threads, cold storage wallets, exchange sign-ups and blockfolio check-ins. All on top of founding a new company, bidding on real estate…and life.
Ethos violated. This was not “set it and forget it”.
As I learned from my investment banker days, the end didn’t justify the means. So, I’m re-setting. Less doing. More thinking.
The best part?
I’m confident I’ll make more money across my overall investment portfolio (multifamily real estate, crypto, stocks, bonds, angel investments, equity in my newco). AND, I’ll be back on the path to true “wealth”…time for what matters most.
Back to that winning feeling.
New year, fresh start. Are you setting yourself up for a “marathon” win?
#realestate #realestateinvesting #leadership #positivity #newyear #crypto #cryptocurrency #investing #inspiration