Nov 17, 2021
A number of years ago I started making a list of all the things
one needed to know about investing.
I wanted to capture the favorite quotes I have read and the
lessons I have learned.
This ended up being a more ambitious project than I envisaged,
and it remains an ongoing one.
So, in today’s show, Mark Creedon and I are going to share with
you a list of 24 things we believe you need to understand about
investing, the economy, and business, and this list is based on the
musings of Morgan Housell, my favorite finance writer, and I’m sure
you’ll gain some insights from my chat with Mark today whether
you’re a beginning or an experienced investor or a
businessperson.
24 Lessons About Investing and the Economy
Over the years one of my favorite columnists whose articles I
read regularly is Morgan Housell who used to write for Motley Fool
and now writes for Collaborative Fun
He writes a lot about behavioral finance and why supposedly
rational people act irrationally when it comes to money, finance,
and business.
A number of years ago he wrote a great column where he detailed
122 things everyone should know about investing and the economy and
there were some great lessons to take away from that article. I’ve
pulled a number of these out today to discuss with my business
partner Mark Creedon founder of Business Accelerator
Mastermind.
- Saying “I’ll be greedy when others are fearful” is easier than
actually doing it.
- When most people say they want to be a millionaire, what
they really mean is “I want to spend $1 million,” which is
literally the opposite of being a millionaire.
- Daniel Kahneman’s book Thinking Fast and
Slow begins, “The premise of this book is that it is
easier to recognize other people’s mistakes than your own.” This
should be every market commentator’s motto.
- As Erik Falkenstein says: “In expert tennis, 80% of the points
are won, while in amateur tennis, 80% are lost. The same is true
for wrestling, chess, and investing: Beginners should focus on
avoiding mistakes, experts on making great moves.”
- There is a difference between, “He
predicted the crash of 2008,” and “He predicted crashes, one of
which happened to occur in 2008.” It’s important to know the
difference when praising investors.
- Wealth is relative. As comedian Chris Rock said, “If Bill Gates
woke up with Oprah’s money he’d jump out the window.”
- The Financial Times wrote, “In 2008 the
three most admired personalities in sport were probably Tiger
Woods, Lance Armstrong, and Oscar Pistorius.” The same falls from
grace happen in investing. Choose your role models carefully.
- Investor Nick Murray once said, “Timing the market is a fool’s
game, whereas time in the market is your greatest natural
advantage.” Remember this the next time you’re compelled to cash
out..
- Jason Zweig writes, “The advice that
sounds the best in the short run is always the most dangerous in
the long run.”
- Billionaire investor Ray Dalio once said, “The more you think
you know, the more closed-minded you’ll be.” Repeat this line to
yourself the next time you’re certain of
something.
- John Reed once wrote, “When you first start to study a field,
it seems like you have to memorize a zillion things. You don’t.
What you need is to identify the core principles — generally three
to twelve of them — that govern the field. The millions of things
you thought you had to memorize are simply various combinations of
the core principles.” Keep that in mind when getting frustrated
over complicated financial formulas.
- James Grant says, “Successful investing is about having people
agree with you … later.”
- Scott Adams writes, “A person with a flexible schedule and
average resources will
be happier than a rich person who has
everything except a flexible schedule. Step one in your search for
happiness is to continually work toward having control of your
schedule.”
- Investors want to believe in someone. Forecasters want to earn
a living. One of those groups is going to be disappointed. I
think you know which.
- As the saying goes, “Save a little bit of money each month, and
at the end of the year you’ll be surprised at how little you still
have.”
- John Maynard Keynes once wrote, “It is safer to be a
speculator than an investor in the sense that a speculator is one
who runs risks of which he is aware, and an investor is one who
runs risks of which he is unaware.”
- Our memories of financial history seem to extend about a decade
back. “Time heals all wounds,” the saying goes. It also erases many
important lessons.
- You are under no obligation to read or watch financial news. If
you do, you are under no obligation to take any of it
seriously.
- Most economic news that we think is important doesn’t matter in
the long run. Derek Thompson of The
Atlantic once wrote, “I’ve written hundreds of articles
about the economy in the last two years. But I think I can reduce
those thousands of words to one sentence. Things got
better, slowly.”
- The “evidence is unequivocal,” Daniel Kahneman writes,
“there’s a great deal more luck than skill in people getting very
rich.”
- There is a strong correlation between knowledge and humility.
The best investors realize how little they know.
- Not a single person in the world knows what the market will do
in the short run.
- The more someone is on TV, the less likely his or her
predictions are to come true.
- How long you stay invested will likely be the single most
important factor determining how well you do at investing.
Links and Resources:
Why not join Metropole’s
Business Accelerator Mastermind
Learn more about Mark Creedon – Business
Coach to some of Australia’s leading entrepreneurs
Get a copy of Mark’s new book here – Have a business
not a job
Morgan Housell’s article mentioned in the show:
122 Things Everyone Should Know About Investing and the Economy by
Morgan Housel
Shownotes plus more here:
24 Things everyone should know about investing and the economy |
Build a Business, Not a Job Podcast
Some of our favourite quotes from the show:
“We’ve been investing and in business for long enough to know
that there’s always going to be things to scare you, but you
shouldn’t allow them to.” – Michael Yardney
“Don’t get upset that you can’t control those, just take
advantage of what you can control.” – Michael Yardney
“At least the speculator knows they’re speculating.” –Michael Yardney
PLEASE LEAVE US A REVIEW
Reviews are hugely important to me because they help new people
discover this podcast. If you enjoyed listening to this episode,
please leave a review on iTunes - it's your way of passing the
message forward to others and saying thank you to me. Here's
how.