Category Archives: Meta-Game

Focused Diversification : Mantra for all Times

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I’m more into focus.

One can focus on one thing at a time.

Agreed.

What if after that one thing starts running, it doesn’t require any more focus?

Wow.

Then I focus on another thing.

Get it running.

Then another.

Till my focus window is full.

Let me tell you about my focus window.

I focus on cash, debt, equity, forex, gold, real-estate, arbitrage, and options.

With that, my professional focus in finance is full full full.

I get something running.

That’s it.

Then I don’t need to be with it. Mostly.

Let me run you through.

1). Cash – Bind it in a worry-free and accessible manner. Done.

2). Debt – Study the underlying very thoroughly. Reject 10 underlyings. Take up the 11th which passes all criteria. Be happy with a slightly better than FD-return. Done.

3). Equity – Invest for life. Study till you drop the stock or take it up. Only invest in what meets all criteria and offers margin of safety at time of investing. On top of that – SIP (systematic investment plan). Done.

4). Forex – Get a software robot to trade it for you. Or some human-capital. All available online. Requires a bit of fine-tuning. Keep tuning till you start making a return. Done.

5). Gold – Buy physical gold. Research your source. Needs to be impeccable. Bullion. Coins. SIP. Accessible. No jewellery. Done.

6). Real-estate – Make your real-estate yield you an income. Regular income? Done.

7). Arbitrage – Understand what this is, and why it gives you a tax benefit. Get an online MF account going with Kotak MF or DWS. Divert some funds into their arbitrage MF, either or. I prefer Kotak. Monthly dividend payout option. Done.

8). Options – Get the option-strategy going. You don’t require a desktop. Mobile is sufficient. All you now need to do is take care of square-off. On mobile. This means a slightly higher level of engagement than the above avenues. Only slightly. Are you ok with that? Fine. Done.

In a flow, it’s all doable.

And, you remain focused.

Why all this?

Times demand it. You never know what might come in handy, and when.

Yeah, times are tough.

However, you are tougher.

To use Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s terminology, you are antifragile.

Let it come, then we’ll see…

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Looking around for an opportunity?

Or letting one come?

Does it matter?

Is there a difference?

You bet!

When you’re looking around, you could be in a hurry. You want to get it over and done with.

Big mistake.

You are vulnerable.

Entry price will be expensive.

Your adversary feels your anxiety and jacks up entry level.

Quality? What quality? You’re in a hurry, right?

Don’t be.

Hurry spoils the curry.

Let the investment come to you.

It will.

Brokers are restless. They want to sell. They’ll knock at your doorstep once they know your funds situation. And, believe me, they won’t ask you about your funds situation. They’ll ask your banker. In fact, your banker could well be on retainer. He’ll make sure that high quality info ups his retainer fee. That’s how it works today. Don’t believe me? How come so many people have your cell number? Did you give it to them? No? Information is a commodity. It can be bought for a price.

So, wait.

Block your surplus funds as fixed deposits.

Get an overdraft going for one fixed deposit.

Delve into your normal activities.

Now you’re sitting pretty.

An opportunity comes.

It’s cr*p. Broker’s hoping you’ll bite into the nonsense being sold.

You tell the broker to buzz off. Lack of hurry gives you the clarity required to act like this.

Something lucrative comes along. Price is right. You overdraft on your FD. Yeah, it’s ok to pay the price for quality with margin of safety.

You can always fill in the overdrafted amount as new funds accumulate. The nominal interest paid for ODing is called opportunity fees. It’s chicken-feed. Just forget about it.

The best investments in life are worth waiting for.

Are You Still Trying to Find Yourself?

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Yes?

It’s ok.

In fact, it’s even good.

“It’s the question that drives us (Neo)!”

The search is a struggle, sure.

Struggle means growth.

Keep growing.

Let the search be on.

As long as possible.

Result?

Maximal growth.

In your effort to find out who you are, you do many things.

You try stuff out.

You interact with lots of people.

There’s tremendous Karma-exchange.

You are in various situations.

You are tested many times.

You can draw upon all this experience.

It’s your been-there-done-that.

The growth-component this search has caused is your takeaway.

Keep making that takeaway bigger.

And, it’s the only real takeaway.

We’ll leave our cash behind.

Food will become poison after a certain age.

Growth will imprint upon our energy.

Growth is ours.

We’ll carry it forward, wherever we go.

This body, that body, no body, any body.

What’s the mild pain for?

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Carrying forward a niggle?

Something that doesn’t stop you from performing, though?

However, something that nags?

Can’t stop to get it out of your system?

Momentum doesn’t allow you?

When you do stop to get it out, it doesn’t go away?

Is it more mental?

Or more physical?

Can’t decide?

Don’t know what to do?

Who to ask?

What if the hospitals grab you?

Make your wart into a cancer?

Are they then ever going to let you go?

Naehhhh.

Totally stumped?

We’ll, I’ve got something for you.

Are your ears standing up?

Can’t believe your luck?

Could Nath be bee/essing?

How does he know about all this stuff?

What makes him an authority?

Why should I trust him?

Well, don’t.

Is it costing you to listen?

Well, then listen. No harm.

So, as I said, I have something for you.

Are you ready?

Here goes.

Two words.

Embrace it.

Yeah.

Yeah, embrace the niggle.

Make it drive you on.

Make its mild pain give you quality output.

Milk it.

Make the niggle your advantage.

What if it goes away?

Halleluyaa.

You’re pain-free.

What if it doesn’t?

It then becomes your secret weapon.

That’s like buttering your toast on both sides.

🙂

Yes, Jack Ma is a Champion

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I only know one thing about Jack Ma.

He didn’t give up.

That’s enough for me.

Jack Ma is a champion.

Champions fight till it works.

They’re somehow able to extract extra energy from somewhere, and stand up again, that umpteenth time.

That is what separates champions from others.

Look at Abraham Lincoln’s example.

Steve Jobs.

Cassius Clay.

Recently, West Indies cricket.

List is big.

What do champions have in common?

They don’t give up.

They keep at it.

They keep throwing potentially knockout punches… till something gives.

Sure, champions cry.

They too are human.

It’s ok to cry.

One’s system cleanses.

Tears only make them fight harder.

So what’s the champion gene?

Meaning, what makes a champion keep going at it, despite disappointments, tapping extra energy out of nowhere to keep landing potentially knockout punches?

Yes, what are the dynamics?

Body and mind are functioning at full-stretch. Perhaps beyond. What is this beyond? We are a continuum, remember. We flow. The Bell-curve of our energy, at full-stretch, actually flows to a certain extent into 4th, 5th, 6th or nth dimensions. You’ll either have to take my word for it, or experience it for yourself.

Mind over matter, ever heard that one?

Describes the above phenomenon.

Resonance.

You vibrate at a common frequency with something, and are able to tap energy from that something.

That’s what happens.

For it to happen, full-stretch needs to be there.

Bell-curve needs to go over and beyond.

Feel the energy coming in.

Feel that tiredness go away.

Land the knockout punch, you champion.

The Art of Addressing

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Address your goals.

Daily.

Make that part of your basics.

It’s easy to sit back, when a few fundamentals are sorted.

There could be bread and butter on the table.

Family could be in their groove.

Are you quite there yet?

No.

Don’t rest on the laurels of the few fundamentals you might have achieved.

An RJ might light a cigar and open a bottle of single in the evening, but only after his goals have been addressed for the day.

A WB might invite his poker buddies and kick off a game after a round of hamburgers… after his goals for the day have been addressed.

When does BG nip into his chocolates? At bedtime. After you know what. After addressing his goals for the day.

Yeah.

Now it’s your turn.

Have a few simple goals.

What?

Don’t have such goals?

Well, make them.

Then address them.

Break down your goals to their prime number form. For example :

– Research a stock

– Trade some forex.

– Write a piece.

– Learn something new.

See. As simple as possible.

It’s convenient to address simplicity.

Laziness and complacency are enemies, though.

Fight them.

🙂

Where’s the Love?

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Bro…

… it’s there…

… and it’s not.

You don’t find it, right?

You look and look.

You try everything.

Still not satisfied.

You think you’ve found it in something…

… or someone…

… is it there?

Possible… possible… possible…

… till it’s not.

It could’ve been there.

Then, it could’ve just gone.

Yeah, just like that.

Where does that leave you?

Are you to die without finding love?

Are you to find it beyond your current incarnation?

No point then, right?

Why not here?

Meaning right here, right now.

In the moment.

There is love in the moment.

It occupies a dimension.

You need to vibrate resonantly.

That’s when you start to mingle with its vibration.

You find it.

Your vibration warps.

You lose it.

Stay with it.

For a while.

The moment teaches you about the nature of what you look for.

Start to graduate.

Find it in ventures.

Some find it in finance.

Some become doctors.

Entrepreneurs.

Blah blah blah.

Post-grad to people.

Tough ball-game. We fail. Then we try again. We keep trying, till we kinda learn. Or not.

PhD in your life-partner.

Whoahhhhh, now you’re rolling.

Found it in your life-partner and stayed with it?

You’ve come a long way, bro!

Bully for you!

🙂

There’s Something There

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When does one write about something?

Stimulus. 

Yes. That’s the catalyst. 

Something needs to cause words to overflow. 

One looks around for that something. 

Or, often, that something finds one. 

There’s a reaction. Churning. Out come words. 

The speed of all this happening is the speed of thought. It’s a speed that goes way beyond our wildest imagination. Let’s put it like this – its much, much faster than the speed of light. 

So, there’s an energy explosion inside one’s mind, caused by a catalyst. Out come words. 

In today’s fast track life, one looks around for stimulus. 

Ideally (yeah, only ideally), I wish to be writing one piece a day.

Why? One might ask. 

It’s a personal goal. 

Keeps me moving. 

Writing causes systematic learning. 

Stuff gets turned into DNA. 

Disorder inside oneself gets lessened. 

One gets richer, inside.

Others are benefited, or so I like to think. 

One moves energies with words. One moves worlds, with words. 

One becomes a part of the whole, with words. 

So, I write. 

Apart form all this, writing gives me a kick. I feel free. I feel a sense of achievement. And, remember this one, not everything in the world needs to be monetized. Some things are better left non-monetized. It takes tremendous courage and a sense of strong self-belief to pursue something that’s not monetized. One gets mocked. One doesn’t get taken seriously. However, my words are bigger than that. My words make me whole. 

Stimulus, stimulus where are you?

Sometimes, one looks too hard. That’s when one stops looking, and stimulus finds oneself. 

There’s a feeling of “there’s something there”. 

One stops…

…thinks…

…energy bomb explosion…

…out come words. 

Action Oblique Inaction Upon Field-Proof

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You.

Field.

In.

No theorizing.

Just get into the field.

Act upon field-proof.

Or, don’t act…

… upon field-proof.

That’s just about it.

There’s a time for theory.

It’s to tune your mind.

Learn the ropes.

Baby-steps.

Away from the field.

So you’re yet safe.

Fine.

That stage gets over.

The onus is on you.

Real world is different.

It’s not like theory.

If it were, everyone following theory would be a billionaire.

Today’s professors don’t even put their own money on the line.

If you don’t get a feel for the LINE, your paper-knowledge has no value whatsoever.

On the field, LINE is big. Very big. You have to handle the line well. Otherwise, your money’s gone.

So, gauge the field.

What proof are you observing?

Is it compelling you to act?

Yes?

Act. Forgot about everything else.

Is it compelling you to sit still?

Yes?

Don’t act. Sit still. Forget about everything else.

Carve your own dazzling destiny.

🙂

How and Where to Look for Outperformance

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Is it surprising, that the kind of outperformance we look for crops up in unexpected places?

Not really.

Yeah, it’s not surprising. 

I mean, if we found a certain brand of outperformance in an expected place, well, everyone would make a beeline for it, and soon, it would be over-valued. 

There’s only one way we want to be in something that’s over-valued – when we’ve bought it under-valued. We’ll then keep it for as long as the ride continues. 

Otherwise, we don’t want to touch anything that’s over-valued, even though it might appear to be outperformance. 

Getting into outperformance at an undervalued level gives us a huge margin of safety. That’s exactly what we want. That’s our bread and butter. 

So let’s start outlining areas to look in. 

Task gets difficult. 

I mean, how will you define areas literally?

Button-clicks. 

Algorithms. 

No, you don’t need to know how to programme, to put together an algorithm. 

Just do it online. 

Put in it what you’re looking for. 

Hit and try. 

Ultimately, you’ll hit the right combo, Stay with it, as long as it’s working. 

What do you put in your algorithm?

Value. 

Good ability to allocate capital. 

Efficiency.

Frugality.

Humility.

Etc. etc.

You ask how?

Well, this is not a spoon-feeding session. 

You’ll need to use your imaginations a bit. 

It’s all possible, let me assure you. 

Meaning, it’s possible to incorporate traits like humility into your mother-algorithm. 

Do the math. 

Ok, so you’ve translated what you’re looking for into computer language without knowing how to programme. 

You run it. 

Where?

All over the place, online. Any finance site. Yahoo Finance, for that matter. 

You get some results. 

In these you look to confirm. 

Is the outperformance you were seeking there or not?

No?

Look further. 

Yes?

Has this outperformance been discovered by the general market?

Yes?

Look further. 

No.

Bingo. 

Look for an entry strategy, provided your other parameters, if any, are being met. 

Limits will keep you Safe

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Safety is under-rated.

People scoff… at safety.

Ask someone to belt-up.

Or, ask xyz to take a backup.

Emergency fund, anyone?

Insurance?

Plan B?

Is anyone really interested?

Ok, don’t have a plan B. Fine.

Then, you need to watch your plan A like a hawk.

You need to install safety nets.

One such net is a limit.

Limit movement of funds.

Nowadays, this takes but a few online clicks. Setting fund-movement limits in your netbanking is not difficult at all.

What does a limit do?

It says ballyhoo to your emotions.

Greedy?

Too bad, fellow, funds more than your defined limits can’t leave your savings account, in case you wished these to depart for your trading account.

So, greed is in check. With force. Order of the day.

Limits will keep you safe.

Over-optimistic?

Same check.

Limits will keep you safe.

So on and so forth.

A little self-control is required though.

You’re not going to tamper with your limit, right?

Right.

What to do in the Age of Shocks?

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Wait for a shock.

That’s it.

Then go in… a bit.

Sound simple?

Ain’t.

Why?

Firstly, patience.

Who has patience, today?

Few.

Secondly, psychology.

Shock brings pessimism.

You don’t want to go in, not even a bit.

That is the whole thing.

Punchline. Understand it, and you’ve won already.

Thirdly, funds.

Who has funds, when the shock arrives?

Few.

Why?

Barely anyone knows how to SIT on funds.

I didn’t either.

Self-taught.

Through mistakes and pain.

By putting money on the line… losing it.

Took eleven years.

Now I know.

So don’t tell me that one is only born with the ability to sit.

Don’t waste your funds. Save them. They are your soldiers.

Fourthly, energy reserves.

Who has energy reserves when the shock arrives?

Few.

Why?

We’re too busy doing this doing that, always, forever. We don’t know how to conserve energy and build up reserves. Those who do then use their reserves to carry forward their strategies upon the arrival of a shock.

Fifthly, focus.

The hallmark of a big winner is focus.

Who has focus?

Few.

We’re too busy diversifying. It’s safer. Investing in the wake of shocks requires pinpointed focus.

Sixthly, courage.

Who has courage?

Few.

Why?

We’ve been taught to avoid, and move on. Life’s too full of BS that needs to be avoided. However, coming out during shocks needs courage. Face the enemy, and fight.

Seventhly, and perhaps this should have been on the top of the list, common-sense.

Who has common-sense?

Almost no one.

Why?

We’re too busy being complicated and sophisticated. We want to portray falsehood. We miss the forest for the trees. However, shocks are tackled with common-sense. Simplicity in thinking is paramount. The simplest ideas making the most sense are also the most successful ones.

Eighthly, long-term vision.

Who has vision?

Handful of people.

Why?

We’re too near-sighted. We want instant gratification. However, a shock presents excellent ground to root yourself in for the long-term. Understand this, and you’ll have understood a lot.

I could go on.

That’s quite enough though.

Above are eight points to think about,  to be seen as eight weapons that need sharpening, to come out fighting in the age of shocks.

Be patient, optimistic, fund-heavy, energy-heavy, focused and brave. Use your common-sense. Have long-term vision. BASICS.

Wishing you successful investing, in an age riddled with shocks.

🙂

Pain is Pain

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Pain is pain.

Can you see it?

I know you can see yours.

Thanks for reconfirming.

Can you see the pain of others, by the way?

Does it register?

Do you walk by?

Who are you… or… what are you?

Decide which question applies to you.

For example, do you see the pain of that earthworm writhing in the sun?

It rains. Coupla earthworms come out, only to be met by scorching sun. They writhe. Do you pick them up with a twig and install them in a wet muddy patch? Do you ignore them? Do you even notice them?

Finance is not too different.

It rains on your plans.

You writhe.

If your overall strategy has not been adequate, you can even perish due to your predicament.

Do you expect help?

Well, who doesn’t?

Only, you are that earthworm now. You are in pain.

Pain is pain.

The earthworm feels it, and so do you.

However, the earthworm is not able to do much. It will probably perish.

You, however, are human capital.

Stop writhing.

Prove you prowess as being superior in performance when compared to an earthworm, or perhaps to a donkey.

Stand up.

Clear your head.

Analyze the situation.

Pain dulls.

You’ve got to push through, and come out of it.

Once you’re up, and through, as in out of your predicament, well, don’t make the same mistake again. You’ll make other ones, sure, we all make other ones, but let’s not repeat the same one.

Safe investing.

🙂

Meet the BenchWarmers

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Yeah, one too many real-estate agents (REAs) have popped up over the last decade.

Any Tom, Dick or Harry (TD/H) who has nothing to do becomes an REA.

Small little office, empty chairs, one TD/H reading a newspaper or watching TV… familiar?

Meet the bench-warmers.

Real-estate is in the dumps.

Sure.

Real-estate bill is in the offing. Might come out soon, might come out later.

Circle-rates are trying to bring the black-money component down.

Government A-B-C categorization is all warped.

Meanwhile, deals have dried. Volumes are zilch.

Is this the bottom?

Who says yes?

I’m afraid not too many have that conviction.

I don’t either.

You see, at bottoms, there’s blood on the streets.

Do you see any blood?

Nope.

Is black-money receding?

Slightly, maybe. Some say significantly. Some say insignificantly. Wishy-washy answers at best. Let’s put this under the “not-sure” category.

Are the bench-warmers packing up their benches?

Nope.

Are more bench-warmers springing up, in anticipation of volume-spikes?

Yeah.

Is this going to make their situation only worse?

Yeah, probably.

When will things start moving finally?

No one knows for certain.

Under the circumstances, how can one call this a bottom?

We’re still way above 2005 levels.

It’s not a bottom, or so I think. Maybe I’m mistaken. However, that’s my opinion.

All right, if it’s not a bottom, what is it then?

Time to wait and watch?

Yeah.

Time to pick up (a property) already?

Probably not.

Time to nibble at a real-estate stock?

Maybe. Just make sure the fundamentals are good and debt-component is negligible. And nibble. That’s all.

What about the bench-warmers? How should they act?

Use their office to generate income. Any which legal way, through any vocation. If not, rent it out with fool-proof lease deed. That’ll generate income too.

Bench-warming degenerates our faculties. It shouldn’t be practised over a prolonged period of time.

Core-System Maintenance

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First up, one needs to discover one’s core-system.

That’s a big chunk.

We’ve spoken about it. Again and again.

Why?

Meaning, why was it required to speak about this again and again?

We have problems putting our core-system together, that’s why.

Why do we have these problems?

We fail to sort properly. What belongs in? What needs to be kicked out? We’re not able to answer these questions properly.

People, what is working? While this thing is working, are we comfortable? Yes? Lastly, is this thing looking lucrative? Yes? Keep it.

Is something not working? Kick it out.

Look for the next thing that works.

Find three or four things things that work.

Intertwine them into a core-system.

That’s it.

It’s that simple.

Maintain your core-system. Tweak it upon requirement. If something stops working, replace it.

Yeah, even maintenance is that simple.

When will we acknowledge that…

… the best things in life are not complicated or sophisticated, but…

… simple?

Playing Ball

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Everyone plays some kind of ball. 

Friendly play. 

Bread and butter play. 

Big play.

Small play.

Whatever. 

We play. 

When we play, we need to make sure…

…that we play. 

Meaning that it’s one thing to play ball, and its a wholly another thing to avoid ball. 

Make yourself play…take a few swings…try to strike…do something…that moves and shakes other things…OR…

…when your leave, you’ll be kinda feeling empty…at not having amounted to much in your sojourn. 

Make a difference. Play hard. If nothing, then just…play. 

How does one do that?

Meaning, how does one put oneself in a situation, that one just has to take a swing, if nothing else?

Hmmmm, that’s an important question, but I’m sure you’ve already realised that.

Took me a long time to find the answer. A long, long time. 

When I did, I was surprised at the simplicity of the solution. 

Don’t do many things. 

Do one or two things, that is. 

In other words, play a coupla games, that’s all. 

That way, the ones you do play will ask you to address them, again and again and again, till you do address them. That’s your play. You’ll have played. 

Too many games?

You don’t get around to addressing most to the extent of obscurity and irrelevance. 

Not worth it. 

Games that are complicated?

Cost energy. 

Activation barrier is large. 

Many times, you don’t overcome this activation barrier. You let things go. Again, to the extent of obscurity and irrelevance. Amounts to nothing. 

Play an A-game. 

Play a B-game. 

I also have a C-game. That’s it. No more. 

I try and address A, B and C everyday. 

A gets the most time. I keep trying to convince myself that B should get more time than C, but sometimes C gets more time than B. You see, C is recreational and pro-bono, whereas B is supposed to yield secondary income. Anyways, I need to show some professionalism and give B more time than C. We’ll see about that. 

You get my point. 

What are your A, B and Cs? 

Define them.

Then play them. 

Moment Enhancement

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How do you enhance your situation at any given moment?

What are we talking about?

You.

Time.

Activity.

Betterment of your situation.

As compared to previous moment. 

What kind of betterment?

Any.

What kind of situation?

Any.

How?

You tell me. 

Yeah, it’s a bit of a personal sphere. 

Everybody’s idea of betterment is different. 

I write, for example. 

Clears my mind. 

I organize. 

My stuff. 

Gears me up to approach the next moment, more organized. 

I clear useless stuff. As in give it away. Frees up more space. 

Are you getting my drift?

What do you do?

To make your next moment more enhanced?

I plan my next three activities – what are they going to be?

I ask my one main question. 

What is the next step?

Yeah people, brick by brick. 

What for?

Yeah, exactly?

Why would one do this?

To lead a fuller and more meaningful life. 

To give of oneself fully. 

To make more of one’s existence. 

Again, reasons are personal, and will differ. 

What would your reasons be, to enhance your next moment?

This is a baby-step strategy. You’re living in the moment with it. You’re not looking far ahead, only actually till your next defined moment. 

Big targets are approachable one baby step at a time. 

One enhances moment upon moment, and suddenly, one hits a big target. 

Not too bad. Was well worth it. 

Try it out. 🙂

Patience and Nerves Anyone?

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As someone I look up to put it recently – “It’s a game of patience and nerves!”

What is?

The stock-market. 

For whom?

The long-term investor. 

Do you have any?

What?

Patience, or nerves, or both?

You do?

Well, then you’ll do well in the markets, over the long-term. 

We look for complication. Meanwhile, we forget the basics. 

These are basics. 

If you’re not patient, you’ll for example jump into a stock at the wrong time, or you’ll jump out of it too early, or what have you. 

If you don’t have patience, well, develop it. 

If you can’t, do something else instead. Trade. Don’t long-term-invest then. 

If you cannot develop patience, you are not cut out to be a long-term holder. 

One method to cause the tree of patience to grow in you is to create the correct environment. 

Just don’t do anything that will make you jump. 

Invest your sur-sur-plus, money that is then pickled away, money that you won’t miss, yearn for or require over the very long-term. 

Go in with margin of safety. 

Stay in a stock you’ve singled out and entered until there’s a glaring reason to exit. Try to exit upon a high. This is the market. Highs are its nature. So are lows. That means that highs come. Wait for them to come, to exit from anything you need to exit from. 

Nervers, well, they come into play if you’ve not invested with margin of safety. 

I do remember two instances though, where everyone’s nerves were tested. October 2008, and March 2009. At these times, stocks sold for a song. Good ones and bad ones alike. Fear did the rounds, extreme fear. That’s what fear does. It creates once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. Take them. Maintain a clear head. Your nerves of steel will do that for you. Create an environment for your nerves to become strong. Or, perhaps expressed another way, create an environment where any weakness in your nerves is not required to show itself, and gets subdued into extinction. 

How?

Again, just go in with your sur-sur-plus. You’re not going to miss this money even if the sky is falling upon your head. And you’ve gone in with margin of safety. Your nerves will stay intact. 

Ensure your basics. Allow them to shine. 

The rest will take care of itself. 

Good investing. 🙂

Do You Know What the Most Underrated Activity is?

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C’mon, try guessing at least… 🙂

Yeah…

… doing nothing is the answer, in my opinion. 

We want to move. Be active. Do this. Do that. We’re a “doodat” society. 

For us, activity has become synonymous with achievement. 

How wrong is that?

Completely. 

One can be active…

…and be achieving zilch. Nix. Nadda.

The moment we realize this, the value of doing nothing dawns upon us. 

What are we achieving by doing nothing?

A lot. 

Believe me. 

A lot a lot a lot. 

For starters, we are not taxing our eyes with media. That’s one of the greatest side-effects of doing nothing. Our eyes take a hit in today’s media-packed world. Doing nothing gives them a very valuable break. 

Furthermore, while doing nothing, we are perhaps watching our thoughts and not reacting to them. Or, we are listening to our breathing pattern. These two activities fall under the category of “meditation while doing nothing”. 

So now, doing nothing is a form of meditation…wow! Already we are moving in higher circles. 

While doing nothing, we are refraining from most or all activities, and these include all negative activities, so we’ve got our Karma-usage pretty much on hold. That’s already very big. 

Meanwhile, our thoughts drain. We are getting empty. Positive energy flows in to fill the vacuum. We are getting healthy by doing nothing, and are filling ourselves up with goodness by default. 

Our focus turns to our breath. Wow, we breathe. We are a wonder. There’s metabolism happening. We realise that our existence is already something big. All this while doing nothing. 

We rest. Our senses get a break. Our heart needs to beat less. Poor heart, it never gets a full break, until the very end. In the interim, it has to make do with beating less per unit time. It is grateful for such small mercies. 

Resting makes us gear up for forthcoming activity. Our bodies and minds refresh themselves for new endeavours…by doing nothing. 

Try it out. 

Do nothing. 

Perhaps it was lacking in your repertoire. 

It won’t be lacking now. 

Use it like a secret weapon!

Multitaskers and OnebyOners

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Yeah, I made up that word…

…why not?

Who makes the rules?

Do you listen to all rules?

Breaking some rules is harmless…

… and those are the ones I love to break!

We live in the fast-track. 

Is there a place for slowdy-lumps?

Well, no, and yes. Or, yes, and no. 

Are you a fan of multi-tasking?

I’m not, by the way. Have to have to, sometimes. Don’t like it. 

Why?

I don’t like doing anything in a half-baked fashion. I’m sure that on some level, you don’t either. Either in it for the whole hog, or count you out, right?

Yeah. Or so thought I. 

World moves. It passes you by. If you don’t multi-task. Juggle. Use whatever word you wish to.

Is it healthy? 

No. 

Multi-tasking leads to confusion in the mind-body continuum. Feelings of enjoyment and satisfaction are muddled and befuddled at best. 

Is that the quality of life you want?

No. 

I want clear-cut stuff. 

Clear-cut defined effort. Clear-cut defined satisfaction and enjoyment. 

I’m a onebyoner. I get the above kind of satisfaction and enjoyment. It is wholesome. Quality of life enhancing. 

Am I old-fashioned?

Don’t care. 

Why?

Because quality of life is more important to me than looking stupid for a bit. 

Try being a onebyoner for a while. Note the difference in the flow of life. You get to stop between completed tasks. Breathe. Take a break. Do something else. Move on to the next task. One step at a time. Brick by brick. 

Life is more enjoyable. 

Try it.