Category Archives: Pain

Matrix Diaries

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Hey.

I think…

…you’ve pretty much understood…

…that we’re buyers in this whole mess.

I’d like you to add one more word to your understanding.

We’re…

…fearless…

…buyers.

We were not always fearless.

The human being is born with fear built in as a protective emotion.

During the process of rewiring, we wired this emotion out.

How does one do that?

Before I delve into it, wish to reiterate the we.

Who’s the we here?

Everyone who gets taught forward in this space and from this space, and then goes on to implement successfully, that’s the we. Why do such a thing? Gives me a kick. What’s a good life? A collection of meaningful things that give one a kick, implemented repeatedly.

Now imagine a matrix.

We are in the matrix.

Outside the matrix are all things that cause us fear.

Inside the matrix we implement our strategy without fear.

We have built systems that have automatically thrown out of the matrix all things that cause us fear against acting in the markets.

First we created a safety net. An emergency fund. Perhaps two. Out went fear of existence.

Starting with a small networth, we plunged into the markets. Luckily, we tasted failure fast, and lost it all, broken down, emergency fund to fall back on, young, enough energy and will power to bounce back. Now we had a model of how not to do it. We knew where we didn’t want to land up, and understood somewhat how not to do it. The experience of a blow-up and the knowledge of how not to do it made more fear exit the matrix, as we itched to get back into the game.

Slowly we built a system. Incorporated models. Saw what worked. What didn’t work for us exited. Model developed a slight edge. Tasted some wins. Confidence started to grow. As it grew, more and more fear exited.

Then came replication. Would the model work again? It did. Would it work bigger? Scaled up a bit. Working. Till not working. Fine-tuned. Working again. Knew we had something now. Came a black swan and its aftermath. Model excelled. Realized we were anti-fragile. Whatever was left of fear was now outside the matrix. We were tready for all out implementation.

And that’s where we are functioning from in this crisis.

If you say might last a year, no fear, we silently implement. We’re liquid because the model creates liquidity in good times. Two years? Still no fear. Liquidity might run out after 18 to 20 months, probably, but that’s the whole goal, to be fully invested, as per a model in which one has high conviction. Three years you say? We say still no fear.

The biggest money is made by…

…sitting…

…and we didn’t say this first. Someone you look up to did.

We’ve learn’t how to sit. Sitting is an integral part of the model.

While we sit, we do many constructive things. Since we’re investors, while we sit, we invest heavily…

…in OURSELVES.

Do the math.

Fool?

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I don’t mind.

What?

Being called that.

Why?

For me, it’s an indicator.

How?

When someone in my environment expresses that he / she considers me foolish, this acts for me like a guage.

Where?

In order formulation.

Which?

Good till traded orders.

Explain.

Ok. Let’s say someone considered my 787 GTT HDFC Bank entry foolish. With price having fallen to 745, and still not showing signs of stability, someone might consider me foolish for having entered ‘early’ at 787. I want this to happen. I want to sense this attitude in another person’s behaviour.

Then?

Simple. Formulate and enter next GTT for HDFC Bank at 690.

What’s the logic?

That’s just the way I use this indicator.

Position-sized small quantum?

Absolutely.

Considered bulk-entry at bottom?

What’s the bottom? Who claims to know the bottom?

499?

No idea. How do you know you’ll catch the bottom? What if you miss entry altogether?

What if I get full entry in lumpsum, at 499?

What if price stays below 400 for a month after that? Your lumpsum entry will hardwire you to your terminal, and it’s one month of sleepless nights, I can promise you that. Neurosis. Psychosis. Freeze. God knows how long it will be before you can take another rational decision.

And your staggered full entry with a higher buying average will not cause all these things?

That’s the whole point. It will not.

It will not? How?

Market psychology is counter-intuitive. When are you going to understand this one basic point? Going in, let’s say ten times, between 800 and 499, over three months, at every new entry, the nervous system forgets older price. It focuses on newer price, not even on buying average. It actively registers one small quantum entry at 499 as per this strategy, and forgets other entries above, at least forgets them well enough to suit the purpose. Bottomline – such a nervous system is poised to avoid neurosis, psychosis and the like.

You’re just making this up.

Try it out. This is what works for me towards full strategy implementation. I am able to successfully fool my nervous system into buying maximum units without setting it up to hurt itself, should the market fall more, and stay lower for longish periods. This is my win, and a cornerstone of my lowering the buying average strategy in high conviction stocks during crises. Tested successfully during CoViD. No more testing. Current crisis is about full implementation. Will keep this buying strategy on through the entire crisis, or till fully invested, whatever comes first.

Why put in everything?

This is money sidelined to go in. It’s not daily resources money, or college fund money, or family expenses money. It is investing money. It’s supposed to go in. What’s better for it than to go in low?

Where is the courage coming from?

High conviction is a state of mind. It’s a reflex. Over time and over many, many studies, observations, behaviour analyses etc., you develop it for a stock. Once you have high conviction in a stock, nothing should come in between you and full entry, if price allows.

Am still trying to decided whether you look foolish or intelligent?

Though I don’t care for your opinion, I don’t mind it either if you give it to me, for I will use the encounter as an indicator.

Is that what you’ve gravitated down to, using ridiculous and self-concocted indicators to navigate the markets?

Doing things which no one else has before sets me up for vindication no one else has gotten before. No more questions, do the math.

Miners

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Hey.

We’re miners.

We mine for…

…margin of safety.

Surprised?

As in, can one mine for…

…something abstract?

Sure, no biggie.

Ok, bear with me on this.

Entry quantum = shovel.

Wedge it in deep enough = Good Till Traded (GTT) Order = Poise.

Emotional sell most likely on open or on close = mined material falling into basket.

GTT executed = margin of safety mined successfully.

All the time?

No. In times like this, specifically, when there’s blood on the streets.

Isn’t margin of safety already available in times like this?

Yes it is. However, we want to mine for extra on top of what is available.

Like your yesterday’s experience with the HDFC Bank GTT hit well below trigger, a couple of seconds after open?

Exactly like that. Oh, there’s another add on.

Tell me.

We buy with a lag.

Meaning?

Let’s say something’s fallen big, and has come on our radar owing to levels broken.

With you. Then?

We let it fall for the whole session, setting up GTT only after the session, and placing GTT around 4 to 5% below close. Time and price lag.

Isn’t that way below?

That’s the whole point. An emotional sell will hit, and then price will stabilize.

What if no hit?

Possible. Good with that. What’s also possible is, there could be no hit for two or three sessions, and then there might result a soft execution. We’ve still mined the extra margin of safety, even though it’s taken us a few more sessions.

What was your experience with the recent HDFC bank buy?

GTT was set up on 2nd March, for 809, when price was at 887.

Just fishing in the air or what?

Didn’t want it at 887. Wanted it at 809. That’s all there is to it.

So, 78 points were mined, that’s almost 8.8%, wow!

Hold on. There was so much emotion in play, that scrip opened at 770, a massive 72 points below previous close, order triggered at 773 a second or two later, and was executed at 778 after some more seconds. So that’s about 12.3% mined. It took 17 days and 13 trading sessions. By the way, the extra 12.3% mined goes a very long way.

Explain.

In 25 years, at 15% per annum compounded, it compounds to 4 times plus the entire sum that’s gone in just now.

Tremendous!

Welcome to the world of compounding, and that of…

… mining.

Specialization

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Hey.

Calls have started coming in.

Am I doing ok?

Is the panic getting to me?

Am I going under?

I was waiting for this.

Calls of this nature, coming in, are a fantastic guage for the onset of panic.

You see…

…I specialize in guaging panic. You could call me a fall-specialist. A crash is my field of action.

During the crash in CoViD wave 1, I categorized two levels of panic.

Level I was classified as middling panic and identified at the point when calls were coming in asking if people should cancel their systematic investment plans. Aversion to invest with blood beginning to flow on the streets. Noted.

Level II was classified as grave panic, and identified at the point when calls were coming in of the nature, that now that all companies would be bankrupt, why was I still putting in money, into the markets? Questioning the whole financial system. Noted too.

In current scenario, questions about my health followed by queries about which stocks to invest into, after I had answered with a ‘never been better’ reply, for me, corresponds to level I of panic, identified.

Am still waiting for those other calls, asking why I’m putting in money when everything was going bankrupt anyway. Probably coming soon.

So, what’s the course of action, now that level I prevails.

We take it up a notch.

Meaning?

Look harder for entries.

Weren’t you already entering?

Yes, but wasn’t trying very much. Was letting the market punch me hard into an entry.

Meaning?

I’ll give you an example to drive this point home.

Ok.

HDFC Bank, right?

Right.

I had a GTT on for the last many sessions for entry at 809. Wasn’t coming. GTT remained. Either the market socked me into this position, or I wasn’t entering. Happened this morning. Triggered during open, at 773, executed at 778. Market pushed me into the position with force. I let it.

And now?

Will leave myself open to a lesser force push. Will put nearer GTTs, let’s say ~3% away.

If such prices don’t come?

Then not interested in entries.

What happens at level II of panic?

Even lesser force required to enter. Only GTTs lesser than 1 to 2% away perhaps. Many entries.

How come you are so liquid?

This approach creates liquidity during good times. Entering with small quanta now, as compared to networth. Can go on buying for more than one year from this point, if required. Such is the strategy.

Good to know, thanks for sharing.

Mind you, buying during panic does take a toll on one’s psyche. One needs to recuperate and regenerate. It’s not as easy as it sounds. I try very hard though, to recover mentally before the next session. Wish to last very long in the markets, …

…successfully.

Yawn

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Mass hypnosis…

…sweeps psychology…

…into a space where common sense…

…goes out of the window.

Such is the power of a pseudo ideology vis-à-vis a public that is now constantly in fight or flight mode.

Since CoViD.

Vaccinations.

Constant pursuit of growth at any cost.

Next story.

Next story.

Next story.

Let’s spin them a yarn.

Not any yarn.

A yarn that looks very realistic. Cut to ten years ahead, and the yarn probably alters current reality to a yet uncertain level. However…

…it’s not true NOW, in the shape it’s being spun and sold.

Masses are lapping it up. No need for implementation proof, no need for some years of field testing, perhaps at least five, antibiotics take ten in the actual world, no need for anything, no discounting for blunders, just spin it and we’ll lap it up. Ok.

Please do so. We, on the other hand, shall take huge advantage of your mass gullibility, masses. That’s why we remain liquid, for exactly these mass hypnoses.

Yes, we are buyers for Indian IT.

We’ll be buying till the bottom and slightly beyond.

We are fearless. Over more than two decades, we have created conditions for ourselves, mentally, in our environments, financially, which have thrown fear out of the equation.

Our strategy is one that benefits from ridiculous crowd behaviour. Again and again, we’ve gone against crowds, and emerged with multiples, financially free to take our principals out and deploy these into the next mania, panic, or whatever have you.

And so shall it be this time.

We are liquid enough to keep buying Indian IT, with small entry quanta, right to the mid single digit PE levels. Yes, we have that conviction.

Why?

First up, track record. 40 years of successful navigation through disruption. This disruption is different you say? Replace billable hours with a 1000 times more outcomes coupled with handholding, and revenue streams make billable hours look like dust particles. This one para just breaks the back of the story being sold. Do I think it’s possible? Yes. ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’, and the companies we buy have track records to prove that they are capable of emerging in the avatar that is required.

Then, poise. Zero or quasi zero long term debt. Massive free cash-flow per annum on the balance sheets, i.e., the conditions and means to R&D one’s way through. And, why is the public discounting the last five years that have been laden with exactly such R&D? Why is the public further discounting the level-headed input of Indian IT into AI? Owned billions put in with equilibrium. Indian approach. Borrowed trillions thrown in without looking left and right. Western approach. BIG DIFFERENCE.

Then there’s Buffettology. Tried and tested. Down the ages. Value. Deep discounts. Quality. BUY. HOLD. Beats most growth pursuits without having to look. Time and effort requiring growth pursuits are another story, and those pursuing them also become slaves, as in they don’t own their time. WE DO. WE OWN OUR TIME. HUGE WIN.

We are independent, and this current panic shall enhance our level of independence financially in the medium term, which is when we will pull out our current principals going in now, leaving part of our multiples in the market for further compounding.

Pulled out principals will then be deployed into the next panic.

One can already feel it brewing.

No Pharma required anymore. AI and implants will cure everything.

No Auto sector required anymore, it’s merged with the AI sector, or, better still, Auto is now AI. Forget Auto. Invest in AI. You automatically get Auto. Aviation. Tourism. Banking. Everything.

Etc.

New bottles. One after another.

Same old wine.

This time is always different. Ok, keep it rolling.

We’ll just keep doing our common sense thing each time, which is deploying, making a multiple, and then pulling our principal out.

And repeat.

Reflex

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Hey.

By now, we play markets by reflex.

It’s become ingrained.

Took a while.

Many hits. Some big ones, or so they felt, at the time.

Learnt to play it small when bulk of hits was happening.

Gotten big hits out of the way, or so, one would like to say.

Hits happen now too, but they are controlled.

There’s an infrastructure around them, which dulls them. Such an infrastructure can take decades to develop.

Small hits are par for the course. One is looking for simultaneous big wins. Thumb rule is no big hits.

A big win is a small win at first. One needs the small win to fit into an incubation mechanism that allows it to become a big win.

Its the big wins that define one’s life’s efforts. They stand out. Form the bulk of one’s folio.

Big wins don’t come without many small hits.

Becoming used to the pain of small hits is something that needs to be learnt first up, till it becomes…

…reflex.

Chronology

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Pipelines…

…come at a cost.

And, first up, there’s no need to fret about this cost.

I know, it pinches.

Having funds at a 20 second disposal will definitely cost.

Why go this extra, extra mile?

That’s a very befitting question.

We are not mad to create pipelines on call within 20 seconds.

Well, just to give you a heads up about how things can go down, here’s something.

June 4th, India, markets tank in the first hour.

Alerts, GTDs, GTTs, what-have-yous trigger.

I’m busy. Business meeting. Can’t get away.

6 of 7 GTTs in place get hit, and I’m in on these 6 scrips, at my price. 7th gets hit. No entry. No more funds in purchase account reported.

As meeting leader delivers on taxation laws in the country, there’s regret in my mind. Why did I not have enough funds in place?

Idea.

Let’s slimily look busy, and, meanwhile, activate a pipeline, put funds in place, and forcefully enter this particular scrip at CMP.

“Could you please pay attention, Mr. Nath, and put your phone away!”

Yikes.

Meeting ends (phew).

Action stations. Funds in place. Yes.

But what have we here?

Scrip’s showing a huge pin, and live daily candle has become a hammer. Bottomed out and then some, has the scrip. CMP is now 11% above the bottom.

Chickening out.

11% shaved off my margin of safety, in 45 minutes.

Yes people, that’s the window nowadays, for getting dream entries.

45 minutes.

Had it not been for the meeting, I would have been in within a minute or two, after reading the alert that GTT got triggered but no funds were available.

Lost time in this case would have been the interval between reading messages, plus a minute or two to have funds in place and go through with the buy. I’m not very regular about messages, though, perhaps on purpose, and 30 minute plus periods can well elapse. So, window cuts very fine. Idea is, whenever awareness kicks in, one needs to be in within a minute or two, if the GTT option has failed to deliver due to whatever reason.

The case described above was the one time that did not work, despite having everything of the highest quality in place.

What puts salt on the wounds is that the scrip quasi doubled from there within three months, so those lost 11% on margin of safety were peanuts. Yeah, the final fail was my fearful mind.

Painfulllllll….

That’s how it crumbles. One learns from the pain.

No pain, no learning.

My learning from this is that when GTT limit is 5.2% below CMP, we just sheer put funds in place for that GTT…

…now.

Pigs

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A structural component of markets…

…are its hands.

There are weak ones.

Then, other hands are strong.

Weak hands can be snatched from…

…easily.

They panic fast, and throw their holding during mild turmoil, …

… they are afraid, …

…not possessing holding-power, because they haven’t created the circumstances, and have prematurely jumped into a market.

Buying without margin of safety is one such premature jump.

Without fundamental, technical and / or general knowledge are others.

They are the mythical ‘pigs’ that get ‘slaughtered’.

Evert cycle produces new ones.

The ‘pig’ of one cycle eventually goes on to become a strong hand of another future cycle.

Strong hands know.

They study fundamentals, or technicals, or are generally savvy from experience, having developed market intuition. Strong hands have come prepared, perhaps, with a combination of all these traits.

They are liquid.

The’ll buy through the fall, piece by piece.

You can’t throw them off, …

…because they have holding-power.

It didn’t come for free, for once upon a time, they too were ‘pigs’ that got slaughtered, but they survived to live another day, learn, and rebuild.

As we grow in market experience, our hands tend to get stronger.

Some ‘pigs’ don’t make it to the next market.

Their slaughter moment might come late, paralyzing them financially, with no time, or energy, or both, to recover.

Some just give up on markets after an early slaughter experience.

We need to make many mistakes, early in the game, by sheer doing, learning, and not repeating, these. Early on, the numbers that we play with, are generally small. That’s when we need to get fatal errors out of the way.

As our numbers grow, and as our hands become strong, we then position ourselves…

…to thrive in the markets.

Any market.

Harness

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Market forces are like Wifi.

When we connect to them, they…

…connect to us.

When we’re indifferent, …

… we’re in a different world.

When we create systems, and put them on auto-pilot, we mostly do away with the ability of market forces to act upon us.

A successfully implemented system on auto-loop is like making time stand still.

That’s our goal; that’s where we want to be.

In the act of getting there, we are subject to compelling market forces.

How do we deal with them?

Rather than suffering KOs from their punches, we devise systems…

…to absorb their blows,…

…understand the implications of these,…

…to, then,…

…harness them.

What am I talking about?

Why give market forces so much power?

Why not?

They’re there, right?

In abundance, too.

Why not use them?

How?

You can go back to George Soros’s back pain for starters.

Have you developed such physical systems?

I’ll tell you what I implement. It’s a me thing. You’ll need to develop your you thing. I’ll share with you my me thing, though.

When markets are down, I do feel bad, it’s an initial reaction. I wait for it to intensify. I wait for myself to feel awful. That means markets must be really down. As awfulness rises, I start buying. When awfulness is uncontrollable, I buy big. When it makes me puke, I buy maximum. Meanwhile, I’ve rewired my nervous system to accept the awfulness as a marker for buying, and I’m not sad that I’m feeling awful during market crashes. Hmmm, I know it sounds a bit crazy, but this a successful harness-methodology of otherwise overwhelming market forces.

When markets are up, I feel buoyant. Earlier, when I felt buoyant, I used to buy more. Now, I do nothing. Market-nothing, that is. Non-market, I’ll do many things. That’s harnessing buoyancy. As markets rise further, I do even more of market-nothing, and when I can’t control it, I then start creating cost-free-ness. When buoyancy is uncontrollable, I create maximum possible cost-free-ness, and hopefully, then, I can go on market-vacation. Before I do that, I make sure to transfer the cost-free-ness created to a dedicated holding platform for my cost-free-ness.

Ideally, new market activity needs to only commence upon the next set of opportunities. Sometimes, one needs to wait long for these to develop. The act of bridging time comes in handy here. Market is not giving action. We harness even that. We have accumulated lots of pending tasks, just for this kind of period. Now, we do these. Ultimately, an opportunity arises. A new cycle of cost-free-ness-creation starts.

Development of you-unique systems helps you harness the market in a winning fashion.

Wishing you lucrative investing and lots of cost-free-ness!

🙂

Emo-check

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Gauge…

…the impulse…

…before…

…acting.

Market behaviour evokes an impulse within us. 

Markets are such. 

They tease…

…at a spot…

…which has History with you.

They manage to find the spot.

And then they burn matches at it,…

…towards causing max-pain.

It can be a support level.

A resistance level.

Your stop-loss.

Exit level.

Entry-level

Break-even point.

What have you. 

Use your imagination. 

Whichever point holds value for you is open for needling. 

Meaning, please take it for granted that this point will probably be pricked again and again.

Why?

Ensembles…

…want you to act. 

Your action, if you succumb to the impulse, will then probably benefit these ensembles. 

Example. 

You enter an underlying. 

An ensemble takes it up 20% after your entry, on huge volume. 

Price then falls for twelve sessions, on low volume, such that more than 50% of your notional profit evaporates.

What just happened?

You’re feeling that impulse to preserve that other 50% of your profit, right?

It could be the right decision. 

Or not.

Depends on your outlook. 

Ensemble probably wishes to purchase another tranche, and is driving the price low enough to then act upon this relatively lower price. 

How will you feel, if you exit now, and then price shoots another 25%, immediately after your exit?

Hmmm, that’s another way of looking at it. 

What’s right?

What’s wrong?

Nobody knows before-hand. 

What is in your hand, though, is the ability to gauge your impulse, and to synchronise it with your objectives upon initial entry. 

When, then, one fine day, the impulse to act is so strong that no amount of rationalising can hold you back,…

…,well,…

…that’s the time when you…

…act,…

…and it’s the right decision for you, irrespective of market outcome. 

Why?

Such an “uncontrollable” impulse to act, even after study and attenuation, is better implemented rather than swallowed (leading to future indigestion). 

Going beyond the P-Word

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Hey,

You panicking?

Why?

Don’t.

How?

To go beyond panic at a time like this, you’ll need to be amply liquid. 

And, then, you’ll need to have the guts to engage. 

One way for remaining liquid for life is to follow a small entry quantum strategy. 

Since we’ve spoken about such strategy ad-nauseum in this space,…

…yeah,…

we won’t be going into the nitty gritty of how the strategy works for the moment. 

In a nutshell, our small entry quantum strategy leaves us liquid, and then some. 

What exactly is a time like this?

Well, Benzes have started to go for the price of fiats, and…

…that’s why we need to…

…engage. 

Forget your pain, pinch or panic. 

Buy…

…quality that’s going for a song.

Now.

Keep buying such quality for as long as the cheapness lasts. 

Year, two years, three, four, bring it on. 

When you engage in this manner, you’ll have gone beyond all your P-words. 

Wishing you lucrative and happy investing!

🙂

Inflammation Anyone? 

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Inflammation… 

… needs a reason to be… 

… and a reason to go. 

Let’s talk about the most common inflammation afflicting mankind. 

Sugar induced obesity. 

Human body recognizes Glucose and metabolizes it. 

However, the same human body treats isolated Fructose as poison. 

HFCS, short for high fructose corn syrup, is therefore full of poison. 

HFCS is much cheaper than table sugar. 

HFCS is used in big volumes by the food industry. It’s replacing normal sugar. Everywhere. It’s sheer… poison. And it’s cheap. Very cheap. 

It’s in cola, it’s in ketchup, it’s in almost all processed foods.

What happens to it in the body? 

Well, what happens to poison?

It goes straight to the liver. This wonderful and magnanimous organ tries to break it down. 

One big side-effect of the breakdown mechanism is the triggering of inflammatory enzymes. Body cells then start to swell up to protect themselves from poison. To and fro is impaired. They don’t want poison coming in. Unfortunately, good stuff, like insulin that throws out excess sugar, is also not allowed to enter.  Mankind is poisoning itself to obesity. 

Cut out the HFCS. 

Exercise to shake out inflammatory mechanism. 

See how your inflammation vanishes. 

Now let’s talk about the most common financial ailment afflicting mankind. 

Debt. 

We are in debt. 

We take more debt. 

We surround ourselves with useless paraphernalia, to ward off reality. 

Inflammation, again, disguised, but inflammation. 

Ultimately,  the mountain of due interest buries us under it. It chokes off our air-supply, just as obese cells produce “bad” lipids that deposit as mountains of plaque in our arteries, and choke off our blood supply. 

Let’s nip the problem in the bud. 

Like no HFCS – no debt. 

Craving for sugar? Fine. Control. To a point. Still craving. Fine. Have. But have normal sugar, along with fibre. Don’t have anything that contains HFCS. Shake off the relatively minor inflammation caused by normal sugar with exercise. You’re good. 

Longing to spend money? Control. To a point. Still longing to possess that something? Fine. Save. Consolidate. Accumulate cashflow. Only use debt when upcoming cashflow nullifies it in very foreseeable future. You’ve gotten your something, and you’re either debt-free already, or are going to be debt-free very soon. 

You’re good. 

🙂 

How much is too much? 

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Risk? 

Sure. 

No risk no gain. 

However… 

… I’m sure you’ve also heard… 

… “want gain not pain“.

How do we achieve that? 

It boils down to the level of risk. 

How much risk is too much? 

Do we have a measure? 

Sure. 

Meaning, without getting into any mathematics?

Yes. 

What’s a hands-on everyday TomDickHarry dumdum yet practical cum successful measure for risk without any hype or brouhaha? 

Sleep. 

Sleep? 

Yeah. 

How? 

Are we sleeping well? 

Is our sleep getting disturbed because of the risk we’ve taken? 

No? 

We’re fine. 

The risk we’ve taken is bearable. 

It’s not disturbing us enough to disturb our sleep. 

Yes? Sleep disturbed? Because of risk? 

We’ll, too much then. 

Reduce the risk. 

By how much? 

Till your sleep is not disturbed because of it. 

It’s as simple as that. 

Lost for Words, Mr. Nath? 

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Yeah, sometimes I really am. 

With very few people, and in very few situations. 

Call it Karma. 

That’s not the point. 

In the event you find yourself in a similar situation, we’re here to size up options. 

What do we fall back on? 

Silence. 

In its solitude, a thought processes emerges. 

What are we looking for? 

Cool, calm straight-forward common sense.

Found it? 

It will speak to you. 

Let it. 

It’s got the words, remember? You don’t. 

Listen to it. 

What’s it telling you to do? 

Difficult? 

Can you do it? A yes is great here. You’re sorted already. 

No? 

Next option. 

Nothing. 

Can you sit tight? Doing nothing? Till your path emerges? Yes is good. 

No? 

Ok. 

Can you stop yourself from doing the wrong thing? 

Wrong? 

Violence, anger etc. You got it? 

How, you ask? 

Occupy yourself with something else more captivating. Possible? A yes here is your last “amicable” option. 

If it’s still a no, you might want to consider new company, or a new environment. 

Sometimes, we get stuck in life. With a person. And / or in a situation. For good reasons, we can’t get out. What’s the silver lining? 

Learning. 

Our difficult situation is ironing out some fault within us. As long as the fault remains, the situation seems desperate. No fault anymore? Situation vanishes. 

It’s called evolution. 

We don’t evolve for free.

Similarly, we don’t learn to navigate through the markets for free. 

Difficult situations teach us. They cost money.

We survive small losses through the learning process, to win big later. We want the learning process to come at an early stage, when the stakes are low. 

The biggest wins come when we use our evolution to capitalize upon a difficult situation, because we know its nuances. That’s good for the markets. 

In real life it won’t pay to take advantage of somebody’s nuances. That’s actually devolving. 

Maintaining perspective between market life and real life is an evolutionary exercise too. 

Monotony

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Plan in motion? 

Let it play. 

Sure, monotonous. 

Monotony bores you, right? 

Boring monotony yielding acceptable results is a good outcome. Don’t spoil its party. 

Divert your attention. 

Try a stunt. 

Risk a little. 

Maybe one out of your ten stunts works out. 

Develop this one further. 

Still working. 

Scale it up slowly. 

Working. 

Auto-pilot. 

Monotony. 

Results still good. 

Stop looking. 

Let it play. 

Look elsewhere. 

Do something new with yourself. 

Soon, it’ll be time to go. 

Meanwhile, build a legacy to leave behind, in your memory, one that benefits many. 

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.

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.

🙂

Excelling in Non-Conducive Environments

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People are born to excel in conducive environments. 

It’s no great shakes. 

With an appropriate environment around you, you move and shake…

…the world. 

Fine. 

Where’s the growth?

You’re doing something that comes naturally to you, something you’re good at. 

Frankly, there’s not much growth here. 

Sure, your environment grows. 

Whether you grow in the process or not…that’s the question. 

You definitely grow more in a scenario, where you’re thrown into a non-conducive environment. 

Try excelling there. 

Ha!

See!

Let’s see you excel there, let’s see if you’ve got what it takes.

Why’s is this important?

Toughen up, people. 

Lose your comfort-zones. Come out into the open. Do something extraordinary. Excel in non-conducive environments. 

Where’s the fun? That’s what you’re asking, right? Fine. Good question. 

You can always have your fun. 

It takes nothing for you to walk into a conducive environment and start excelling. 

You can always do this. 

For example, if you’re a born teacher, you can always hook up with an institution and commence some classes. Or, if you like languages, you can just enrol with some institute and start learning a foreign language. 

That’s always there. Your backup. For when you’re down. But, right now, what are you doing right now? When you’re world’s A1, how are you then reacting to your good fortune? Are you toughening up? Are you looking around for non-conducive environments to excel in?

It’s difficult to lift yourself up and motivate yourself when you’re looking like a fool and feeling out of place. That’s just it. The act of lifting and motivating yourself – the sheer strength of body, mind and character required – will make you grow immensely. 

Why growth?

What’s so important about growth?

It’s your strength backup account. You can draw on it. It works in a non-linear and metaphysical fashion. It can lend you energy by sheer thought transfer, just by remembering something strong and gutsy you might have done before, in a difficult situation, in a non-conducive environment. 

Build up this account in your spare time. This is one account you’ll actually take with you when you leave the body. This account is real wealth. Its remnants get stamped onto your soul. Build it. Build it more than you build up your physical wealth account. That’s the one you’ll be leaving behind, for your kin to blow, if you’ve not sorted your affairs out properly. 

What are typical examples of non-conducive environments?

Being trapped in a difficult marriage, and having a child or children from the marriage. Leaving the environment is heavy on the kids. Some battle it out for the sake of the kids. They try to make the best of a non-conducive environment for the sake of someone they love, someone who looks up to them. 

Working in an environment for which one is not cut out. Happens. It’s a destiny-play. One glides into it without being able to help it. One can walk out, sure, but not without affecting the lives of many, adversely. Many remain. They battle it out in a non-conducive environment. They grow from within. 

Being trapped in a difficult friendship. Walking out could hurt the other irreparably. Some remain, for as long as it takes. They take some hits in the bargain, but they also grow. 

Being a second-rate citizen in a foreigner-unfriendly country. Tough. Has some advantages, though. Career, wealth-building, systems, language, good education and prospects for children, internal growth…amidst humiliation, sometimes back-breaking work, lack of recognition etc. Many battle it out, keeping the larger picture in mind. Many have no other choice. All grow. 

These are just some examples. 

I’m sure you can add to this list by looking at your own life. 

Don’t be sad. 

It’s ok. 

It’s ok to grow. 

Even if the environment is non-conducive. 

Take it in your stride. 

Conducive breathers will come.