Category Archives: #PeaceOfMind

Cluster of Blessings

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Hey.

We realized…

…that what we’re doing…

…is anti-fragile in nature.

How, you ask.

Since what we’re doing is in stocks. Equity. Robust at best. Not anti-fragile.

?

Well, take a definition, and expand it a bit, and the definition starts to make broader sense. One draws on the definition, and creates a utility for that definition in one’s own line of work. That’s what we’ve done. Creator of the term anti-fragile, Mr. Taleb, could turn around and say, hey, you’ve just taken my thing and used it in your thing. Of course we’ve done that. We stand on the shoulders of giants, giants like Mr. Taleb. And now we’ve got his thing, projecting onto our thing, making something new out of our thing. Bottomline, we have a thing that is anti-fragile, and Taleb gets credit for his thing starting to develop universality, at least across another asset class.

So how are we doing stocks in an anti-fragile manner?

We benefit from chaos, volatility, uncertainty, fear and the like.

How?

Before these conditions cause mayhem in stocks, we have gravitated, in a growth market, over the years, to exhibit meaningful holding power. Both mentally, and financially. So, what do we possess before topsy turvy conditions, like now? Holding power.

What else are we armed with?

Liquidity.

Liquidity is a state of mind. Our state of mind causes us to be liquid at the right time.

Next.

We have…

…high conviction. In a basket of market players. Our due diligence regimen, over decades, has allowed us the means to recognize such stocks. In these, we have developed what?

High conviction.

We are itching to buy these underlyings, at huge…

…margins of safety.

Cut to current conditions. Chaos, volatility, uncertainty, fear, war, maniac, missiles, nuclear threat and what have you.

The margin of safety that we look for starts to abound. We accumulate high conviction underlyings, over multiple buys, ending up with low buying averages.

As conditions amplify, buying averages get lower. We are benefiting from chaotic conditions in that our buying averages are getting lower and lower.

Perceptions change for the better. They always do. Gone is 1929, where it took the better part of two decades for circumstances to change. Till 2019, one used to talk about max 15 to 18 months being the length of a bear market. Information flows very fast. When efficient, whenever that is, markets are then super-efficient. Factoring in is taking days, perhaps only a day. A change in perception is incorporating very, very fast. Frankly, we’re talking months, not even years. And, we’re mentally and financially prepared, with our holding power, for a time-frame measured in years.

Comes the turnaround. Sooner than later, such are the times.

Our low buying averages multiply fast. In fact, very fast. The lower they are, in our high conviction holdings, the faster they multiply. We start to hold many 2-baggers in 3 to 6 months, for example.

Now we call the shots. In fact, our very low buying averages do.

We can choose to pull our principal out, full 100%, at 2x, 3x, 4x, 5x or what have you, depending on our muse.

The moment we go cost-free, we have moved into 100% margin of safety. Nothing can break our cost-free-ness (except ourselves). We can choose to leave our cost-free-ness to our children, by which time it will have majorly compounded. Since we have no principal invested in our cost-free-ness, we won’t be in a hurry to liquidate it. In fact, we won’t even be looking at it.

We’re calling our low buying averages anti-fragile. The lower they get, the more anti-fragile they behave in the aftermath of chaos. We’re adding an allowance towards fast incorporation of change in perception to the definition of anti-fragile, because of which our inherently anti-fragile low buying averages get to benefit from their anti-fragile nature (thanks again to Nassim Nicholas Taleb for giving us the framework of anti-fragility).

And what are we calling our cost-free-ness? I mean, it is seeming to be beyond fragility. It is giving benefit beyond any scale. Generational benefit. I don’t have a name for this effect, yet.

Our cost-free-ness has generated generational well-being. It has allowed us to not liquidate it, by the state of mind it has caused in us. It has allowed itself to be passed on.

Hmmm. Taking a phrase from Nichiren Buddhism, it is our…

…cluster of blessings…

…that we pass on…

…to the next generation.

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.

Beyond

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There’s a…

…rulebook…

…and then there’s beyond.

The world beyond…

…abounds with freedom.

The freedom to think…

…like no one’s thought before.

To make seemingly absurd connections leading to clarity.

To crunch numbers and patterns without crutches.

To see with multi-dimensional vision using the eye of the mind.

To function beyond, one first needs to learn the rules of the normal, worldly game, by the book.

Followed by repeat implementation.

There comes a time, when a rule is implemented subconsciously, without having to look.

Extrapolate to entire game, whole rulebook, implemented as if on auto, through one’s reflexes.

Get ready for beyond.

One goes…

…beyond…

…without warning…

…when one is ready as outlined above.

Goes, comes back, goes, comes back, it’s quite random.

Bottomline is, how conscious is one while one is beyond?

Journey can last for just a few seconds, or even a second. Example – one has a flash.

Level of consciousness while beyond allows one to address solutions for complex issues.

What’s the bottom for this market?

Ground-reality of war?

How do I solve my home-situation?

What overall pattern is this market gravitating towards?

Ulterior motives.

Etc.

How much of such knowledge can be incorporated?

Can it even be true?

Is it making common sense?

Does one have the confidence to act upon it?

Well, it’s not all going to add up immediately. However…

…repeated performance over many years allow one to make systems.

To gauge reactions.

To develop counter-reactions.

To write a rule-book…

…for implementation of beyond-insights in actual life.

Implemented together with the entire gamut of logical, human rules of the world, an intuitive, self-written rule book to go in tandem is…

… invaluable.

Magic

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Sure, …

… nobody said this was a bottom already.

No signs of a bottom.

For all you know, the real correction just started.

So, everyone is asking, …

… why in the world a buyer is buying …

… now.

Confused? No need to be.

First up, please understand, that money enters the market in a planned fashion when position sizing rules are in place.

Oh, there’s one more safety rule.

In a day, only so much goes in, in total.

Let’s say what you are referring to as a bottom comes within, hmm, two days, one day, four hours, one hour… ,

… whenever it comes.

Do you actually believe and / or have the guts to get fully invested in that minuscule time-frame?

Let me answer that for you. NO.

Why am I so clear on this?

Moving big money in one shot when the whole world’s pajamas are falling, and watching it possibly become half in a few days will most likely lead to neurosis and / or psychosis.

It is mentally digestible to keep buying at levels as per the entry quantum allowed by one’s position-sizing algorithm.

Though the overall market or index or sector benchmark might not be signalling a bottom, individual stocks hover around correction levels, threatening to recover from there.

We let them hover.

If they are not declining further from a correction level after a bit, we pick up one lot.

What’s the lot?

It’s a function of one’s networth at that point.

What function?

You decide. Yes. Your decide your own position size at each point thus, as per a mathematical calculation. You can decide to programme this function, for example, in a manner that you go in more when you are winning and go in less when you are losing. Or vice-versa. As per your personality and risk-profile. You call the shots. You are the master of your money and journey.

As time goes by, and as the correction deepens, you have lots of lots in. Ideally, you get fully invested before recovery. Compared with trying to move in fully at the exact bottom, well you might get lucky with the latter option, but it will burn your nerves, and resulting psychosis can last longer than when rational decisions will need to be taken. Not worth it. Position-size, entry quantum, going in bit by bit – this is what our nervous system can handle well without getting damaged. Markets change within months, perhaps weeks, and…

… when the magic happens, you deploy your exit strategy, whatever that is. Be rationally around to do so.

Or, simply, don’t do anything except watching the magic, …

… of a low buying average develop into a multiple.

Strategy

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Reserve currency’s buying power is…

…waning.

Many others, too, have pointed out, that…

…assets…

…quoted in the reserve currency…

…are getting expensive.

Across the board.

If something is happening across the board, is the entire board showing an anomaly, or is it the underlying entity, here the reserve currency, that is behaving differently?

Going for the latter. Gut. Common sense. Fundamentals. Printing. Geopolitical balance of scales.

Diagnosis stands. The only bubble in town is a reserve-currency-bubble.

Doesn’t stop here.

Central governments across the world blindly price, or, rather, mis-price their own currencies in response to movements in the reserve currency. Many governments artificially support levels of their own currencies which are not realistic. Net net, asset markets worldwide are rising. It seems that buying powers of fiat currencies in general is falling. Masses seem to be losing confidence in fiat currencies.

Where does this leave you, financially?

Are you very liquid?

Hmmm, liquidity is losing value. How about moving some of your liquidity into assets of your choice. Look for value, and act where you find it.

However, stay liquid to a comfortable extent, and let some value of that particular liquidity be lost. It’s ok. You’ll make it up and more, in the event of a correction, where you’ll be tanking up on assets of your choice.

There will always be a correction. Period. You need to be at least somewhat liquid, come a correction, and it will.

So, this is what needs to be done.

Identify extra, and movable liquidity.

Look for value.

See if you are comfortable with the asset class offering value.

If yes, move any extra liquidity into the asset offering value, bit by bit.

Task

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Pockets…

…burn.

Other ones are still stable.

There’s no telling when…

…some of these will start to burn too.

Such are the times, that a new war commences within hours.

Meanwhile, our subconscious immunity to newsflow reaches new highs everyday.

That’s a huge marker for over-confidence.

Those entering propped markets in full flow are showing this trait in vast degrees.

At a time like this, where do we need to be, financially?

A 1.0.1. tenet that applies here is that basic finances need to be at our beck and call. No 48hr+ lags please.

Also, one needs to be in things one understands oneself. Ulterior motives rule amongst all financial institutions in extreme times, and the helm needs to be firmly in our hands, even if part of our finances are in theirs. So, nothing discretionary, please. Don’t leave yourself at the whim and fancy of a fund manager. Funds are yours. You will do a better job, specifically because your lifeblood is on the line.

Let’s plan for…

…entries, …

… exits, …

… continuity, …

… and legacy.

When it comes to personal finance, the job required is nothing short of thorough, solving for all nuances possible and conceivable.

Wishing you happy and lucrative investing!

🙂

Signposts

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Noise, …

… currently, …

… is deafening.

Posturing, …

… rebuttal, …

… a coup nearby, …

… printing, …

… and what have you, …

… have now become par for the course.

What are the signposts we follow, amidst this chaos?

First up, let’s not be afraid of chaos. Big returns are made exactly there.

We are going to follow high-growth, …

… and specifically, value offered in a high-growth market. Ya, we’ll never get away from margin of safety. It keeps coming back, in one form or another, whether one is investing, or even trading. We use it to get a little better value while entering, facilitated by Technicals. We understand that it’s in volatile times and markets that growth offers value, very temporarily.

Needless to say, basic Fundamentals need to be intact, on the path that we tread.

The governments, and managements we invest in need to show integrity, and develop trust.

We remind ourselves, that high growth is a non-linear entity, and thus we need to stay invested.

We achieve this by keeping our Cost-Free-Ness in the market, like, forever.

We toil to create more and more Cost-Free-Ness.

What this exactly is has been explained ad nauseam in this space, at many earlier instances.

Creation of Cost-Free-Ness means that our principal goes to work repeatedly. Its mini-units are like soldiers that go into battle, bring back winnings, and then they rest, to be deployed another day. If some deployed principal is losing, we wait for it to win. If losses mount, we always have the option to bail it out, or to switch its battle.

The beauty about Cost-Free-Ness is, that since it remains in the field, like, forever, there then is no cap on its upside, in a high-growth market.

Wishing you happy and lucrative wealth-creation!

🙂

SUVs

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Daily dealings are in…

…simple units of victory (SUVs), …

…for me.

When the SUV dawns, it brings happiness.

Contentment.

Fulfilment of purpose.

Motivation.

Recognition from the Universe.

Driving force.

What exactly is one SUV?

What shape does it take?

How does it…

…dawn?

Let’s break it down.

First…

…there’s struggle.

When anyone, anytime, anywhere, let’s say, is facing struggle, …

… and there’s even a mini-breakthrough, …

… the onset of a new concept, …

… a new understanding of things, …

… the simplest unit of progress in one’s situation, …

… that’s the one, that’s the SUV, dawning.

The SUV brings with it the realization that one is enjoying the journey. For struggle to turn into joy, the presence of SUV after SUV is a huge catalyst.

Recognizing the SUV is a state of mind. One needs to have evolved enough to acknowledge subtle victories.

Changes in behaviour.

Efficiency at doing a task.

Development of a mini-model.

A new system.

Eco-system.

Now the equation flips over to excess, owing to overflowing SUVs.

Challenges change. Dealing with enhancing recognition, and its superior cousin, outright fame, is extremely difficult. First up, privacy is gone. Then, these states of being don’t offer guarantees for joy and contentment. List is long. Long list lost me at one and two. In my opinion, …

… getting SUVs together and enjoying the journey in the process…

…is a better life.

Holders

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Holding- …

… power…

…is not a given.

Meaning, that it is not necessary…

…that an individual, ample in liquidity, …

…carries this asset to the table.

We need to learn to hold.

Who’s going to teach us?

Not text-books. How do we know that the writer concerned knows how to hold? We don’t.

Not professors. Do they even have their own money on any line? We don’t know.

So, where do we stand?

How do go about developing holding-power?

Only reliable option is to do, and learn.

How should learn how to hold?

One practices.

It’s like learning how to catch a ball…

…by doing it again and again,…

…till one can catch the ball by reflex.

Creating time-, ease-, comfort- and wealth-buffers around our investment helps.

As to the why, holding makes the difference between nominal and outstanding returns.

To generate multibagger returns, one needs to hold long-term.

This is extremely difficult to teach the mind, since almost everything comes in between, luring the mind to sell early.

Instead of teaching it, one sheer tricks the mind into very long-term holds without being bothered about how high the price might be interim.

This trick played on the mind hides itself under the banner of generating…

…cost-free-ness.

Holding

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Hey.

I hold…

…my course.

Steering gets tough at times.

The most difficult time to continue holding…

…is during adversity.

The line held drops for a bit.

One veers off the path.

While off, there’s a lot of reflection.

Was one better off on course?

There was stability.

Routine.

Continuity.

A logical conclusion.

Satisfaction.

Achievement.

Success.

Etc.

Whilst off, random, non-linked and irrational causes are created.

These causes are useless in the long-term scheme of things. In fact, their effects hamper.

So, how to continue to stay on course, especially during adversity? Nichiren Buddhism shows the way.

One can pick up activities that simultaneously create good causes.

One can set a daily goal.

Each day one strives to achieve the goal.

While doing (these), one forgets the circumstance, the adversity or the whatever that’s been bothering one.

However, if one is not comfortable following a set formula, on a personal note one could well establish one’s own methods of making powerful good causes too.

The feeling of immersion and happiness emerging from the good causes created engulfs the persona and takes one forward steadfastly into the day, and to a night of satisfying sleep.

There will be a next time, when holding will look difficult.

At the next juncture, one will try and remember that one successfully navigated through last time.

And, that one can repeat the strategy that saw one through, to see one through yet again.

Taking this loop to the nth, life becomes a ballad of ons and off, with resolute efforts to get back on after each off.

Vital towards getting back on are good fortune earned from the many good causes created, and will power strengthened from multiple jumps back on.

Meaning

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Situations…

…arise.

Do I accept…

…my situation…

…or don’t I?

Unless something fits, I don’t deem it a fit.

Fighting…

…till the environment moulds…

…and fits…

…has been a normal response…

…for me.

Using this response, majority of circumstances are made to fit, and then one moves on to the next set.

However,…

…some situations refuse to mould.

These are the big ones.

They don’t go away.

They don’t change.

Hmmmm.

Most of these, I still don’t accept.

Plan B.

I fit.

These two words are not just two words.

There are worlds underneath.

How does one make oneself fit?

Change.

Behaviour.

Habits.

Body.

Mind.

DNA.

Changes that then incorporate into one’s reflexes, and, finally, into one’s long-term memory.

Takes a lot.

Mental checks.

Tolerance.

Control over speech.

Throwing temper into bin.

Exercise. Build-up to high-intensity. Need to generate human growth hormone (HGH). Its presence expedites what I wish to achieve.

Fasting. At times. At least IF. More HGH.

Cold showers. Even more HGH.

Deep sleep. If possible. Providing fast avenue for change to get incorporated at biochemical level.

Four months.

There’s visible change.

Six months.

It’s a fit.

I…

…have…

…fit(ted).

Feels good.

It’s a huge win.

Accomplishment unleashes a different set of hormones. These supply a feeling of fulfilment.

That’s not all.

There are one or two other situations in life, which belong to a different category.

They don’t fit.

Also, one doesn’t wish to fit.

They don’t go away either.

And, they don’t change.

Where does one stand, then?

These are the biggest ones.

These were sent to keep poking you.

Till the end.

What do I do with these?

Accept the category in play?

Have to, eventually.

Try everything pertaining to the prior two categories?

Of course. How else would I know?

When the category stands, and nothing works, there still remains a question.

Do I accept my situation?

I…

…don’t,…

…as this situation stands.

I…

…do,…

…with a twist.

Meaning.

Looking for meaning.

Mostly takes damn long to find meaning. Years. Decades? Can.

If am not able to find meaning, that’ll be the status till the end. One dies finding meaning, with regard to the particular situation.

If I do, that meaning is the twist.

Every time there’s a poke, I’ll think of the meaning.

With regard to the situation, one dies while acting upon the meaning.

And…

…why?

Why do they come, such ones?

Accelerated, enhanced, bumper growth?

It doesn’t happen without these.

Screen-Time

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Is that a hammer in your hand?

No?

Great.

Yes?

Does everything appear to be a nail?

In the markets, I like to keep buttons away from sight, as a start.

Meaning, that the conditions to bring a button out…

…need to trigger first.

How would I know?

For that, there are alerts.

Meaning that we go on doing other stuff, till we are alerted, that there’s action ahead.

That’s when we activate the concerned button to visible mode.

Taking time, we decide whether this particular button needs to be pressed.

No?

Proceed with other stuff as normal.

Yes?

Press.

Do your accounts.

See how you’ve fared.

Done?

Proceed with other stuff…

…till next alert for button visibility activation.

Why all this rigmarole?

Because we don’t wish to be trigger-happy in the markets.

We take calls when they’re due.

We use time-slots in between calls to live life, tension-free, happy.

That’s one approach to the markets.

I’m sure you have your own.

Maybe yours involves more screen-time.

I respect that.

Mine doesn’t involve too much screen time, to be honest.

That’s the way I like it.

That also doesn’t mean anything as far as volumes or output are concerned.

Lesser screen-time leaves me ample space for other stuff.

I get to live a fuller life-experience.

To each their own.

This is my take.

I respect your take too.

Some takes require maximum screen-time.

Some like it like that.

That’s their life.

Fine.

Respected.

This is mine.

And this is my market screen-time…

…perhaps an hour or two a day, sometimes one, sometimes two.

Something like that.

Walking the Walk

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Hey,

… just made a decision…

… and am going to share it with you. 🙂

From this point onwards,…

…, I’ll exclusively be working with underlyings,…

…, with whom I’m walking the walk with.

So, what does that mean?

As per my understanding, there are two ways of getting to know an underlying, for example a stock.

We can see what it’s done,…

…, landmarks that have been established,…

…, track record,…

…, lineage,…

… etc.

Sure, we can take in the fundamentals ad-nauseam, and that’s absolutely fine.

No one’s investing without appropriate fundamentals in place.

That’s not it all, though.

Will be walking with the stock too.

Where does it go?

What does it do there?

How does it behave?

Is the behaviour off?

We want to know.

And we’ll know…

… by getting a feel for the stock’s movement.

Why all this?

What are we doing with such stocks?

Investing in them, yes.

However, stocks aren’t always in an investing zone.

Then we’ll generate income from the same stocks.

Why from this category?

Why not choose specific trading stocks to trade?

That’s because they’ll contaminate investment mindset.

Trading investment grade stocks that make one’s cut, when these stocks are in a trading zone, is a pursuit with multi-faceted advantages.

Income generation.

Pinpointed stock-specific knowledge, which gets deeper and deeper.

Insurance when stuck. You’re a holder, so do the math.

Huge time-saving in the long run, as patterns become clear.

Minimal tension.

If we wish to mimimize tension further, we can take time out of the equation (meaning, we won’t do derivatives in this case).

We won’t be Johny-on-the-spot with this strategy, probably.

We’ll make money, though.

There’ll be peace of mind.

Enjoyment.

Over time, this strategy can go to the max. Meaning, we’ll outdo all Johnies from their spots with regard to income and wealth generation.

Why?

We’re walking the walk, remember ?

Over time, we’ll become masters of our territory.

We don’t want more.

We’re done already.

Is there Peace of Mind in the Markets?

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Hey,

First up, is this even the right question?

Should the proper question not be person-centric?

Is there peace of mind in you? Or in me? Or in whoever’s asking?

Sure.

Let’s just cast aside what the proper question should be for a bit.

We are in the markets, and, if not at first, then ultimately, we do crave for peace of mind.

We’ll probably be in the markets for life.

Where does that leave us?

To answer this question in our favour, our mental, physical and monetary condition needs to be peace-of-mind-appropriate while approaching the markets.

Only surplus goes in.

What goes in, does so in small, digestible quanta, an action that does not disturb one’s equilibrium.

Also, we are not perturbed about any down movement because of our small entry quantum strategy.

We have rendered ourselves peace-of-mind-appropriate.

We have also rendered ourselves open to the effects of big moves.

Big move down?

No worries. Buy some more. Small entry quantum strategy ensures ample liquidity, whilst commitment till date has been small.

Big move up?

No euphoria please. Enjoy your peace of mind and sit tight.

For all you know, it becomes an even bigger move.

You actually end up wishing that the underlying cools down, so you can buy some more.

You’re good.