Force for thought — 03.01.25

To Have and To Hold

How do you hold onto a good thing and not let it go before it has time to work its magic? By mobilising a method that works. No one is insulated from the challenges of sticking with something promising — not a diet, nor an exercise regimen, or even a first date — the moment it becomes uncomfortable and hard. Why should investing be any different?

We’ve collected more than four million data points that demonstrate how a particular methodological communication enables investors to hold on for the ride. The proof stretches beyond investing: our ability to hold on when we least want to — in order to withstand things that can cause our undoing — has application everywhere. Each week, we’ll show how and why a mechanism for holding on, in investing and in life, is so powerful.

Zooming in

Had you visited Mulholland Drive — the exclusive Los Angeles playground of the well-to-do — in the late eighties, you may have come across a broke and unknown Jim Carrey. He would frequent the area on a nightly basis to practise visualisations, telling himself repeatedly that directors he admired admired him too and valued his work. As an aspiring actor, Carrey didn’t spend hours contemplating alternative careers or doubting his talent. Rather, he channelled his energies into doing what made him feel better — in other words, doing what was necessary to assuage his mind and keep him on his chosen course. Call it visualisation, manifestation or positive self-talk — Carrey took it to the extreme when he wrote himself a cheque for $10 million, three years in advance, dated Thanksgiving 1995 for “acting services rendered”. He kept it in his wallet and just shy of that auspicious date, discovered he would cash that cheque for his role in Dumb and Dumber.

So, what should we take away from Carrey and apply to our investing? We can argue for and against the merits of visualisation; we can attribute his fortune to timing or kismet. But we’d be entirely missing the point: which is to say that making a habit of feeling better enabled Carrey to stay in the game. Carrey knew that his innate talent persisted irrespective of whether he was dirt poor or filthy rich, anonymous or famous — but he also acknowledged it wasn’t enough to survive the emotional journey to Hollywood stardom on the basis of talent alone. He turned to visualisation because he knew that, short of a positive, recurrent and habitual feedback loop — like Force500’s communication methodology — realising his goals would be even more challenging and unlikely. That is why the best investors know to be wary of trusting exclusively in talent or smarts; do so and you may severely handicap the ability to nurture your temperament.

To Have on Hand

“You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them.” Michael Jordan, the inimitable basketball legend, credits visualisation as a key driver behind his success. His line of reasoning is especially useful for long-term investors who should keep this quote front of mind, given they need to exercise patience — and positivity — while they give their investments due time to pay off.