Force for thought — 06.12.24

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

Have you heard of the Wizard of Westwood? So nicknamed was John Wooden, the legendary basketball player and coach of the UCLA Bruins. Under his watch, the Bruins achieved what no other basketball team had done before, winning 10 national championships in 12 years and 88 consecutive games. Put otherwise: Wooden won more than 80 per cent of the games he coached, notwithstanding new sets of players. So, what drove his success? He mastered a critical lesson that many fail to learn: given countless things are out of your hands, condition that which you have control over. When it came to his players, Wooden understood he had no control over variables like height, balance or speed — but he could control what he called the mental and moral conditioning of his players. He regularly warned against “activity without achievement” — arguing that speed, for example, needs to be greased by emotional and mental stability, or else it will fail players on the court. To activate talent or skill or even a powerhouse player, one needs to harness their mindset.

So, how can we apply this to investing? If we want to develop a track record similar to Wooden’s, it’s critical that we expend our energy in the right place — i.e. our state of mind. Underlying Wooden’s tactics was a focus on repetition; he understood the benefits of positive, routine and incremental reps to generate meaningful outcomes. The same applies to investing. To deploy a basketball metaphor, by focusing on moving prices, investors will lose sight of the ball. However, if they become attuned to Force500’s feedback system, investors can actively condition themselves to anticipate positive and uplifting news and behave in accordance with the outcomes they want to realise. By focusing on that which we can control — i.e. the information we ingest — investors can optimise their investment journeys; if they strengthen their abilities to shirk fleeting and disruptive distractions that can otherwise shortchange them, investors will ultimately realise their goals.

To Have on Hand

In this episode of The School of Greatness with Lewis Howes, special guest Ryan Serhant — once a broke hand-model turned real-estate mogul — attributes his success to his mindset. What pervades his mind is especially interesting; even though he has achieved success that may be enjoyed now, Serhant is acutely aware of its future compounding potential. He is preoccupied with the payoffs he will enjoy in his seventies. He says: “I’m always thinking about future me because I work for that person.” Investors would be wise to pay heed.