Force for thought — 10.01.25
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
Ask anyone who has ever been married: reason stands no chance against love. Why should its odds be any better in investing? When it comes to money — a pursuit that tugs on those selfsame heartstrings — intelligence and rationality are no match for greed. Just look to Sir Isaac Newton, one of the finest polymaths who ever lived, to demonstrate this most unpopular truth. In the 1700s, even Newton’s genius was not immune to the fervour surrounding the South Sea Company, founded to manage England’s national debt. Even after buying and selling its shares at a neat profit, Newton succumbed to the speculative frenzy that surrounded the stock as its price continued to skyrocket. He bought in once again — this time very expensively — and soon after the stock collapsed, resulting in the infamous South Sea Bubble and a personal loss of approximately 20,000 pounds (then a sizeable sum).
Why should this have any bearing on us? Because we should learn from Newton’s misfortunes that even the sharpest minds aren’t exempt from silly groupthink and impulsive decision-making. Who are we to think ourselves more capable investors than Isaac Newton? The South Sea Bubble proved to be the great equaliser; it demonstrated in real time how difficult it is for even the most exceptional individuals to behave rationally amid heightened emotions. Genius doesn’t determine investor success — but survivability will. One need only to imagine the outsized fortune Newton could have amassed had he implemented a productive feedback system — like Force500’s unique communications methodology — to drown out the noise…
To Have on Hand
Emotions always have and will continue to conquer even the greatest minds. But there’s a not-so-secret tonic: habitual, uplifting and repetitive feedback has been proven to keep investors on track. Otherwise? Oscar Wilde said it best: “I can resist anything except temptation.”