Nothing but Focus and Think

When Bill Gates met Warren Buffett for the first time, someone asked what was the biggest factor which brought them huge success?

Without hesitation, both Buffett and Gates gave the same answer: FOCUS.

Back then, in polytechnic, I was desperate to get my perfect GPA because I wanted to get into Nanyang Technological University badly. All of us had one week to study.

I opened my calendar and planned my studying into different blocks of time for the entire week.

Borrowing a line from former United States President Abraham Lincoln:

Like what Abraham said, it is not smart to just study. I need to have a strategy on how to study. I spent 4 hours to create a strategy to study which included same sleeping/waking up time, same meals, same table set-up and a secret technique I found accidentally.

It was very boring but it worked very well.

2 days before my examinations started, I finished my entire syllabus. That semester, I scored perfect GPA. Eventually, I was earned a slot in NTU’s business programme.

I didn’t dive straight into studying. I took time to strategize.

I took time to understand what are the best methods.

Thinking About Investments

How is this relevant to investing into stocks?

Some of you may know me for quite some time, I can be quite upfront about how I feel about the ways people are investing with their hard-earned money.

I feel some form of disgust when people are just throwing their money into some stocks without understanding the fundamentals or doing some form of valuation work. Without realising, they are gambling with their money. All of us are caught up in the feeling of “fear of missing out (FOMO)” or herd mentality. It’s the worst thing you can do to yourself. I do not blame people who do that because they lack the knowledge. Hence, it is our duty to spread more knowledge around.

Questions have the ability to change your results.

What if you’re an investor who are losing money for many years, ask yourself this question: “Is what I am doing now, helping me to get where I want to be?”

If the answer is no, find a different method that works.

For existing investors, I highly encourage all of us to take a moment every quarter to do NOTHING but think.

Have you came across certain life decisions where it was made in a rush? Later on, you questioned why it was being made. By then, it was too late.

It is healthier to stop and think and you will make a better decision.

Just think. Nothing but sit in a comfortable corner and think.

“Is this strategy suitable for me?”

“How can I perform better?”

“What’s the correct way to invest?”

“What do I need to learn more to attain mastery?”

“What are the weakest positions in my portfolio, is it worth holding them?”

Socrates, a famous Greek philosopher, used a method of continuous questioning to improve oneself. We are so caught up in doing and we might be doing, doing and doing without thinking hard whether we are moving into the right direction.

Many people underestimate the power of thinking. To sit there to do nothing, but to think. That’s a powerful skill set to have.

With so many interruptions from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, it is nearly impossible for us to be focused on any single task long enough before we can develop true form of mastery on it.

Henry Ford once said “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably why so few people engage in it.”

Warren Buffett is famously known to keep his calendar blank. Buffett did that because he wanted to have own time to think. For the time you give out to people, you won’t get it back. You want to be very careful on how you spend your time.

Activity to do

After reading this post, devote some time to just think.

Book an appointment with yourself.

Don’t think for 5 minutes or 10 minutes. Spend as long as you need, question yourself, then you will form your own clarity.

What were the past investment mistakes?

How can I refine my own investment strategy?

Is market crisis really coming? Are my facts correct?

What are the books that I need to read to level up?

Why did I make this decision to buy this stock? Was it because of hearsay, fear or missing out or just pure herd mentality? 

What are the biggest risk in this company?

Is my portfolio positioning correct?

My email is always open, so chat with me and see how I can bring you to the next level!