If only life was that easy, you could scratch and live of it !
The 'belief within' though brings the magic results. Its important to develop a positive and growth attitude in everything we do including investing. Otherwise its easy to get carried away like the market highs we see now and sell-off or get away. Keep reminding ourselves, businesses will continue to invest and grow over the next many decades irrespective of election results or other noises that distract us.
Magicians talk about working the subconscious to get us winning results. Winning at investing is a mental pattern, its about how you think and its the 'believes in us' that bring the results. Successful investors create magic in their portfolio and when they talk about the returns, it looks mystery. There is a charm to their hidden stories. Al Koran recommends to roll your money notes and put a rubber band around it. It represents without beginning and without end. I have practiced this for many years, it makes your subconscious work with your intellectual capabilities.
Most often we look for formulas that have worked for others, stocks that did well for some one else, this is 'knowing bias'. if it is repeated, it must be true, we are taught. Nothing is farther than truth in investing. The world is changing at a pace unseen, so it is important to be flexible and open to newer possibilities.
just look at how different investing is from real life practices, in life you count on past experiences, in investing it is counterproductive. Again in life you strive to be the best, but in investing it is better to settle for an average performance. You don't take action in case of a crisis or you don't expect greater returns if you paid for it. None of the normal rules apply here.
For the uninitiated, those who do not follow much of what we discuss, you stand a great chance at maximizing your wealth by playing the Index Investing Game. It takes hardly anytime, needs no mastery, does not consume time. Instead of predicting which stock will go up or what sectors will do well next year, just invest in Index fund and forget about it. Most fund mangers will under-perform it anyways. Stocks will likely outperform inflation, it will go through a roller coaster ride in the short run, which can create heart burns for those who don't understand this well. But in the long run, they will offer consistent returns and create real wealth after inflation.
