The most unlikely combinations always seem to lead to amazing results.
This post is 833 words, a 4-minute read. Enjoy!
I play in a pickup league every Saturday mornings with the same group of 54-60 guys. The teams are randomly picked by the league owners handing out pennies at the beginning. Every week there are two categories of players waiting for pennies:
Excited players -these guys usually don't know most people or were invited by a friend to play. They get right in line and get a penny as soon as they can.
The seasoned players - they've been in the league for years. These guys tend to wait to see how the teams are shaping up and try to finesse their way to what they deem to be the “best team”.
The goal of pick up is not only to win but to have a good run. You want the matches to be as competitive as possible so you can get a good workout. If the teams are too one sided, the game gets boring fast, and people start quitting. Even the winning teams hate it cause it feels pointless.
You would expect the games with the best players to have the more competitive runs.
However, that is hardly the case.
Whenever one field has a ton of good players, the match always devolves quickly into a shouting match. One of the following always happens:
Players complain about foul calls.
Players believe they are better than they really are and try to dribble past an entire team.
Players believing they are too good to play defense, so you have an entire quad of strikers and no defenders.
Frustration quickly builds. Then you watch player after player walk off the field to go home or find another game to play in.
However, on the fields that have decent players with everyone thinking other people are better than them. There's always an immediate cohesion. No one feels too good to hold onto the ball, so they pass it around. Giving everyone a feeling of involvement. Players willingly choose to play defense because they want to be helpful. When tired players switch positions so they can give their teammates a run on offense as well. There's almost a silent agreement of
We suck on our own but together we can make magic.
These games tend to be the longest running games of the days because no one wants to stop playing. Because everyone is having FUN. Other players on the sidelines watch with envy and might want to get in on the action; unfortunately, by the time they join the game, everyone is exhausted and ready to call it.
I believe this is very similar to investing. There's a draw to chase after the exciting and high-flying stocks. It would seem like the best move to make; I mean these are typically the companies that are CHANGING THE WORLD! Or at least that's the promise that we are told. It feels like a can't miss opportunity.
But like with the "best players". There's almost always more frustration with these companies. Things tend to devolve quickly as the excitement leaves and reality begin to set in. Examples of these things playing out:
Electric Vehicles of 2021
Stay at Home or Work from Home Stocks of 2020
NFTs
Crypto
Telemedicine stocks
All these companies have a real business underlying them, but the excitement got way ahead of what the reality could be.
On the other hand, you have your boring index funds. There's nothing exciting about them. However, time and time again, they deliver some of the best results for investors. And usually by the time most people decide to get in on the action; they enter after missing out. Like the players joining at the end of the match.
The good news is unlike the pickup games that come to an end because we have other things to do with our lives.
The indexes only job is to stay invested so the game continues. This brings opportunity for those who got caught in the excitement whirlwind of the "World Changers".
If you are kicking yourself for either not investing at all or investing in a bunch of companies that you have lost money in.
DON'T!
We all had to learn one way or another. The good news is Today, is the best time to get invested for a better tomorrow.
The easiest investment options most of us can make is a Target Date Index Fund. To learn more, check out the post I wrote earlier this year:
And Remember Generosity>greed
God Bless you
✌🏾
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