On Becoming an Investor

You are all catching me at an interesting juncture in my life. I am in the beginning stages of transitioning to a full-time investor, and this isn’t easy to say the least. While this is a stressful time for me, in all honesty, this is the most fun I’ve had in awhile. I’m making mistakes, but I’m learning so much. I’m directing my own life and building something from scratch. This is something you just can’t put a price tag on.

If I didn’t believe my words were serving a greater purpose, trust me, I would have stopped blogging a long time ago. I love it that I can open people’s eyes to the truth. I love it that I can call our leaders morons and people cheer me on. I’d like to think I represent the little guy who succeeds by telling the truth.

Anyway, the reason I don’t give stock picks is that I don’t think it helps anyone. It is more important to learn how to attack a problem and think correctly. Focus on the process and everything else will take care of itself. Too many people are concerned with just making money in investing, and this is ironically why they never do.

Thinking Differently

A lot of people comment that they admire the way I think. They want to know what kind of books I’ve read and who my influences are. I try to answer these questions to the best of my abilities, but I’m not too sure of the answers myself. But for the sake of  giving people something of value, let me try.

The thing people need to understand is that I didn’t necessarily set out to be an investor. First of all, I know I am an oddball of sorts. I’m the only person I know who is capable of reading multiple books about man-made global warming just because I need to know if the science behind the thesis is solid. I have a natural love of history and this gives me a great perspective on events. I was always interested in human nature and psychology, and these things are very applicable to the markets. I don’t waste my time tweaking discount rates to “make” an investment work. The best investments always jump out at me. The best investments always “feel” right. To a lot of people this may sound crazy, but honestly, this is how I invest.

Embracing Mistakes

I truly believe every mistake is a learning opportunity. The reason I have learned so much is because I have made so many mistakes. Without a doubt, the best thing that happened to me was being such a screw up in high school. I always got in trouble. I never went to class. I always got into fights. A lot of you probably don’t believe me, but I was the biggest troublemaker in my entire school of over 3,000 people. And no, I wasn’t a product of my environment: I went to what was then considered the best high school in the country. While my friends were going to Ivy league schools, I was stuck at home doing nothing because I applied to a grand total of 2 colleges and didn’t get into any of them. Humbling? Yes.

A lot of my friends don’t know this, but after high school, I was reading philosophy. I was reading novels. I was reading history. I was reading biographies. I know it’s cliche, but the more I read, the more I realized I didn’t know what the hell I was talking about. But the important thing to understand is that I was humble enough to learn only because I failed so often. While my former classmates were memorizing facts and learning how to be good employees, I was learning about the world. I was unwittingly laying a foundation for the future.

I stumbled upon investing by chance. I was so bored by college (I eventually went) that I literally read over 100 books on the side in a year while I was in school. Did I have a curriculum? No. Did I mindlessly memorize facts in preparation for a test? No. I read whatever I felt like reading with no particular end in mind. When I was introduced to investing, I learned about it without any preconceived notions. I instantly saw flaws in conventional wisdom and was able to make connections that other investors couldn’t make. Strangely enough, investing came pretty naturally to me and I was able to bring a unique perspective to it.

Anyway, I guess you all have a better idea now of why my thinking is so unconventional. I think one of the best things people can do as investors is to read about different subjects and make interconnections. Always question and foster an independent mind. Understand your biases and strive to eliminate them- only then will you start seeing the world in a whole new way.