Learning or Investing, follow these 3 things.
During my financial literacy sessions, the audience sat in anticipation that I would share some tips on stocks, or suggest an investment that would give them exponential returns in no time and will be fully safe. Well, in over 18 years of my career I never heard of an investment avenue that would give high returns with no time and is absolutely safe.
I used to leave investors/audience with 3 key takeaways from the stories I narrated in my financial literacy programs. The lessons were 3 behavioral approaches I observed among the successful investors in my 18 years of career in the BFSI space. I realized that those approaches mentioned below also help in the process of learning.
Commitment: It is about understanding Purpose. In financial markets we recommend people follow the goal-based investing process. Identify a financial goal and invest time and money to achieve it. In learning too, I insist that my mentees identify their purpose of learning. having a clear purpose in both areas improves the commitment levels.
Discipline: In the financial market the investors behave impulsively. They want to ride the wave in the market. Quick returns lure them and investors give in to their biases. This leads to Adhoc investing instead of investing regularly. Learning too is a matter of regular practice. People leave their courses halfway as they are unable to see instant results. They don't follow the discipline of regular practice. Following a ritual of regular piecemeal investing and regularly sharpening the skillsets will help achieve financial and learning goals.
Patience -: The rare virtue. Wealth creation and attaining mastery over a subject, both are a function of delayed gratification. Both take time. Being patient while maintaining continuity in investing and learning will eventually do the wonders. As they say, Rome was not built in a day, neither was an expert and wealth. Someone who would have invested in NIFTY 50 stocks in year 2002, would have made a clean CAGR of 17% to date return ref. moneycontrol.
Legendary Warren Buffet makes a best-case here.
