Professional athletes are known for their resilience and grit.
Here are 6 winning secrets from top athletes to help you achieve your goals as an investor.
This article was written by a Financial Horse Contributor.
1. Practice makes perfect
Have you heard of the 10,000 hour rule?
In a seminal study into the development of expertise in musicians, Swedish psychologist Anders Ericsson and colleagues found talent to be the result of “deliberate practice” that occurred over a span of 10 years — or approximately 10,000 hours for some individuals.
This rule has often been misunderstood, but the basic principle is that practice makes perfect.
In fact, you can achieve expertise in a lot less than 10,000 hours.
The study stated the concept of ‘deliberate practice’ was more important than any magical number.
When it comes to honing a high-income skill, or your investing prowess, know that you need to be patient.
Be conscious about honing your skills, and know that you will achieve mastery through time.
2. Breadth of multiple disciplines
By engaging in various sports, athletes are able to develop a breadth of skills transferable to their primary sport.
In fact, researchers have found elite athletes spent less time training in their primary sport before the age of 15 compared to their less successful counterparts.
When you want to be a successful investor, it is always useful to learn about multiple disciplines such as:
- history
- economics
- business
- accounting
- tax
- human psychology
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3. Go for the jugular
Winning athletes know when to go for the jugular.
“There are certain points in a game when you just have that feeling,” says Peyton Manning, the Indianapolis Colts’ All-Pro quarterback.
“You see the defense on the ropes. So you go back to the huddle and you say, ‘We score right here and this game might just be over.’ Do that and you can break a team’s will.”
Learning how to finish off an opponent is crucial to success in sports and business.
If you identify good opportunities, go for the jugular.
Warren Buffett famously said that it is wise for investors to be “fearful when others are greedy, and greedy when others are fearful.”
Market downturns can be ripe for opportunities for savvy investors.
Bet big, bet right.
4. Confidence
If you carry yourself as if you expect to win, your opponent will expect to lose.
People assume that a lack of money is the reason people don’t start investing, but many are slow to begin investing because they lack the financial confidence to get started.
The quickest way to gain confidence around investing is to arm yourself with knowledge.
And then just start investing.
You will never learn anything just by sitting on the sidelines.
Take small steps, and build your confidence along the way.
5. Mental endurance
There is no doubt that long-distance running goes hand in hand with mental fortitude.
There are Japanese Buddhist monks who run 1,000 marathons in 1,000 days on the road to enlightenment.
“There are moments when you feel very strong and you feel like you can keep running forever,” a seasoned ultra distance runner says.
“A couple of instances later you feel like, ‘I’ve got to stop, this hurts so badly I can’t make it to the street corner.’ And then you push through that wall and you emerge on the other side and you feel strong again.
Wealth building is a long-term game.
Stay invested and have the mental endurance to stick to growing your investments through market cycles.
6. Make it fun
According to sports coaches, you should make training fun.
Training hard to win, is in itself, very enjoyable (to most athletes).
However, repetitive, hard training can become monotonous and register an emotional toll. Thus, sports coaches are advised to infuse elements of fun and competition into training.
Make investing fun!
Audio books, podcasts, Youtube videos, the Financial Horse Investing Newsletter, are all resources you can consider.
Pick the medium that suits your learning style.
Check out the top investing podcasts, top investing YouTube channels and FH’s recommended reading list.
If you keep things simple, and grow good habits, these small actions will compound greatly over time.
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