“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently – they’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo…”
“You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things…”
“They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs.
The crazy ones that change the world aren’t crazy. That’s just what everyone else calls them. The person who plays it safe will never change the world and will rarely change their world. The crazy ones aren’t crazy. They’re risk-takers. They’re not satisfied with the status quo and are willing to go outside their comfort zones.
The average investor is satisfied with the status quo. They stick with what’s comfortable. Successful investors do the opposite.
By my comments, am I implying that the average investor is not successful? That’s exactly what I’m implying. Over the past 20 years, the average retail investor realized an average annual return of -.75% when factoring in inflation. Losing money is not successful investing.
As human beings, we are creatures of habit. We tend to do what’s comfortable and what’s convenient. That’s why we stick with the pack. If the pack says to invest in this or that stock, we go along with it. If the pack decides to invest in crypto, we go along with it because we’re afraid the pack will point their fingers at us and laugh if we don’t. If everyone is talking about the stock market at the water cooler, we don’t want to be left out, so we do what everyone else is doing.
Going along with everyone else because of what people are talking about on social media, Reddit, or financial news is one-way investors stick with what’s comfortable. Other ways investors stick with what’s comfortable and go along with the crowd is to invest in 401(k)s or hire financial advisors because that’s what all workers do or that’s what their parents did.
Have you known anybody who retired early because of investing in a 401(k) or because of the advice of a financial advisor? Not likely. That’s because over 90% of investment pros can’t beat the market.
The investor who wants to be comfortable has three options:
- Invest on their own and lose .75% per year.
- Invest in a 401(k) mutual fund or through an investment advisor and make sub-market returns.
- Invest in an index fund and make average returns.
Ultra-wealthy investors haven’t always been ultra-wealthy, but they did something once that the average investor is unwilling to do: they broke out of their comfort zones and sought out investments outside of Wall Street (i.e., day trading, 401(k)s, mutual funds, and financial advisors).
That path inevitably led them to the world of private investments, wherein the hands of the right partners. In the right assets, these intrepid investors discovered assets that not only performed better than Wall Street but did so at less risk.
“In investing, what is comfortable is rarely profitable.” – Robert Arnott.
Most of us follow the worn-out playbook on how to live our lives. We go to school, go to more schools, become professionals, get married, raise 1.15 kids, invest in 401(k)s, and retire in our 60’s. Then even when we retire, none of us are living our best lives. Our joints ache, and we have enough to get – not nearly enough to do all the things we want to do.
To live your best life now, do what’s uncomfortable…
Go against what everyone else is doing. Sticking to the status quo is comfortable, but investing shouldn’t be comfortable – not if you want to live your best life now.
Consider investment options outside of Wall Street and discover why savvy investors are earning returns far above market rates but at lower risk.
Kyle Jones is a co-founder and Key Principal of TruePoint Capital, LLC. Kyle is responsible for the company’s strategic planning, investment decisions, asset management, and overseeing all aspects of the company’s financial activities, operations, and investor relations.
Kyle obtained a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas State University – San Marcos, where he also played Division 1 Baseball.
