Dear investor, don’t be average!

To understand investing better, you’ll have to learn not only from the books written by investors. I have just now obtained this simple knowledge (or rather I have learned it from my older friends). Many discoveries can be made simply by observing life around you.

Earlier I wrote that my mother was severely diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, stage 4. I would like to emphasize in advance, this post is not about healthy lifestyle nor about medicine. So please don’t go through too many emotions when reading this text. It primarily serves as a guide for an investor.

Anyway, so my mom has an incurable disease. Statistics say that the 5-year survival rate for this diagnosis is less than 5%. At first we gave up, but then we slowly began to come to our senses.

I focused on reading multiple books and started digging through my social networks. Luckily I have a lot of free time now. This is another advantage of living off capital. I almost immediately dropped out of forums with people weeping and crying. I was interested in the experience of people who have either fought this disease or the experience of those who have done massive research on cancer treatment.

It turned out that there weren’t many such books. All the books said the same thing:

· Eliminate sweets, flour products, and other “junk” from your diet permanently.

· Immediately get rid of bad habits.

· Give up animal-based foods.

· Focus on a plant-based diet.

· Try to remove stress (psychotherapy, meditation, etc.).

· Learn to get enough sleep in your current environment.

· Walk a lot (really, a lot!). EVERY DAY.

· Don’t forget vitamins (D3, C, B17, etc.) and supplements (turmeric, green tea, etc.).

· Minimize environmental damage.

For the first month my mom was fading fast: she lost 22lb, her skin wrinkled. We implemented all the advice from the books and the processes slowed down a lot. We make no predictions, nor we have any illusions in regards to the disease. But now she feels good. Knock on wood.

In the book “Anticancer” by David Servan-Schreiber, I found a wonderful chapter on “how to evade statistics”. Here is a curious picture from that chapter:

All curves showing the survival times of individuals — the so-called survival curves — have the same asymmetrical shape. By definition, half of the cases are on the left side of the graph, between zero and eight months. However, the other half extends beyond eight months, and the curve forms a long tail of the distribution, which can extend over a considerable length of time.

…

The survival curve he saw involved people who had been treated ten to twenty years earlier. They were receiving the treatment available at the time, under the conditions that existed back then.

So those who beat the disease simply aren’t visible in the statistics. They basically dissolve in the graph data. Their experiences are very difficult to find on the internet. And such experiences are usually met with hostility.

Recently my mother and I had a conversation:

Me: Mom, here you are periodically going to clinics and talking to cancer patients. Who among them has drastically changed their diet? Who among them does physical activity every day? Who has given up bad habits? Who has tried to minimize stress?

Mom: No one.🤷

Note here that people are incapable of changing their habits and beliefs even under threat of death.

Doesn’t that remind you of anything?

I’m pretty sure that the statistics of those who can save up for living off capital are worse than the survival statistics of cancer patients. And it’s not just worse, it’s a lot worse. I think that less than 1% of my readers are capable of accumulating meaningful capital.

Does it sound like the methodology doesn’t work in this case? On the contrary, it works just fine. It’s very clear, unlike the nature of cancer. Do it once, do it twice, and it will happen. So then, what’s the problem?

You know what is the most popular comment among my blog subscribers?

Sounds like the author is from another planet. It is unclear for whom he writes. You better tell us how to live as a person who has a salary of $300 and who barely makes it through the month.

And you seem to be telling about it, trying to explain, suggesting different ways. You’re recording videos about the business (note — the video came out 11/05/2021). You’re doing interviews about the salary limits. Does anything change? On the contrary, there’s even more aggression in the comments. Why so?

Because the angry comments are written by average (that’s what they call themselves) people:

That said:

· The average person doesn’t read books.

· The average person wastes his own time.

· The average person does and in the future will take out loans.

· The average person loves to shoot himself in the foot. A car, a summer house, renovations, a wedding, a new iPhone, etc. I’ve written about all of this a hundred times before.

· The average person doesn’t think about building businesses.

· The average person doesn’t try to build their skills to advance in the career.

· The average person doesn’t think about changing locations, even if job situation is bad in his area.

· Etc.

If you will live like the other 95%, the result will be the same as the 95%. Meaning the result will be average, or rather none. And any statistics will tell you that there is no point in trying to move up from your spot. Because that’s how statistics work.

So who am I writing the articles for? For entrepreneurs, highly qualified professionals, careerists. For those who are skilled and reasonable.

These are not average people. These are the people who are active, seeking to make a difference in their lives. They are only a few percent of the population, but they are millions. And they have a non-zero chance of getting into the community of the obscenely rich people. All it takes is a slight change in their life trajectory.

My friends and acquaintances around me often bemoan the average person. I see no reason to be angry. On the contrary, it’s great because it’s inefficiency that can help you make money:

· We’re not competing with other investors, we’re competing with those who aren’t in the market.

· We are competing with those who, instead of taking care of themselves and their loved ones, spend their time arguing about economics.

· We are competing with those who berate the outside world on social media.

Investor, don’t be like everyone else, don’t be average. If you want to be rich, of course.