An investor’s mind is influenced by what gets in. Essentially, if he watches business TV all the time, his thinking will meander along with its flow. Given the shifty and short term orientation of Business news, he will also be driven by the immediate. Thinking beyond the immediate will be a constant challenge. So, how can an investor be objective and mindful? Let us understand how investors, who actually manage to be mindful, do it. Firstly, they cut out the noise. Secondly, they decide how to receive information. You will often find that iconic investors keep emphasizing the importance of reading. Essentially, reading helps an investor greatly cut out the noise. Next, an investor must learn the art of constantly putting his ear to the ground. To be mindful, this is the most important thing. Putting ear to ground helps gain lateral insights and literally be grounded in thought. An ear to the ground, feet firmly on it and being mindful helps an investor steer away from the madding crowd and tread the road less traveled to creating wealth. What influences an investor matters greatly in noisy times like the present.
“There is only one way to describe most investors: trend followers.”- Howard Marks