Do you 'LIVE' it?

[Steve Navra]

Hi all,

It occurred to me when studying the habits of successful people, that one of their most important characteristics is their focus and commitment to their goal.

Forum members as fellow investors and scholars in the pursuit of improving our wealth / freedom goals, all seem to be actively involved in this process.

The question is: To what extent do we LIVE the process?

It is mainly about our day to day habits . . . so what are some of the things that we do as a course of habit that ensure our continued focus on the goal?

I sumarise some of my daily habits as an example:

1) Day begins at 5-30 am with the close of the NYSE.
In-between closing trades I read the financial news (Internet), starting with overseas markets, then onto the local content. (Local content is mainly a recap of the previous day’s events and although these items are now past history, they do tend to set the sentiment for the current days trends.)

Post shave, shower, breakfast etc . . . off to work.
Work luckily for me is all about education, property, shares and structure, so I don't lose too much focus as a result of my day job.

2) Personal ongoing education occurs as a result of seeing many of my investor clients. Yes they do come and see me for investment advice, but there is hardly a day that I don't learn something new from these investors.

3) Research:
a) A large part of my day goes into researching property and share fundamentals.
Property fundamentals research takes the form of assessing many projects / individual properties. Rental reality for pricing; % land content and owner ratios for enhanced cap growth; position and infrastructure for rentability together with trends (housing approvals etc) in each of the states / major cities form the basis of much of this research. (The daily practice of this task keeps one relatively up to date as to where value in the various markets might occur.)
b) On a similar basis ongoing daily monitoring of the S&P 200 stocks keeps one acutely aware of which individual stocks are viable for trading.

4) Formal education:
Mostly about studying changes that occur literally on a daily basis with Super, Tax law, compliance, mortgages and including new financial products and structures. Also reading the forum!!

5) Administration:
Uuugh, yes continually keeping track of all assets from a growth value point of view (worth holding or not) as well as accounting records.

6) Planning:
Big picture . . . as a result of all of the above, one continually reviews the bigger picture of where you are going.

Beyond that it is back to home, dinner, kids, family time and a bit later (Grrrr day light saving) NYSE opens again, an hour of opening trades . . . and so another day ends.

To sum it all up then, I am fortunate to be able to focus most of my attention on minding my own business . . . the real business of wealth creation.

I have been following the thread about what others do for a day job and was wondering how other forum members keep their investment thoughts focussed.

Your comments will be appreciated. (And will I am sure be very interesting )

Regards,

Steve

 

[Alan H]

Great question Steve!

I'm not sure it really occurred to me until you raised the question but........yes....

"My name is Alan and I have a problem.....
Investments have crept up on me and become part of my life.....
I have tried to stop but I can't......
I find that at least for a couple of hours a day I find myself doing something related to 'investments'......
The thought of selling an investment property or totally liquidating a share portfolio has become unbearable.....
I know I should change.......but.....but.....I don't want to!!"


I'm sure a version of what you describe would be very popular with many on the Forum because in summary it describes .......the living of a passion. To me it is the definition of 'retirement'. Waking up every day and pretty much being able to dedicate yourself to your personal interests. Wonderful! Hmmm.......doing some of it down the coast, on a laptop, with an ocean view would be my slight variation........

My day now would have similarities at the beginning and end but there is still, for now, the 'day job' in between. We all need goals though, and a version of what you describe will hopefully lie a bit further down the road.......

 

[XBenX]

Good qn Steve.

Not a day ... hour ... minute ... second goes by without me thinking about riding...

Luckily Im alright at multitasking =)

XSkibumX

 

[NigelW]

My ultimate career goal is for my "job" to be the investment and management of my family fortune.

You seem to be doing that already - lucky bugger!

Unfortunately the "family fortune" part is still work in progress...

Hardly a moment goes by when I'm not thinking about the above (apart from that other thought guys have every 7 seconds)

N.

 

[kissfan]

Hi Steve and all.
Very thought provoking. Probably for about the last 5 years or so, I can honestly say that everyday I have thought about "how can I get to my goals quicker". With some great capital growth over the last 2-3 years things have progressed nicely. My wife sometimes gets a bit tired of my enthusiastic ravings and different scenarios that I present but since meeting with Steve very recently she can see that we are doing fairly well and that things only look like getting better. Steve really opened my eyes up too, so now I can see myself researching a bit more than just property, although property will always be my first love as far as investing goes, (this may change down the track). So yes, I suppose I do live it, and that aint such a bad thing in my opinion.

Regards
Marty

 

[Medine]

Hi Steve,

I recently attended a seminar by Michael Sheargold - who is a Super Coach to the rich and famous. One of his clients is John McGrath.

He gave me his goal achiever card, which is designed to keep me focussed on our goals on a day to day basis. I've only been using it since the start of the month, but so far, so good. All you do is fill in the goals at the start of the month, and then check it off when you look at it each day. I keep it in my filofax so that I look at it constantly. I feel like I'm more focussed on the big picture since using it!

Cheers, Medine.

 

[NigelW]

I think focus and habits are the key. In the past I've been quite skeptical about "rah rah" type positive thinking tricks...but maybe there's something in it.

You get what you aim for I guess. if you don't know where you're going any road will take you there...

end of cut price philosophising...

 

[Aceyducey]

living it daily

I reckon I average 4 hours a day looking at new investments, assessing the performance of existing ones, working on developing my (investment) biz further, networking with other investors & on self-education.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

 

[GreatPig]

As I'm currently just getting into investing, a lot of my spare time is spent in research and education - initially for real estate and more recently for share investing.

As for living it, I think my employer and my wife would both prefer I didn't live it quite so much .

While I may well be kidding myself, I'm hoping to reduce the amount of time I need to spend on researching and managing my investments, as I don't really want this as a full time job any more than my current job. I have so many other interests that I currently don't have much time for, that if I gave up work completely I probably still wouldn't have time to do everything I'd like to do. At least I'd be able to spend more time doing them though . I was once amazed by a colleague who told me that after work he just goes home and watches TV because he's got nothing else to do. That's a totally alien concept to me!

What sort of other interests? Well music is my big love. While I've studied piano and guitar at different times, and would have given almost anything to be good enough to do it professionally (maybe even sold my soul to the devil ), I accepted years ago that I didn't have the necessary talent to be as good as I would like (primarily for jazz). Still, if I had the time, I'd soldier on regardless.

Then there are outdoor pursuits (primarily rockclimbing and bushwalking), learning foreign languages (I'd like to pick up French again, work on my Mandarin, continue with the Japanese I started briefly some years ago, and also learn Spanish), photography (my good camera spends most of its time in the cupboard), dancing (primarily Latin & rock'n'roll), writing fiction, and of course reading it. And I'd love to get back into playing squash, something I used to be quite good at and played all the time, but I'm not sure that my body could hack the pace now .

And those are just the major interests. While I think about them far more than I think about investing, they are what give me the incentive to get my investing going and make it work.

There's a saying that always sticks in my mind: no one on their death bed ever said they wished they'd spent more time at the office.

And another one: life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.

The first reminds me of my priorities on those occasions when I'm thinking I should really stay back late and get a few more things done. And the second reminds me that if I don't get my arse into gear, it ain't gonna happen (for confirmation of that I listen to the Pink Floyd song "Time" , with its lyrics like: "And then one day you find, ten years have got behind you. No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun").

Okay... I think I've blathered on enough now...

GP

 

[qaz]

living it daily

I reckon I average 4 hours a day looking at new investments, assessing the performance of existing ones, working on developing my (investment) biz further, networking with other investors & on self-education.

Cheers,

Aceyducey

What do you do with the rest of your time?.

 

[House_Keeper]

After my day job and my family, there is not always time to focus on investments on a daily basis. So I tend to spend a few nights a week and during the week-end.

I stay focused by having a goal in mind in what I want to achieve on a weekly basis in regards to investments.

Cheers,

 

[silas]

Hi All. Good question and goes to the heart of what do you want from life determined by what you prioritise in your life. For me my goal is to see communities here and overseas own and then be empowered for sustainable change in all spheres of life as they prioritise. Investing is to help to develop the wealth to see this happen at a greater rate.

To this end I also get up at 5:30 - 6:00am and spend time reading the bible, praying and contemplating the day and projects on the table, for a healthy spirit. Three days a week then I go to the gym for a healthy body (Good time to think of projects on the go - financial and work). Come home and watch the news especially for major issues and overnight financial results. Spend time with children getting ready for school, clean up then do email for healthy relationships. Then I start working on projects if necessary investing otherwise all the other projects on the go, seeing people, being part of meetings, lunch if possible and talk with my wife (again healthy realtionships). Afternoon is more of the same. If Wednesday I try to spend some part of the day in study, for a healthy mind. At the moment I am studying a book written by the jubilee centre in England that propose that the financial currency we crrently use to measure everything in our lives and communities is inadequate at least and relationships are a better currency that goes accross cultures.

Evenings are spent with family or friends or computer catching up on accounts etc. Of course this is if I am in the country and not overseas.

To keep abreast of financial goals I read many books, articles etc and Continue to plan and dream toward all the projects whether a new training program to prepare people to work in communities, a community engagement project or a financial project.

 

[Sleeper]

I just recently updated an XL spreadsheet I made some years ago with our ten year goals for property and shares. I've printed the sheet and taped it into the front of my diary.

Now I am reminded of our goals every day. Funny how that diary always seems to open to that page. Trouble is then I start "living the dream" and have a little problem dragging myself back to the work at hand.

 

[quintets]

A great daily rhythm

To this end I also get up at 5:30 - 6:00am and spend time reading the bible, praying and contemplating the day and projects on the table, for a healthy spirit. Three days a week then I go to the gym for a healthy body (Good time to think of projects on the go - financial and work). Come home and watch the news especially for major issues and overnight financial results. Spend time with children getting ready for school, clean up then do email for healthy relationships. Then I start working on projects if necessary investing otherwise all the other projects on the go, seeing people, being part of meetings, lunch if possible and talk with my wife (again healthy realtionships). Afternoon is more of the same. If Wednesday I try to spend some part of the day in study, for a healthy mind. At the moment I am studying a book written by the jubilee centre in England that propose that the financial currency we crrently use to measure everything in our lives and communities is inadequate at least and relationships are a better currency that goes accross cultures.

Evenings are spent with family or friends or computer catching up on accounts etc. Of course this is if I am in the country and not overseas.

To keep abreast of financial goals I read many books, articles etc and Continue to plan and dream toward all the projects whether a new training program to prepare people to work in communities, a community engagement project or a financial project.

Silas

That's pretty impressive that you can cram so much into 24 hours. You've touched on kids, wife, work, body AND spirit. That's a great rhythm you have. Kudos!

I'm going to have to start thinking about my daily rhythm a bit more seriously.

Jireh

 

[Bear924]

My 'work day' is generally as follows:
- I get up at 0600 (watch morning news while having b/fast)
- Leave for work at 0630
- Read (usually investment/life book) on the way to work till 0700 (I'd hate to have to drive, commuting is some of my best 'own' time.
0700 - 1000 - Work
1000-1030 - Morning Tea (often browse somersoft, sometimes read)
1030 - 1230 - Work
1230 -1300 - Lunch (dido morning tea)
1300 - 1630 - Work
1630-1700 - Commute home again (dido commute to)
1700-1900 - Evening activity (dog walk two times a week (5km))
1900-2000 - Make Tea, watch TV if anything good on.
2000 on - Sometimes TV, sometimes sport, going to a quiz night weekly at the moment, sometimes sitting around talking... just depends
2200 - aim for bed by now, after this I start getting tired at work.

So I guess the commute and lunch breaks enables me to stay focused on investing. Try not to read to much investing stuff before bed, sometimes I get too excited and can't sleep.