Page 81 - Morgan Housel - The Psychology of Money_ Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and Happiness-Harriman House Limited (2020)

Sue wins by a mile.

COBACOBA
There were 1,428 months between 1900 and 2019. Just over 300 of them
were during a recession. So by keeping her cool during just the 22% of the
time the economy was in or near a recession, Sue ends up with almost three-
quarters more money than Jim or Tom.

To give a more recent example: How you behaved as an investor during a

few months in late 2008 and early 2009 will likely have more impact on
your lifetime returns than everything you did from 2000 to 2008.

There is the old pilot quip that their jobs are “hours and hours of boredom
punctuated by moments of sheer terror.” It’s the same in investing. Your
success as an investor will be determined by how you respond to punctuated
moments of terror, not the years spent on cruise control.

A good definition of an investing genius is the man or woman who can do
the average thing when all those around them are going crazy.

Tails drive everything.

When you accept that tails drive everything in business, investing, and
finance you realize that it’s normal for lots of things to go wrong, break, fail,
and fall.

If you’re a good stock picker you’ll be right maybe half the time.

If you’re a good business leader maybe half of your product and strategy
ideas will work.

If you’re a good investor most years will be just OK, and plenty will be bad.

If you’re a good worker you’ll find the right company in the right field after
several attempts and trials.

And that’s if you’re good.