May is a special month for me. 8 years ago back in 2014, just a couple of days before I graduated, I ordered my first set of 5 books. It’s been one hell of a journey ever since and I make it a point to read almost a book a week. One year ago, I wrote my first blog on zerotomillion. It’s been 64 such posts in the past one year and I feel thrilled to realise that I’ve begun to compound in writing as well.
There are few things in life I truly believe in. At the top of that list is that Anything one wishes for and dedicates his entire being for is possible. I’m one of those people who actually believes in the law of attraction which I call the law of conpounding- If you do something over and over again for long periods of time, the results are going to surpass even the most optimistic of your wildest imaginations. One of the reasons I’ve been able to survive and somehow thrive in my life is because I’m willing to make ten years commitments. I start something and keep doing it over years together and get better over time.
One of the gifts I had in my life was to be surrounded by people who were far superior than I was in most walks of life- studies, sports, in school, college and at work. However, what I’ve realised is that Will Smith is right- Skill beats talent over time. Skill is acquired by beating on your craft over and over again. Also, a lot of talented people never achieve their full potential because they are good at so many things that they never take that one idea and devote entirely to it. This is why the cool kids in schools or colleges aren’t the ones who end up being a millionaire at 40!
Once you realise the true meaning of compounding and start making it a process of living, you’re bound to be successful. All you have to do is to remain patient, repeat taking small steps and not give up. This is true if you’re lifting weights, reading books or Investing your money.
I’ve a lot of friends who start by saying- I’m a long term investor and I’ll be invested over the next 15 years. Well, that’s a sound idea stretched too far. You don’t need to burden yourself with such a big statement. All you need to do is to say that I’m willing to invest X amount over the next one to three years and come heaven or hell, I’m not going to run away.
The real test of an investor is when the markets are sideways over six eight months, like they are today. Anyone who has been in the market for the last one year is either barely in green or possibly down 10-15%. So those who enter committing ten fifteen years are silently praying for a pullback so that they can sell at their cost and get out for good. The IPO frenzy has also died a gruesome death with most issues from Paytm to LIC being underwater. Even the earlier heroes like Zomato, Nazara, Nykaa are down in the dumps.
So this is what I believe one must remember – Over a long period of time, if you stay invested in equity markets, you’re bound to make a lot of money. However, every other year, there are going to be phases when you’ll just not make anything. If you give up now, you’ll forever curse the markets and regret three years later when something which you sold 20% down went five times up. Even the mighty Amazon has gone down 70% at least thrice in the past 20 years. Imagine the plight of someone who sold Amazon in 2008, only to see it go up 30 times and more.
To my friends who take some inspiration from my journey, all I have to say is to stay invested in life and in equities. There is hardly anybody we know who kept doing something he was doing ten years ago and didn’t give up. You know what we call somebody who actually didnt give up- Great! Greatness is not the preserve of a precious chosen few. It’s possible for you, me and everyone to achieve greatness in our own lives, in a field of our choosing by compounding.
We all hail Jhunjhunwala for holding Titan for the past 25 years. Well, he made his Billion Dollars by not giving up on the idea that Titan can become a lakh crore company.
Happy Sunday!
Life is all about Compounding! 