I received this email from a reader recently-
Boss, I’d prefer to read actionable articles on what stocks you like, and what trends you are seeing in the markets, etc. and not these crappy “how to think and invest better” articles. ~ AJ
And then this slightly more respectable one –
Your posts are like sermons. Please write about your stock picks, your predictions, and how sectors and markets are likely to perform in the future. ~ MK
Well, over time, I have become so kind that I have stopped replying to “actionable” emails like these, which lie lost among 36,236 unread emails in my inbox.
Life is tough, you see!
But if I were to shell out a blanket reply to such emails and suggestions for writing actionable, current, stock specific, market specific posts, here it is –
My dear friend,
Thanks for your feedback and suggestion, and sorry to note that you are not finding my posts relevant.
But please note that’s purely by design.
I have consciously thought about the kind of posts I want to avoid writing – exactly the types you want me to write.
But answering why I write what I write would be difficult because, for me, this question is as profound as the questions – why are we born, why do we fall in love, why do we die?
If I pretended I could answer any of these questions well, I’d be fooling myself.
As George Orwell wrote – “All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery. Writing…is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand. For all one knows that demon is simply the same instinct that makes a baby squall for attention.”
Anyways, for your sake, I will still venture out once, and maybe looking like a fool, to try and clarify my position on why I write what I write.
You see, as lazy and selfish as I am, I would like to see my writing endure well over time. I would be happy to see what I write being just as effective thirty years from now as it may be today, just as helpful to someone starting investing in 2040 as to someone investing in 2020.
You may find nothing actionable in my writing, but hopefully it leaves you with something to think about.
Good investing, after all, is 99% good thinking and just 1% good acting. And 99% is where I wish you and myself to be.
Hope that helps.
Thanks for reading!
Regards,
Vishal
Well, if you are still reading this, here are the best things I read and thought about today –
- How to Talk to Your Friend About Picking Stocks (The Irrelevant Investor)
- How Four Americans Robbed the Bank of England (Longreads)
- Warren Buffett’s writeups on stocks (Brian Langis)
- The Future of Higher Education: Dr. Sanjay Gupta (CNN)
- [Podcast] Jeremy Grantham – An Uncertain Crisis (Investor’s Field Guide)
- Thought for today – “In our decision-making lives, we aren’t that good at taking this kind of perspective – at accessing the past and future to get a better view of how any given moment might fit into the scope of time. It just feels how it feels in the moment and we react to it … We make a long-term stock investment because we want it to appreciate over years or decades. Yet there we are, watching a downward tick over a few minutes, consumed by imagining the worst. What’s the volume? Is it heavier than usual? Better check the news stories. Better check the message boards to find out what rumors are circulating.” ~ Annie Duke, Thinking in Bets
That’s about it from me for today.
Stay safe.
With respect,
— Vishal
Dear Vishal
Investing is 90% about temperament and 10% about selling/buying stocks.
Your articles are about improving that 90%.
I am a regular reader of your articles. I thank you for your insightful thoughts.
Keep up the great work you are doing.
Hi Vishal,
As a long time reader of your blog I can say: your writing has evolved over time. Old readers of your blog will always understand and appreciate what you write. New readers should understand that every post cannot be actionable but if anyone wants there is always something to learn. I’m not very active in the markets but I love to read your posts and a few others.
You have also started including the links to what you have been reading. Highly appreciated!!
I know you have shared the books that have influenced your thinking the most, but please keep adding to that list as you discover more gems and let us know which other books you have enjoyed.
Thanks for all your writings.
Stay safe and healthy!
Milan
I have been reading you for the last three years. Reading you, I have developed a perspective of certain things and I appreciate what I have learnt from you. I don’t want another analyst telling me which stocks to pick and which ones to avoid. There are so many of them around us. Were you another such analyst, I would have never come this far reading your articles. Keep your articles exactly the way they are. We all need wisdom.
Hello Sir,
I like your post the most.
What ever you writing is just awesome, Please keep continuing this way, it not only taught us about Investing but also provide us lot of life lessons.
stock pics are available everywhere but there are a very few which are talking about ways to Invest.
You are doing great Job.
Regards,
Manas Mishra
HI Vishal,
I am long time reader of your post and I must admit that though I invest regularly in stock, I never read your post with the idea of seeking some wisdom on any specific stock.
The best thing about your posts are that they can be read by anyone and everyone and not necessarily an investor. They are insightful and makes one thing about life in larger context.
Keep writing the way you write. For stock specific actions, there are hordes of advisors, both free and paid, available online.
Regards
JS
HI Vishal:
A huge fan of your newsletter.
Stumbling into your SN through serendepity is probably the best thing that has happened to me, in my quest forinvestment. It has taught me that investing has many more facets to it, than just crunching numbers, formulae, tips etc.
Your posts broaden our horizon as human beings, not just as investors.
And 99% of your base want you to continue what you are doing, and the 1% are, well……….
Dear Vishal,
I regularly read what you write and feel that it equips me well in my pursuit to become a better investor. It is a pleasure to have someone like you in this noisy world help set a direction for aspiring investors like me.
Keep up the good work!
Cheers,
Maulik
I have been following your posts since 2013 if I remember correctly – I read mostly to humour myself – the usual thoughts in my head are – “Oh look, another quote from somebody” or “Why haven’t I seen a buffet said so quote yet” or “Okay – stories of 100x returns are good but has he ever done it?”
The answer to the last question is what I have been asking since 2013.
People have funny ways of justifying things – Think Trump justifying that CoVID is sham. Your post above is along those lines. It sounds like the cry of a child who when he could not compete threw his hands and said – “I shall not participate in this rat race and anybody else who does is an idiot”. Very convinient!
All I ask (and some others who make the ‘actionable’ crowd do) – at the very least – please justify that you are fit to give us this inaction-able gyan that you have been dolling out since all these years (and plan to do so for the next 35!) – please post a yearly summary of what you bought (and presumably never sold) and how much is your return?
Otherwise, you are no different than the guys who give their 5 picks each morning at 9 A.M on a business channel!