Investing, the Alaa Wardi Style

There are moments in life when you are in awe of someone so much that you wish to be in that person’s shoes, doing what he or she is doing.

I passed one such moment last weekend, watching the Iran-born Saudi Arabian music sensation Alaa Wardi render his composition of a couple of Bollywood songs in a very unique style.

I have loved contemporary music for many years now, but watching Wardi was an experience in itself, and for several reasons.

So what’s so special that I found in Wardi?

As impossible as it may sound, Wardi does not use instruments to generate music for his songs. Instead, he creates his own music using just his body – mouth, tongue, hands, and chest.

You have to watch this video below to see his classy act (Click here if you can’t see the video)…

It’s a Hindi song, but don’t worry if you don’t understand the language for the music will enchant you.

Now you may ask, “What has Alaa Wardi and his music to do with investing?”

A lot, I think.

Before I move ahead, I know you may accuse me of finding investing inspiration in everything I see around me. But that’s the way I look at my world – for inspiration on not just investing, but on living life.

And believe me, there’s enough inspiration to be found everyone. One just needs to open up to the possibilities.

Anyways, coming to Wardi and his amazing music, there are a few investing lessons I can relate to…

1. Harmony
Like Wardi shows, the different music he creates using different body parts all contribute towards the overall performance. That’s what harmony is all about.

In investing as well, you need a great harmony in understanding a business, knowing how to value it, and then having the emotional intelligence to buy it at considerable margin of safety.

Try missing a step, and especially the last one, and you will see an unharmonious disappearance of your savings.

2. Independence
Wardi shows that he needs no musicians to compose his classy music. He has learnt and practiced to do it all by himself.

In investing, it’s the same as learning to be an independent, do-it-yourself investor. It’s not easy to become one, but then who said successful investing is easy?

3. Humility
Just see the humility with which Wardi performs. It’s easy to make out when someone is being arrogant even if he or she is acting in front or the camera. Wardi shows no signs of arrogance.

As an investor, you must avoid arrogance at all times. So what if your last stock-pick turned a multi-bagger? Watch out for overconfidence bias.

4. Precision
Wardi shows an amazing precision in his execution, for without it, his performance would have been noise.

Precision is also vital when it comes to investing. You must not expect a perfect outcome, but try to avoid mistakes that can cause permanent loss of capital.

A great way you can do this by having a precise process and the discipline to act on it.

5. Practice
In his book ‘Outliers’, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the importance of deliberate practice as a way to succeed at anything in life.

I’m sure Wardi has passed Gladwell’s “10,000 hours of deliberate practice” test to perform the way he has done.

As an investor, deliberate practice is what you require to get good at picking the right kind of stocks. If you think you don’t have the time or patience to do it, ask someone else who can do so to manage your money.

Go, create your art!
Learning how Warren Buffett invests or what Charlie Munger says about mental models and behaving well is one thing, creating your own ‘art’ of investing is different.

Believe me, investing is simple but not easy.

As Graham writes in The Intelligent Investor…

The art of investment has one characteristic that is not generally appreciated. A creditable, if unspectacular, result can be achieved by the lay investor with a minimum of effort and capability; but to improve this easily attainable standard requires much application and more than a trace of wisdom.

So, it’s important to learn the art of investing, and then apply your learning to create a masterpiece of a financial life.

Like Wardi is doing in his life, I wish that you keep living and keep rocking!

As you hear him out to get over your Monday morning blues, I’ll watch his second beautiful composition. 🙂