From the pen of Karin Iten…

Dear Investment Academy Reader,

There’s just one thing that impedes most people from achieving investment success. In fact, any sort of success for that matter. Most people don’t even realise this impediment exists.

But Investment Academy correspondent, Bengt Saelensminde has been studying what makes some people successful and I mean successful in any field, not just finance. And he’s discovered the one single thing they overcome that stands in the way for others. Today, he’s going to share it with you.

Now this has nothing to do with intelligence (which is usually more of a hindrance), or social background. In most fields, you don’t even have to have a natural talent.

The biggest thing standing in anyone’s way is inertia

Inertia is deadly.

Let me explain… inertia is the effort needed to get something to start to move. Like pushing a car, the hardest part is actually getting the thing to start rolling… then as it gathers momentum, it’s easy to push it along.

Successful people overcome personal inertia. They push themselves… they put in that bit of extra effort every day to make them better at what they do. They’re not content to do just enough.

Successful investors look for new opportunities and they constantly put in that little bit of extra effort to expose themselves to new ideas and trades.

Kick away the obstacle holding you back

Have you ever read an interesting article and been convinced to go out and buy a stock, but then when it came down to it you didn’t? You forgot all about it, or you didn’t organise the bank transfer, or whatever… well, that’s inertia.

It’s always holding you back.

But the good news is that it’s just a state of mind. You CAN overcome it and it’s never too late. Start today.

I urge you to put in at least 20 minutes every day to do just one new thing. It could be opening up that trading account that you’ve been meaning to do for ages, buying that gold coin or getting some exposure to Asian shares.

But you need to “do” it. Reading about someone else’s experiences is NOT doing it. You may need to commit time, or money or both. But you’ll need to commit something, or else you’ll never overcome your inertia.

Just do it today. It definitely doesn’t have to be a big investment, but make the trade. The trade you’ve read about, but haven’t done anything about. The trade may, or may not make you money in the end… that’s not the point (for the moment anyway). The point here is that you experience something new. That you grow as an investor.

Let me repeat. You need to be “in” the trade. Passively following an investment won’t give you the same emotional attachment as having staked some money.

Inertia makes for inert investors. They are dull and boring. They don’t find the great trades because they’re not constantly looking for them. They don’t have what Gordon Ramsey refers to as the “cojones” to get out there and give something a go....

You’re already half-way there

As a reader of The Investment Academy, you’re half-way there. You’ve obviously got an interest in investing and you’re reading around the subject. Perhaps I’m preaching to the converted here, in which case I’m sorry. But it’s always good to be reminded of great habits anyway.

I want you to be like the proverbial sponge… that absorbs new ideas. I want you to share in the excitement that engulfs successful investors. Why are some investors so good at what they do?

Because they love it. Because they’re always reading, digging around and finding new trades. Because they’re not boring, and most importantly because they put their money down and open the trade.

If you can’t think of a new trade to do today, then you’re not spending enough time reading, or you’re not reading the right stuff. You’re not generating trading ideas.

So overcome your inertia to move forwards and become a more successful investor.

Good investing,

Bengt Saelensminde
for the Investment Academy