You may not know it, but under my pressed Oxwhite shirts is a chiseled, muscular body, sculpted by many hours in the gym. Okay la, it’s not Greek God standards but give face a bit and stop laughing at the back there. I started working out before investing but realized the mindset and skills are transferable. Here are 3 ways they’re similar – dividends, cut loss and goreng!
This has been my Facebook profile picture for almost 2 years before I changed it today. Granted, I am not as lean now but I’m working hard to get back to this shape. Since getting married, I’ve let myself go in terms of dieting. I was 10kg heavier than the picture above just 2 weeks ago! I’ve successfully lost 5kg in 2 weeks from intermittent fasting and a strict diet.
Dividends: Investing vs Gym
Leading a healthy lifestyle is an investment in yourself, in particular this body you’re using. You want it to last as long as possible and continue paying dividends throughout your old age. Building muscle is the best way to achieve that. Being physically strong ensures you’ll be mobile and independent even when you’re well past retirement age.
Similar to investing, have a plan and stick to it. I keep track of all the exercise routines I do and increase either the weights or the set of repetitions so I incrementally get stronger at each gym session. You have to write this down. No need for fancy apps, I just use the notepad feature in my phone.
Cut Loss: Investing vs Gym
We all know the importance of a cut loss plan if the share you’re trading doesn’t go your way right? Protecting your capital should be your #1 priority. I set my CL at around 10%, so if the share price doesn’t move the way I expected it to, I’ll take the loss and fight another day instead of getting my capital stuck in an ACE Market bottom-of-the-barrel pick for 10 years. This is very hard to do for new investors coz it sounds counter-intuitive but it becomes second nature once you master your emotions.
Same thing with exercise. See your weight go up by 10%? Go on a diet. Now. Don’t wait until you’re obese as that brings many lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. And you’ll have to go for cosmetic surgery to get rid of all that excess flabby skin.
Goreng: Investing vs Gym
Speculative investments are fun. I’ll be the first to admit that I have a goreng fund. It’s 10% of my total stock portfolio. This is like your cheat days. Discipline is key. It’s easy to get seduced by the high risk, high returns of goreng stocks. I made 24.7% in two days in MAHSING stock. Is that sustainable? Hell no. Even Warren Buffet can “only” achieve 20% returns in a year.
Similar to working out, it’s important not to let your cheat day become a cheat week and cheat year. Stick to your allocated goreng fund and don’t give yourself excuses to add to it. Read my article: Cooking With Fire: How To Goreng Stocks.
In my younger days as a Premium Beng, I’ve seen a lot of Paper Bengs around. These are skinny dudes who use their dragon tattoos and long left pinky finger nail to intimidate instead of real physical mastery. I contrast these with the OGs who hit the gym and take muay thai lessons to be better prepared when shit hits the fan. These are two very different mindsets. No prizes in guessing who ends up more successful in their endeavors.
A lot of people ask me how I have motivation to work out. I don’t. Motivation comes and goes. You need discipline and dedication, not motivation. As it turns out, discipline and dedication are also two very important mindsets to have while investing. As Tupac succinctly puts it: 24/7 money’s my mission, just a nigga trying to make a livin’.
Slay in every domain, financial gangsters.
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