Saturday, November 1, 2014

The Costly Four Letters Word

Wait
No, vulgarity is NOT allowed in this blog, so this four letters word is not what you are thinking about. I am talking about the word "WAIT", which is quite a common phrase to use when someone is trying to procrastinate any action.

"Wait, I am not ready yet"

"Wait, I don't think I can do it!"

"Wait! You go ahead first, I join you some other time" etc..

Of course, it might seems harmless to procrastinate once in a while. However, there is always opportunity cost that we need to pay for NOT taking action on the thing that we like to do (or should be doing), like saving, investing and even maintaining a healthier lifestyle. We will not pay the "cost" immediately but I am sure it will come back to haunt us sometime in the future. 

Time wait for no body, so if you are planning to do something (anything at all), JUST DO IT. This is especially true if you are taking action on investment as TIME is the essence and it does make a huge difference in regards to your time "in the market".

To be frank, I am guilty of this four letters word too (that explains why I am into the market so late in life ;-)). Hence, this blog post serve as a reminder to myself too. 

Cheers! 

10 comments:

  1. Hi Richard,

    I figure waiting can have its disadvantages AND advantage(s).

    One example: A few days ago, i was contemplating to buy Frasers Centrepoint Trust when without much logic, the price shot up six cents within the day. Instead of chasing the price, i decided to wait it out. Two days later, the price came back down and I got in at the level i wanted (though if i had WAITED 15 minutes more, i would have gotten it at three cents cheaper).

    Perhaps it was a fluke. Haha. But i get the rationale behind your post and i agree an early headstart in investing can make a difference due to compounding. :)

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    1. Hahaha, I guess that's a bit like "timing the market" and should be practiced only by pro? Lol

      Thanks for dropping by ;-)

      Delete
  2. Those investors started early in their 20s in early 2007; guess what happened?

    How about those just started in early 2009 but much later in their 30s?

    Cost of WAIT?


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    1. Cw8888 : errrr I don't know wor, what happen huh? As I was not "born" then yet lol

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  3. "We" (You?) know one guy in his 40s came in the second half of 2009 with his large War Chest and the rest is History.

    He has more than enough "passive" income and net worth to sing song and going around looking for safe pokes.

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    Replies
    1. Cw8888 : I think I know who you are talking about.. I guess 同人不同命Lor! He earned it anyway! Lol

      Delete
  4. Hi Richard

    I was getting excited by your title. Thought there will be some kind of controversy in your post :)

    Waiting is my favorite word too but in other sense. I hope its not fatal to my life.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. B : Hahahaha, luckily I made it clear upfront, so that you won't waste too much time to read until the end and found out that it is not related to something you are looking for! lol

      hahaha : it won't be fatal lar (until we are talking about waiting for some sort of big surgery/operation)! ;-)

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  5. in the words of michael gerber , author of E-myth - too many entrepreneurs are caught in the doing , doing and doing stage that they are not able to liberate themselves and burn themselves out !

    IMO, waiting is a virtue and is a lost gem that many have not discovered its prowess only to be bewitched by the fanfare of the world. The over-eagerness to see results, desperation, envy and social status comparison misguided us to hurry faster than the law of nature allows. Humans outsmart themselves by pulling out the roots of the seeds they plant every now and then hoping to bring forth the harvest in shorter time than anticipated.

    The reasons for procrastination or waiting as cited in your post while exhibiting symptoms of fear, lack of action or proactive spirit is only the tip of the iceberg. What lies beneath is the inability to clearly decide what one wants.

    Where there is no vision, the people dies so says the bible and Leader like John C Maxwell confirm in his books - A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.

    The human capabilities are like the tip of the iceberg, we have only utilised a small percentage of what our truth worth is capable of doing Let the thinking do the job and once the job of clarity is done, the journey however volatile is but a joyful one.


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Desmond : thanks for dropping by and provide another perspective of WAIT! ;-)

      Delete

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