The great investors are all philosophers who have mastered life and not just finance

This year I have read a lot about investors and investing. It started with this book – Richer, Wiser,Happier – and then I got hooked. Lots of books and podcasts later I realised a few things. Unfortunately, how to get better at investing isn’t one of those. I am still learning.

Investing is actually the popular game in the world. Because everybody plays this game. The stakes might be different, the risks involved might be different and the asset classes might be different. But everyone is playing the investing game. And most of them are playing it very actively and almost everyday.

It obviously starts with the basic functional need of making money for your life’s requirements. But very soon it transcends into a race for bragging rights. At that stage it’s no longer just about the monetary gains. It becomes a game wherever keeps score.

Investing is a very competitive sport and the ultimate game to prove how smart or intelligent you are. Talking about your returns or investments is a very popular way of showing off. Almost every time you meet friends or family, someone will talk about “some” killer investment that they have made and the outsized returns they have got. It’s the most sure fire way to induce FOMO after Instagram. They often don’t mention the bad ones though.

This is most of the world.

And then there are the real masters. The real greats of the game. We have all heard about Buffet and Munger. There are lots of other equally great investors. There is one common trait that I noticed amongst them. They all seem to have conquered LIFE itself. Not just investing. Have overcome most of the biases and emotional traps that most humans fall for. Gained control over their mind. When you hear them talk and if you didn’t know about them already, you might feel that they are philosophers. These guys also don’t indulge in the showing off that lesser accomplished investors do. Another sign of their wisdom. I couldn’t figure out the cause and effect. What came first. Did they become wise because of their journey of investing success ? Or did they become investing geniuses because they were already full of wisdom ?

I don’t have an answer. But sageness and top bracket investing success clearly have some correlation. We have also heard enough times that long term investing success often involves resisting temptations and FOMO triggers.

This completely changed how I think of investing skill. Earlier I would think of it purely as a finance skill. But now I think of it as a proxy for wisdom and mindfulness.

I have lots of work to do.