I’ve recently been reading and learning about Stoicism. I recently read Meditations by Marcus Aurelius and really enjoyed it. I’m sure that age and my military background heavily influence my thoughts on this, but I really find that I like the Stoic philosophy. I definitely resonates with me.
One of the stoic life lessons that I really like is the idea that “tentative effort leads to tentative outcomes.”
That is a lesson that I learned later in life, particularly in the flight training portion of my career. I had to completely and utterly throw all of my efforts and energy into the training in order to complete it. There was no “half-way” option. You can’t be an ok fighter pilot and survive. You have to put energy and focus into it every day. Professional athletics is where this is also obvious. You can’t go half speed at the higher levels of sport.
I wish I was able to understand this at an earlier time. While I don’t think it would have led me to be a professional athlete I think that I would have accomplished a bit more and been more confident. Luckily, however, I did learn eventually and it has helped in what success I’ve had as an adult. It is also a lesson that I’m trying to pass on to my children.
So, if something is worth doing, don’t do it halfheartedly. Approach your investing with commitment and energy. You will not be successful with tentative effort. Do the study and the work, and then bring discipline to the execution and you will succeed.
As always, if you are looking for a gift for the young reader in your life, you can find some great children’s books on Amazon. Just go to these links The Desert Fairies of Oylara, The Rainforest Fairies of Oylara, and The Artic Fairies of Oylara and order them.
Finally, check out some pretty cool music on YouTube if you have a few minutes: Introduction , Mosh, Smoke, Watch Out , and First Day Out. Enjoy!
Patient and Disciplined Saving 