Gain Confidence

LEARN THE EASIEST WAY TO GAIN CONFIDENCE AND TO CONTROL YOUR LIFE IN 5 MINUTES?

How to Gain Confidence

Most people’s beliefs about investing are very tenuous. There are, of course, people who are very passionate about investing. They don’t view investing as some esoteric subject, but rather as a field intimately connected to the human behavior they observe in their everyday lives.

For everyone else, however, beliefs about investing come in the form of passive knowledge. The tendency is simply to accumulate an inventory of conventional dictums. Investing beliefs are formed much the way a student prepares for a test. If the subject of investing were as simple as a third grade spelling bee, this wouldn’t be a problem.

But, investing is a far more complex subject. That isn’t to say it is necessarily a difficult subject. For some, it is relatively easy. But, it is never simple. An investor can not analyze relationships with the certitude and precision a physicist can. The investor is concerned with human phenomena, which are necessarily complex phenomena.

The complexity of the subject is what makes it appear so difficult. While you can develop a set of guiding principles, it is impossible to devise rules that will lead you to the best course of action in each and every case.

If you try to build an intellectual edifice based on principles such as high returns on equity, strong consumer franchises, low price-to-earnings ratios, low enterprise value-to-EBIT ratios, high free cash flow margins, and rock solid balance sheets – you will fail.

The entire structure will collapse, leaving the architect disillusioned. Why? Because the items listed above are desirable attributes – nothing more and nothing less. They are not true principles. Even as rules of thumb, they are badly flawed. Ultimately, investment decisions are not made about general classes; they are made about special cases.

Every investment decision requires good judgment and sound reasoning. You need to start with the correct principles. But, principles alone are not enough. You aren’t being asked what the law is, you’re being told to apply the law to the case before you.

This is where a lot of people start to feel overwhelmed. Having learned that investing is not simply a matter of running down a checklist, they don’t know where to begin.

The answer is to start with what you know best. Begin with your most strongly held beliefs. Subject them to honest scrutiny. Then, and only then, apply them to the case at hand.

Do you believe the concept of intrinsic value is a valid one? Do you believe it is a useful model? If so, then begin there. What does the concept of intrinsic value really mean? What conclusions follow from this belief?

In the case of intrinsic value, the most difficult conclusion you’ll have to grapple with is the idea that you can pay too much for a great business. For some, this is a relatively simple conflict to resolve. For whatever reason, they prefer cheap merchandise to quality merchandise.

For others, the conflict between intrinsic value and investing in great businesses is painfully difficult to resolve. But, if you are ever going to have confidence in your judgments, you have to be willing to submit your investment beliefs to honest scrutiny. You have to be your own prosecutor. You have to present the evidence against your thesis.

If you aren’t willing to do that, you’ll end up questioning the investment beliefs you do hold every time you underperform the market. Many proven investment techniques have lagged the market over short periods of time. Occasionally, the performance gap has been very wide. Regardless of whether you adopt a primarily qualitative or primarily quantitative approach to investing, this short-term underperformance is unavoidable.

It’s avoidable in the sense that a good investor can get lucky and not suffer a down year for a decade or so. Likewise, it’s possible to outperform an index year after year – if you’re lucky. But, it isn’t possible to adopt a strategy that guarantees such outperformance.

The best you can do is adopt a strategy that offers the right odds. A series of investment operations undertaken in accordance with such a strategy will not guarantee favorable outcomes in every case, but it should provide satisfactory results over the long-term.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat. I don’t want to encourage dogmatism. But, I do want to make sure you do not confuse that which is conventional with that which is reasonable. There is a lot of conventional, moderate sounding advice given to investors that does not hold up to careful scrutiny.

The most obvious example is diversification. Making a series of bets on separate high-probability events is an excellent idea. Diversifying across several different asset classes and hundreds of securities is something entirely different. Even if there are hundreds or thousands of excellent investment opportunities, it does not follow that an investor ought to make every reasonable bet. After all, some will appear to be more reasonable than others. There is no sense in taking on several difficult tasks in the hopes of achieving a result that can be produced by taking on a few very easy tasks.

You don’t have to agree with me on all these issues – most people don’t. But, it is vital that you question the unstated assumptions upon which an investment operation is based. You might come to the same conclusion as those who engage in wide diversification. But, you need to come to that conclusion on your own.

Many investors have not even bothered to consider the underlying premise of diversification. They aren’t really sure why diversification is a desirable strategy. They don’t know how it minimizes risk or at what point the benefit from adding an additional position becomes immaterial. Diversification may be a prudent strategy. But, you can only decide that for yourself after you’ve considered the benefits in terms of risk reduction and the detriments in terms of selectivity reduction.

If I were forced to spend my life betting on horse races, I’m quite certain I would bet on very few races. Whenever I did bet on a race, I’d bet on several different horses.

Why? Because I know more about people than I do about horses. The likelihood that a few horses in a few races get too much favorable attention seems much greater than the likelihood that I could ever make reasonably specific judgments as to which horse is most likely to win a given race. Of course, I would do best if I didn’t bet on any horse races at all.

So, the question is whether stocks are anything like horses. I don’t think they are. When it comes to businesses, I’m a lot more comfortable with the idea of picking the few winners from the many losers – especially when the odds get out of whack. The one tactic that would remain the same is inaction. Acting less and thinking more is sound advice wherever money or commitment is concerned.

A successful investor has to have confidence in his judgments. I don’t know how you can gain that confidence without subjecting your beliefs to honest scrutiny. An unexamined philosophy will never exorcise your deepest doubts – and for as long as these doubts remain, you will be unable to find the confidence you seek.

In life, many different circumstances help us to develop our self-confidence.  How we dress and how we look to other people is very important.  If we know we look good we stand up straighter and smile more.  If we know that the outfit we are wearing suits not only our colouring but our body shape and is suitable for the occasion then that comes over to the people we meet.  Only seven per cent of a person’s judgement of you is based on what you say to them.  The rest of their judgement is based on your appearance and body language which includes eye contact.

One of the most obvious signs of a lack of self-confidence is the inability to be able to look people in the eye for long periods when talking to them.  Eye contact reveals a lot about you including your honesty or hostility or your enthusiasm or disinterest.   If you can’t look people in the eye, you appear to be underconfident, people can think you are concealing something or that you are just not interested in them and what they are saying.

Anyone can improve their eye contact through practice.  The best place to start is with friends and family.  If you have children, notice how their attention increases if you read them a story with occasional eye contact as opposed to no eye contact. 

However, be careful not to develop an unrelenting stare since this sort of eye contact can conveys arrogance or hostility.  Better to try and aim for a balance between zero and constant eye contact.  This you can do by briefly alternating periods of eye-to-eye contact with shifting your gaze.

If you find yourself in a situation where you need to speak to more than one person at a time, you must remember to make contact and connect with each individual person in turn through separate eye contact.  Larger groups can be more tricky but by working your way through different parts of the audience with direct eye contact it’s amazing how much more attentive your audience will be and how much more respect and credibility you will gain.

Eyes can talk, smile and express all sorts of emotions so remember to use them to their best advantage.  A make-up lesson can add still further confidence.

Let me share with you the strategy that changed my life. I call it short-term pain for long-term gain. That doesn’t sound too appetizing at first, does it? It will be finger licking good once you understand it.

The nature of all innovation is to enable people to do things faster, easier, and more convenient. Humans are by nature lazy. That’s not good or bad it’s just the way we are. Given the choice to do something the easy way or the hard way, it’s human nature to do it the easiest way. There are times however when this natural tendency works against your best interest. The fact that most people will take the easy route can also work in your favor, provided you don’t.

Here’s what I mean. Most people will take the short-term gain of avoiding the risk of trying something new and, by default, endure the long-term pain of underachieving in their life. Rather than risk the potential of failure they would rather not try in the first place.

A doctor endures over a decade of pain in attending medical school and interning in order to enjoy the long-term gain of a lifetime of prestige and wealth. A person endures the short-term pain of regular exercise and eating smart for the long-term gain of looking and feeling great. You can endure the short-term pain of saving money and paying off debt in order to enjoy the long-term gain of being financially secure in retirement.

The common strategy among 95% of the population is short-term gain for long-term pain. They stop trying after high school or college and accept their place in the rat race. This is self-doubt in action on a large scale.

Four important examples of short-term gain for long-term pain are:

Other people use money to build security for their families or a foundation for the poor. Money doesn’t care one way or the other. People who understand money save at least 10% of their income and invest it so it grows over time. They stay out of debt and pay their credit cards off monthly. People who understand interest collect it. Those who don’t, pay it. The short-term gain of buying something you don’t need results in the long-term pain of reaching retirement age and being dead or dead broke.

The truth on menopause and weight gain
One of the major causes of weight gain in women is the changes in their hormone levels and sedentarism. Studies show that about 90 percent of menopausal women experience weight gain between the ages 35 to 55. This is not surprising because weight gain comes with the territory of aging and menopausal.
Medical experts say that menopause occurs when a woman’s ovaries has stopped producing estrogen which is responsible for ovulation and menstruation. Today, more and more women who are experiencing menopause go through weight gain due to hormonal changes brought about by aging. Experts explain that with aging, the muscles in the body start to decrease in bulk along with the slowing of metabolism. This slowing down of metabolism along with decrease in bulk of the body’s muscles contributes to weight gain. Aside from weight gain, menopause also leads to loss of sexual appetite or loss of libido, vaginal atrophy, and growth or loss of hair in the head and face. With all these demoralizing truths, it is common that women who are experiencing menopause lose self-confidence and esteem. But, it shouldn’t stay that way. With the help of science and modern researches, weight gain during menopausal years can be solved.
THE WEIGHT GAIN
Weight gain during menopause is as common as aging. Usually, women sometimes gain about 10 to15 pounds starting from their abdomen, to the hips, thighs, and rear. Studies show that weight gain on women usually starts during their pre-menopausal years and will continue to pile up as they grow older. For those who have experienced early menopausal due to major operation or surgery, they are expected to gain weight faster compared to those who haven’t.
Because of the changes in their weight or size, many women are starting to dread the thought of menopausal. It is recommended to exerciseregularly and eat to one’s appetite. Experts say that women should be more aware when they are entering the stage of menopausal so they can prepare for it. Physicians say that women should expect that as they enter the early stages of menopause, they would have difficulty maintaining their weight because of the fluctuation in their hormones. Because of these natural hormonal changesthat include estrogen, testosterone, and androgen levelsa man’s or woman’s appetite, metabolism, and fat storage are greatly affected.
UNVEILING THE REASONS BEHIND WEIGHT GAIN DURING MENOPAUSE
Before sulking into a pit of depression, a woman must know the reasons behind it so she can make the necessary adjustments.
1.Hormone deficiency and lack of female hormones that slows down metabolism. Lack of estrogen leads to excessive weight gain because it alters certain functions of the body and greatly influences fat distribution in the body. You must understand estrogen and fat distribution very well.
2.Slow metabolism due to aging. As people grow older, their metabolism starts to slow down. One effective way of reducing energy intake, women who are experiencing menopause are recommended to have a balanced diet composed of whole grains, fruits and vegetables.
3.Lack of exercise or physical activity. As women enter their menopausal stage, they become more sedentary in almost everything that they do. This inactive lifestyle leads them to weight gain because they are not getting enough physical exercise they should get. If muscle pains are giving a woman a hard time to do such simple and regular exercises, she can try taking in vitamin and mineral supplement to boost her energy levels that contain calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, chromium and selenium.
4.The use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) can also be a big factor in gaining weight. Although HRT is known to help give back lost female hormones, this treatment can also add up on the weight she already has because it works. HRT has also been subject to serious warnings in their use recently.
5.Weight gain can also be traced in increased food intake due to emotional problems like depression. Emotional eating or overeating due to frustration over weight gain is also a big factor that contributes to excessive weight gain. Talking to friends and satying active are powerful ways to fight back.

In case some people have not heard, but Sarah Silverman made some pretty negative comments about Britney Spears’ children calling them ‘adorable mistakes’. That being said, I thought I would cover this topic in relation to our own self improvement. What does a person really draw from thinking and saying things such as that? Plenty of things will be gained from this. One of the most dominant things Ms Silverman is doing is bringing on negative energy to herself. Not only to herself but others around her and those watching the show and reading the reviews. This simply spreads waves of negativity which will take a lot of time to recover from. Why do people say such things? It seems she may very well have a little room for some improvement deep down inside.

When we point the blame or make negative comments towards others, it has always been to my understanding that those statements say a lot about ourselves. Remember the saying “point the finger at someone and you’ll have three more pointing back at you”? This is really very true. It seems that when a person blames another for their shortcomings, they are really just pointing out those shortcomings that they can really relate to. Now, of course, this does not always apply. But, if a person is just saying something to bring the other person down, then the chances are pretty hefty that the one pointing the finger is pretty low on the self-esteem totem pole. Why would they even bother to point it out? To make themselves feel better? Does this really make a person with an inferiority complex feel more confident?

Confidence is obviously a tough thing to keep up in today’s world, it seems, with TV and all the media influence that has become a part of our daily existence. In many ways it is indeed causing many of us to feel more insecure about ourselves and accepting of others’ opinions of ourselves. Even if we LIKE that ‘socially undesired’ characteristic about ourselves, many will change just to appease and/or fit in with the crowd that is deemed by the society and culture we are surrounded by. This seems to me to be more of a survival instinct that we were born with early on in our human existence. And when something like that has lasted for this long, it obviously must take quite a while a tweak a bit. So, if we get one thing out of this article it would be this: remember that when you are publicly displaying any sort of remark, positive or negative, about another person; you are actually publicly making a bold statement about yourself. So, keep it positive, or at least proactive if you can. If you see a negative quality in a person, why not just try to be the constructive one who points out that positive thing about that person. The rewards are endless as we are always planting seeds with one another daily.