I’m a big summer Olympics enthusiast! Normally, my annual sports consumption consists of watching just a few New York Knicks basketball games (if they make the playoffs), and the Super Bowl. Along come the summer Olympics and for two weeks every four years, I transform into a sports fanatic. From mainstream sports to the obscure, I watch it all. Gymnastics, track and field, wrestling, rowing, swimming, handball, water polo, and even archery, I’m enthralled with every sport that is on TV during Olympic coverage (I’m still not sold on “breaking,” but I will come around). I have even found myself standing and cheering for the U.S. athletes on more than one occasion.
Spending an inordinate amount of my time watching the Olympics has allowed me to pick up on certain themes. One line that came up regularly during athlete interviews was “I just need to trust the process.” After a race or competition, athletes would mention that in the four years leading up to the Games, it was important for them to “trust the process.” If they were sore after a particular heat and needed to get ready for future races, they would also indicate that it was important for them to “trust the process.” Readers may be wondering “what is the process, why should it be trusted, and what makes this line so meaningful?”
While my athletic career was brief, peaking with a short stint in college, I suspect that the “process” is referring to an athlete’s detailed training regimen that enabled them to become a world class performer. This likely includes a variety of important elements, including how to practice, when to train, how to rest and recuperate, what to eat, how to stretch, and how to mentally prepare. Even when they are feeling physically exhausted, mentally drained, and occasionally frustrated at their progress, the key is to trust that the detailed, personalized program they are following will ultimately lead to success. Having faith in a proven system of preparation helps athletes through challenging times and leads to continued improvement.
Athletics is not the only area that benefits from a rigorous process. It is true in most disciplines. Whether it’s the path to become a doctor, rabbi, or astronaut, following a certain predetermined and time-tested framework increases the probability of perfecting one’s skills and allows folks to operate at an ever-higher level.
There is also a process for being a good Jew. It involves following the 613 mitzvot in the Torah. Faith in that process allows an individual to grow in spirituality and become a valuable member of their community and society at large.
There is also a tried-and-true process to build wealth. This is something I have written about extensively in previous articles, so I will only provide a brief overview here. At a high level, a proper wealth building process involves the following tips:
1) Spend less than you make.
2) Invest the difference prudently.
3) Use tax advantaged accounts when available.
4) Ignore the noise.
5) Stick with your strategy.
6) Trust the process.
It’s the last point that separates the most successful investors from the ordinary ones. It’s also what separates the elite performers in any discipline from everybody else. If you want to achieve the highest standard in any field, or a meaningful increase in your net worth, it’s imperative to have a well-defined process and the faith that it will lead you in the right direction.
Oftentimes, I speak with folks who believe the way to build wealth is to test a few strategies and see what works. This usually involves giving money to a college roommate to invest in a real estate project, buying stocks on your own, owning ETFs and mutual funds through a financial advisor, keeping a large amount of money in CDs because your brother-in-law said it was a good idea, and various other ideas you pick up at the shul kiddush club. That is not a process. That is a mess, and it won’t lead to financial success. Dabbling in a variety of different investments, while remaining uncommitted to any one of them, is a path to mediocrity.
The Olympics is full of underdog stories. They involve athletes who’ve had major setbacks and experienced a lot of pain, frustration, and hopelessness. The commentators shared these background stories ad nauseum during the competition. While the struggles for each athlete varied, the common denominators between most were that they 1) had significant setbacks 2) had a plan and a coach to keep progressing and 3) had faith that their process would lead them to success.
At the end of the day, believing in your plan can keep you committed to it when the going gets tough. This is important in building wealth, becoming a better Jew, and other aspects of life. The ability to stay the course during the inevitable speed bumps along the way is what separates the most successful people from the rest of us.
Do you trust your own process?
