What Can Running Teach Us About Financial Independence?

I just came back from a long run (32 km/20 miles). It was part of my training program to prepare for the Luzern Marathon on October 22.

It went well. Finally!

Why do I say that?

I resumed marathon training at the beginning of 2022. And I constantly suffered on the long run.

I don’t like them, and my body has no affinity for the marathon distance. ( my little voice talking to me)

But then why do you do it, Dror?

Because training for a marathon takes me completely out of my comfort zone. And it’s in that space that I grow the most. Each marathon changes me mentally and physically.

But despite my lack of enthusiasm and success on the long runs, my two last runs were the best. Why is that?

1/I’m constantly learning

What to wear to avoid injury, what to eat the night before, what gel to use during the race, what pace to start, middle, and finish…

Let’s bring this back to our personal finances.

I reached financial independence at the age of 46 but I made all the possible mistakes. And this accumulation of mistakes allowed me to find the solution that works for me.

• Active investing alone: I thought I was Warren and lost everything. Fortunately, it was early in my investing career so the amounts were small.
• Active investing via a fund: I eventually realized that beating the market for years was not in the cards for these marketing companies (despite everything they sell you). I don’t blame them. It seems that 95% of professionals can’t do it over time. But on the other hand, paying the fees was constant.
• Real estate investment: It worked relatively well but I don’t like to do it. To make good deals you have to spend time on it. I don’t want to pay that time price.
• Finally, I discovered ETFs (passive market indexing strategy) and made them my strategy (here my main ETF investment). It doesn’t take me time and it allows me to follow the growth of the markets. Enough to finance my financial independence. Well, when the markets are doing well 🙂

2/Consistency

My marathon program lasts 16 weeks. I’m halfway through my second one, which means I’m starting to feel good about the long runs after doing 24. It takes time. It takes repetition.

And isn’t that an essential quality of an investor? Especially if he is passive. I have been saving and investing (counting all my mistakes) for over 20 years.

I’ve never deprived myself. I opted for a strategy of growth of my income. Our family secret, we did not increase our standard of living as our salary grew. We have always lived below our means. Much to the chagrin of our son who has always dreamed of the red sports car.😀
Discover my Resource guide: The 11 books that have influenced my career the most. (Including my favorite of all categories)

This brings me to my third point.

3/Start slow and work your way up

In my last two long runs, I deliberately and consistently slowed my pace on the first part. When you feel good, it’s hard. You want to go faster. But every time I did it on the run, I suffered and even exploded in the finish.

One of the hardest things for new investors is to get started.

To push the button on their first transaction.

To make this transition easier. Start small. Start slow. Limit your risk. Learn, find your set up and let go when you are confident in your strategy.

Conclusion

Learn, be consistent, start small and accelerate with the first results, a philosophy that can certainly be applied to different areas of our lives.

Related articles:
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