There is an old saying that goes, “Work smarter, not harder”. This piece of wisdom can be applied to your investment approach as well, but let us pause here for a bit and understand exactly what is being said here. Most people believe that working hard is a positive thing because you accomplish more than the person who does not work hard. If by “working hard” you actually mean working longer hours, you equate hard work with the amount of time spent, not with what is accomplished by spending all that time. We beg to differ. We believe that people should focus on achieving their goals in as short an amount of time as possible. This should create more time for them to get something else done as well, and also spend some quality time on some personal matter; while someone else, who is fixated on just being busy, will take the same time to merely get to their first goal.
Working smart means being more efficient. Why is this important? To be efficient, you have to apply your mind in a different way than the person who is just going through the motions. You have to incorporate systems, tools and technology to achieve the same quality outcome in a shorter amount of time. This is a skill any employer would pay for. But here is the biggest advantage of learning how to be efficient; you will still have a job in ten years’ time! It is estimated that up to 40% of global jobs could be replaced or significantly impacted by AI over the next ten years. If you think that by working harder, you will be able to prevent AI from taking your job, you are wrong. So all that is left is for you to work smarter. You have to start thinking about how you can use AI to help you do your job differently, or more efficiently. You – or your children – will have to start thinking about how to upskill, or what to study today that will be relevant in the future.
When it comes to investing, exactly the same principles apply. If you are a diligent investor, who carves out 10% of your monthly income and put it into a savings account, you might be seen as “investing hard”, but you are definitely not a smart investor. To become a smart investor you have to invest in something that will outperform inflation; that makes you a part owner in the biggest and best companies in the world; that participates in the exponential technological advances currently unfolding; and that will enable you to become financially independent before your job is being made redundant by AI. If you want to know how to do this, just look at the graph below and make the right investment choice.
