Here are the big reasons why we fail

Published on www.switzer.com.au on Wednesday 18 December 2019

Come next May I’m going to be hanging out with one of my investing heroes i.e. Warren Buffett and while it will cost me a small arm and a leg, it’s something I’m happy to do because I’m learning to beat my greatest threat to success.

One of my greatest bad habits, which I’ve always fought to ditch, is my tightness when it comes to seeking expert help! And I used an exclamation point because I’m actually in the business of being an expert!

People pay me for my expertise with financial planning, stock market analysis, economic forecasting and I’m paid for speeches that tap into my insights on the economy, successful small business-building, wealth-building and plotting your way to success!

As we sneak closer to Christmas Day and it’s holiday cousin — New Year’s Day — when we have to commit to those resolutions we made only the night before, often powered by champagne or some other stimulant/depressant, I thought I’d offer you some help to make 2020 the year to remember.

Despite my tightness that has held me back, at times, I have to confess that some of my best decisions were when I let my head go and invested in success.

In 2008, ahead of the Global Financial Crisis, I was a offered a show called Money Makers on the old Sky Business channel. After the stock market started to collapse in November of 2007 and then go into freefall after Lehman Brothers failed and wasn’t stopped from failing, I was offered a four-night a week show called Switzer, which ran for 10 years.

When people have asked me why Sky offered me the gig, given they had a team of great young people they could have used, I suggested that when the ‘you know what’ hits the fan, people are looking for experts with grey hair or no hair!

Experience and corporate memory helps when you are giving advice/education. History shows that I warned my viewers that the first year after a crash has seen the Aussie stock market rebound 30-80%. And from early March 2009 to year’s end, the rise was around 50%!

Phil Ruthven, the founder of IBISworld, gave us that inside information and if my viewers, readers and listeners took the tip, they had a good year investing in stocks. And if they were new investors, who’d never been in the stock market before and simply bought an ETF for the ASX 200 Index, they’d be up about 170%, if you add in dividends. The power of expert information can be very rewarding!

Yesterday, one of my team reminded how well some of our expert stock-pickers in our paid subscriber Switzer Report newsletter did in the stocks they picked this time last year for 2019. And here was a few of them: Coles, which went up 26.61%, CYBG/Virgin Money 13.27% and Auckland Airport 26.16%. Meanwhile Afterpay went up 120.6%, Western Areas 54.19% and Baby Bunting up 62.07%!

That was good picking and underlines the value of at least having a look at what those who spend a lot of their time doing the things that many of us haven’t got the time or the expertise to do.

Away from money, I can recall when I started hosting my show, I was reminded by one of my family that TV put on 10kgs and that I could, therefore, easily lose 10kgs! It was subtle.

I went to a famous dietician, who was well-known for sacring the pants of her clients and it was with her that I lost those 10kgs. I wouldn’t have ever done that without her.

One area where younger people aren’t afraid to spend is when it comes to the gym, which has become the modern day wisdom that the community aspect of working out in a group really works.

Group classes — whether spinning or dancing or core workouts — are all the rage in the fitness world, and it’s easy to see why, an NBC news report explained recently. “Working out in a group provides not only socialization and support, but accountability and motivation to maintain one’s progress. Often, area gym owners say, the biggest challenge is just taking that first step — and learning that fitness classes are, quite simply, a lot of fun.”

Yesterday we saw a client, who is a very successful operator but he and his wife admitted that their long suit is not money, tax, investing and all of that stuff. One of my guys spent a fair bit of time getting to know all aspects of their business and spending life and realised that they were ignoring better ways to build their wealth and reduce their tax bills legally.

For years they’d been passing opportunities to save money and make money because they either didn’t find the money or the time to let an expert get inside their shoes and have a look at how they could better run their money life.

The irony is that when you discover that there is money hidden in your life and you start to access it, it can lead to better outcomes in your non-money life.

If you are the type of person who makes New Year’s resolutions after 12am on January 1, then maybe think deeply and ask yourself if the most productive resolution you could make is to agree to pay experts to help you get the best results in what you think you really would like to be good at in 2020.

I reckon if you choose something that you always wanted to excel at and you pay an expert, I believe you will use this new way of winning in many aspects of your life.

I often tell small business audiences that small business owners don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan but I also add that they often have a tightwad problem where they fail to see the value in ‘investing’ into great accounting advice, insightful business coaching and enlightened leadership, as well as marketing.

Sure, you can read yourself into knowing this stuff but sometimes the community aspect of hanging out with someone who knows more than you can be a step to winning that you should always think about taking.

Good luck in 2020 and think about doing next year with someone who’ll help you win!

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