Why Most Investors Fail: The One Skill You Need to Succeed

Here's a truth upfront: investment ideas take time to play out—anywhere from weeks to years. On average, mine tend to materialize in about 2.5 years, but I've seen some pan out in just a few months, and others took as long as five years. How quickly things come together usually depends on how accurately you can identify catalysts—the events or triggers that move your investment forward. (Catalysts deserve a whole post on their own, so hang tight, I promise it's coming...BE PATIENT ??)

So here's a question: Are you patient enough to hold on that long? Or are you just looking for a quick hit?

Here's the deal: if you want to invest successfully, you need to be comfortable waiting. Think of it like planting a garden—sure, you could keep digging up the seeds every day to check if they're growing, but all you'll get is a patch of dirt and frustration. Your best ideas will always be those that seem slightly too early or even unpopular at the time. By the time everyone else jumps on board because they read about it online, it's usually too late—the market already knows and prices are sky-high. So being early is good, but being early means you'll be sitting on your investment for a while. It's just how this game works.

But patience isn't only about watching your investments slowly sprout. It's also crucial when things go south temporarily. Take my own portfolio, for example, thanks to the recent Trump tariff drama, my portfolio swung from +8% early in 2025 to -8% (as of March 10th,2025). But you know what? That's just short-term noise. You have to keep cool and let the market settle.

In times like these, I like to reflect on the graph below. The red circles highlight periods where the portfolio experienced losses, but ultimately, we emerged stronger as the market eventually came back to its sense and rewarded quality companies.

Look at DXPE, a company I love. It recently reported strong results but still got dragged down with the broader market. If you want to see why I'm confident in DXPE, check out my full investment thesis (click here), or read my analysis of their latest quarterly results (click here).

You also need patience with yourself. Good investing takes consistent effort. Do you actually enjoy reading annual reports or catching up on industry trends? If your answer is "meh, not really," no shame—just invest most of your savings in passive funds and leave a small portion for your curiosity or pay someone to invest the time for you (cough cough Beating The Tide). But if you're serious about active investing, plan to dedicate at least a couple of hours per week to stay sharp.

Personally, I like having a simple weekly routine. Monday through Thursday, I'll check in on one of the stocks in my portfolio. Friday, I'll look around for something new and exciting. Saturday, when things slow down, I’ll dig deeper—maybe run a valuation model or craft a detailed narrative about an investment idea. Trust me, a schedule makes life easier. Without structure, you're basically throwing darts blindfolded (fun at parties, less fun when managing your retirement).

Spending a couple of hours a week on thoughtful investing is worlds apart from day trading, where you’re glued to screens five hours a day. And trust me, you can handle a serious job and still find a couple of hours a week. I've done it. Unless your job is literally saving the world daily (in which case, thanks!), you probably can too.

Here’s the simplest difference between day trading and long-term investing:

• Day trading: You're buying and selling based purely on price moves or news, usually within the same day. You're ignoring the actual fundamentals of the companies you trade. Plus, those commissions and transaction costs pile up quickly, quietly eating away your lunch money.
• Long-term investing: You dig into the company's fundamentals—think future cash flows, competitive advantages, all that nerdy-but-important stuff—and hold your investments patiently. Your costs are usually limited to taxes when you eventually sell (and maybe some minor fees).

So, do you have the patience—and frankly, the interest—to let your investments grow at their own pace, even during rough patches? Or are you still chasing quick wins? And how much time are you realistically ready to dedicate each week?

Something worth thinking about. If you're realizing patience and deep-diving into fundamentals aren't really your thing, that's perfectly okay! You might find my newsletter, Beating The Tide, helpful. There, I share my portfolio, along with real-time investment alerts to let you know precisely when I buy or sell. It’s a great way to invest smarter without getting bogged down by the day-to-day noise.