{"id":10374,"date":"2022-09-07T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2022-09-07T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=10374"},"modified":"2025-02-25T08:50:54","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T00:50:54","slug":"a-few-in-lifetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/","title":{"rendered":"Do it right a few times in your lifetime is enough"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_86 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Good_investments_are_very_rare\" >Good investments are very rare<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Less_is_more\" >Less is more<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Few_things_to_do_in_life_to_be_successful\" >Few things to do in life to be successful<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Major_achievements_in_life_come_from_very_few_efforts\" >Major achievements in life come from very few efforts<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Investing_once_a_year_is_enough\" >Investing once a year is enough<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#A_never_failed_investor\" >A never failed investor<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#2003s_annual_report_and_meeting\" >2003&#8217;s annual report and meeting<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Buffetts_advice\" >Buffett&#8217;s advice<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Just_take_care_of_your_circle_of_competence\" >Just take care of your circle of competence<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Greatness_doesnt_have_to_be_ostentatious\" >Greatness doesn&#8217;t have to be ostentatious<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Good_investments_are_very_rare\"><\/span>Good investments are very rare<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I quoted Charlie Munger, &#8220;Good investments are very &#8216;rare&#8217;, and when this once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity presents itself, you have to bet all your chips.&#8221; in my book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;. Because this once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity will make you are very rich, which is also what I mentioned in &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/12\/good-companies-are-rare-two-or-three-will-make-you-very-rich-take-texas-instruments-as-an-example\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Great companies are rare, two or three will make you very rich<\/a>&#8220;, a good investment target only needs two or three in a lifetime. reason enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Less_is_more\"><\/span>Less is more<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Few_things_to_do_in_life_to_be_successful\"><\/span>Few things to do in life to be successful<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As Buffett said, &#8220;You only need to do very few things in your life (to be successful) as long as you don&#8217;t do too much wrong.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffett once told freshmen in college, &#8220;Investors should invest with the mentality of having only 20 stock investment opportunities in their lifetime, so that every stock selection you will be extremely careful.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffett &#8220;As long as a person can do a few things right in his life, if an investor can do a lot of investment after he is really familiar with a few industries, he will definitely get huge profits.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Major_achievements_in_life_come_from_very_few_efforts\"><\/span>Major achievements in life come from very few efforts<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Morgan Housel&#8217;s book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Psychology-Money-Timeless-lessons-happiness\/dp\/0857197681\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Psychology of Money<\/a>&#8220;, Buffett owned about 450 companies in his lifetime, and only 10 of them brought him most of his wealth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>More than 20 years ago, there was a famous business book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/80-20-Principle-Secret-Achieving\/dp\/0385491743\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The 80\/20 Rule<\/a>&#8220;; the book talks about a very simple but very reasonable concept, no matter whether it is a business, an individual, or our life, 80% of our time and energy will be spent in the few 20% of things. But 80% of our returns are from 20% items.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Investing_once_a_year_is_enough\"><\/span>Investing once a year is enough<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_never_failed_investor\"><\/span>A never failed investor<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>John Train mentioned a story in his book &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Craft-Investing-John-Train\/dp\/0887306268\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The&nbsp;Craft&nbsp;of&nbsp;Investing<\/a>&#8220;. There is a gentleman, when the stock market is full of bears, the newspapers are full of bad news, and all forecasts are bad, he finds 30 stocks in the S&amp;P 500 that are cheap, stable profit, no one heard but stable stocks that pay dividends, put a $50,000 investment position, buy this basket of stocks, and hold it patiently for 2 to 4 years. When the stock market reached a high point and the media kept reporting that the stock market hit a new high, he would sell the basket of these stocks and collect amazing reward. It&#8217;s a simple and reasonable way of stock investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2003s_annual_report_and_meeting\"><\/span>2003&#8217;s annual report and meeting<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.berkshirehathaway.com\/2003ar\/2003ar.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2003 annual report<\/a>, he said &#8220;<strong>The challenge for us is to generate ideas as rapidly as we generate cash<\/strong>.&#8221; and he also wrote &#8220;<strong>Good investment ideas are rare,<\/strong> valuable and subject to competitive appropriation just as good product or business acquisition ideas are. Therefore we normally will not talk about our investment ideas.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2003 shareholders meeting, Munger noted that most financial institutions do exactly the opposite, fielding large research departments to track all 500 companies in the S&amp;P 500. In contrast, Buffett said<strong><em> <\/em><\/strong>&#8220;<strong>You only need one good idea every year or so.<\/strong>&#8220;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You only need one good idea every year or so. You don&#8217;t need to be right on 20% of stocks or 10% of stocks or even 5%. Munger noted that 90% of investment management doesn&#8217;t think like Buffett and Munger do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Buffetts_advice\"><\/span>Buffett&#8217;s advice<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffett has mentioned it many times, in terms of more important investment decisions; one year is enough to have a good idea, and sometimes it takes many years to have a good investment target or idea. Munger also echoed Buffett&#8217;s statement, saying that Berkshire&#8217;s success depends on only a few extremely successful investments to make it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffett &#8220;Finds a good investment opportunity for a year, and then holds on to it until its full potential is unlocked. In an environment where people are calling back and forth for quotes every five minutes, in an environment where people are always cramming all kinds of reports in front of you. In the environment, it is difficult to hold still. Wall Street makes money by tossing, you make money by not tossing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Just_take_care_of_your_circle_of_competence\"><\/span>Just take care of your circle of competence<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffett &#8220;Everyone has their own circle of competence. The important thing is not how big the circle of competence is, but to stay within the scope of the circle of competence. If there are thousands of listed companies in the market, your circle of competence only covers 30 of them, then you only need to know which 30 companies are.\u201d Regarding the circle of competence, please refer to my previous discussion of the article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/31\/circle-of-competence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The importance of circle of competence<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then just avoid the mistakes that you should have done but didn&#8217;t do so you don&#8217;t do anything you regret. Because in this way, I can ensure that I don&#8217;t miss the opportunity, or it is related to my own ability, that is, those things that I can understand, fully understand, but don&#8217;t make the slightest effort. That&#8217;s the point I made in my article &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/03\/07\/mistakes-of-omission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mistakes of omission and mistakes of commission<\/a>&#8220;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Greatness_doesnt_have_to_be_ostentatious\"><\/span>Greatness doesn&#8217;t have to be ostentatious<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of the investment gurus who have been rated as extremely successful are actually very low-key people. You can refer to my &#8220;Richer, Wiser, Happier&#8221; article for explanation. There are also many respectable and rare corporate CEOs or leaders who are also very low-key people, which can be confirmed in &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/11\/17\/outsiders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outsiders, one of the greatest investment books for management team<\/a>&#8220;. But relatively low-key CEOs are rare; but low-key great investors are almost one of several things great investors have in common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"202\" height=\"112\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/09\/pix4free.jpg\" alt=\"lifetime\" class=\"wp-image-13432\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Credit: pix4free<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffett himself said the same thing in a <a href=\"http:\/\/berkshirehathaway.com\/letters\/2008ltr.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2008 Berkshire (tickers: BRK.A and BRK.B) shareholder letter<\/a>, &#8220;Watch out for investment activity that draws applause; great moves are usually accompanied by a yawn.&#8221; He emphasized that &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2017\/05\/01\/7-insights-from-legendary-investor-warren-buffett.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CIt%20is%20not%20necessary%20to,the%20results%20speak%20for%20themselves.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">You don\u2019t have to do extraordinary things to get extraordinary results.<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last paragraph of Postscript in my book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;, the following description was mentioned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leo Tolstoy  once said: \u201cTruth&nbsp;that wisdom is to be found not in systems but in the&nbsp;ordinary.\u201d Carefully sail the boat for ten thousand years, be friends with time, experience the power of compound interest, gather sand into towers, and rise from the ground. It only takes a little more patience. As Ralph Waldo Emerson famously said: \u201cNothing is more simple than greatness; indeed, to be simple is to be great.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/09\/26\/long-term-investment-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Andy Lin&#8217;s long-term investment experience sharing<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/24\/andy-lin-investment-style\/\">The key points of Andy Lin investment style<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/12\/good-companies-are-rare-two-or-three-will-make-you-very-rich-take-texas-instruments-as-an-example\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Great companies are rare, two or three will make you very rich<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/07\/a-few-in-lifetime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Do it right a few times in your lifetime is enough<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/01\/25\/make-u-very-rich\/\">Two or three stocks in your life can make you very rich<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/12\/14\/buffett-hold-for-long-haul\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Is Buffett no longer hold for long haul? TSMC, HP, and US Bancorp cases study<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/18\/why-concentrated-investment\/\">Why concentrated investment?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/10\/14\/no-fear-of-miss-out\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">No fear of miss out a great company, No FOMO<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/12\/good-companies-are-rare-two-or-three-will-make-you-very-rich-take-texas-instruments-as-an-example\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Take Texas Instruments as an example, great companies are rare, two or three will make you very rich<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/31\/circle-of-competence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The importance of circle of competence<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/08\/25\/richer-wiser-happier\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Richer, Wiser, Happier<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/11\/17\/outsiders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Outsiders, one of the greatest investment books for management team<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/03\/07\/mistakes-of-omission\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Mistakes of omission and mistakes of commission<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Do it right a few times in your lifetime is enough, Good investments are very rare, I quoted Charlie Munger, &#8220;Good investments are very &#8216;rare&#8217;, and when this once-in-a-lifetime investment opportunity presents itself, you have to bet all your chips.&#8221; in my book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13432,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,65,15,392,8,14,786,11],"tags":[48,49],"class_list":["post-10374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-concentrated-investing","category-business-books","category-charlie-munger","category-circle-of-competence","category-investing-books","category-investing-concept","category-simplility","category-buffett","tag-brk-a","tag-brk-b"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10374"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34567,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10374\/revisions\/34567"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}