{"id":3319,"date":"2022-05-16T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-16T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=3319"},"modified":"2025-11-30T19:32:43","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T11:32:43","slug":"patience-to-invest-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Patience, an indispensable element of investment success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I have mentioned in many articles before that a successful investment must be a boring, lonely, tedious, long-term, and repeated basic enterprise research. There is no other way. What John Train said &#8220;Investment is the craft of the specific.&#8221; it&#8217;s is exactly this truth. But the problem is that humans are becoming more and more impatient.  Boring, lonely, tedious, long-term, and repeated basic enterprise research, As well as the necessary attention to detail inspection; it will cause impatience. Once impatient, people will lose patience. After a few attempts, almost all people will give up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 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\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Buffetts_shareholders_letters\" >Buffett&#8217;s shareholders letters<\/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\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Jesse_Livermores_quotes\" >Jesse Livermore&#8217;s quotes<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Its_right_to_do_nothing\" >It&#8217;s right to do nothing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#The_unanimous_consensus_of_the_masters\" >The unanimous consensus of the masters<\/a><\/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\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Munger_said_it_best\" >Munger said it best<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Typical_behavior_of_most_investors\" >Typical behavior of most investors<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Modern_people_are_getting_impatient\" >Modern people are getting impatient<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Closing_words\" >Closing words<\/a><\/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\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Buffetts_shareholders_letters\"><\/span>Buffett&#8217;s shareholders letters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"http:\/\/csinvesting.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/complete_buffett_partnership_letters-1957-70_in-sections.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">1957 letter to Buffett partnerships<\/a>, he wrote: &#8220;Obviously during any acquisition period, our primary interest is to have the stock do nothing or decline rather than advance. Therefore, at any given time, a fair proportion of our portfolio may be in the sterile stage. This policy, while requiring patience, should maximize long term profits.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/rbcpa.com\/\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/1967.01.25.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">In 1967, Warren Buffett&#8217;s Letters to his partners<\/a>, he wrote: &#8220;Market conditions peculiar to the stock gave us hope that, with patience, we could buy substantial quantities of the stock without disturbing the price.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Jesse_Livermores_quotes\"><\/span>Jesse Livermore&#8217;s quotes<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the book of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Reminiscences-Stock-Operator-Edwin-Lef%C3%A8vre\/dp\/0471770884\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Reminiscences of a Stock Operato<\/em>r<\/a>, he said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cIt never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cThe desire for constant action \u2026 is responsible for many losses in Wall Street \u2026 who feel that they must take home some money every day\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>In the book of <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/How-Trade-Stocks-Jesse-Livermore\/dp\/0071469796\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Trade in Stocks<\/a><\/em>, he said: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;As long as a stock is acting right, and the market is right, do not be in a hurry to take a profit.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Experience has proved to me that the real money made in speculating has been in commitments in a stock or commodity showing a profit right from the start.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesse Livermore clearly states in the book &#8220;<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Jesse-Livermores-Methods-Trading-Stocks\/dp\/1614276404\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jesse Livermore\u2019s Methods of Trading in Stocks<\/a><\/em>&#8221; that <\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>&#8220;Essentials to stock market success are knowledge and patience. So few people succeed in the market because they have no patience. They want to get rich quickly.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_right_to_do_nothing\"><\/span><strong>It&#8217;s right to do nothing<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Pascal famously said, &#8220;all men\u2019s miseries derive from not being able to sitin a quiet room alone.&#8221; Munger said that it was never my prayer that brought me a lot of wealth, it was always because I was sitting still. It is rare for people to be correct and sit still. The market can&#8217;t beat them, it&#8217;s themselves who beat them. You must have the courage and wisdom of patience, so that you can sit still. Buffett\u2019s statement is that \u201cmany of our successful investments can be attributed to inactive investment behavior; most investors are unable to resist the temptation to keep buying and selling.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_unanimous_consensus_of_the_masters\"><\/span><strong>The unanimous consensus of the masters<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Rarely, patience is the unanimous consensus reached by almost all masters on investment wisdom. The following is as far as I can remember, what the successful masters in the investment industry have made on patience, the traits that a successful investor must have:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Munger said, &#8220;The desire to get rich fast is pretty dangerous.&#8221; &#8220;There isn\u2019t a single formula. You need to know a lot about business and human nature and the numbers\u2026 It is unreasonable to expect that there is a magic system that will do it for you.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buffett said more clearly, &#8220;No matter how great the talent or efforts, some things just take time. You can&#8217;t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>John Templeton underlie his investing principles in 1990 that &#8220;It&#8217;s all a question of&nbsp;patience.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Value investment master Seth Karaman said that &#8220;because value investors need to have patience and strict discipline. Value investing is the only strategy that can truly avoid risks. Almost everyone will say that risks should be avoided.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Buffett said &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?s=Time%2C+discipline+and+patience+are+the+three+elements+of+successful+investment\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Successful investment takes time, discipline, and patience<\/a>.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Their views are fairly consistent, and time, discipline, and patience are all indispensable elements for investment success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Munger_said_it_best\"><\/span>Munger said it best<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting,\u201d Munger once said<strong>.<\/strong> The real message of this sentence is that investing requires patience. Typically, investors respond to rapid market fluctuations by aggressively buying and selling, but being patient can lead to good returns over the long term. This sentence also highlights the &#8220;power of compound interest&#8221; in investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He also once said: \u201cIf you want to be a good investor, you have to have a long-term perspective. You have to be willing to be very patient and wait for the right pitch. And when you get the right pitch, you have to be ready to swing hard. You can\u2019t just take a teeny tiny swing. You have to swing with all your might.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Typical_behavior_of_most_investors\"><\/span><strong>Typical behavior of most investors<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Common investors have the following common investment behaviors, which are a sign of impatience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>People think that long-term investment is too difficult, resulting in numerous stocks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People don&#8217;t want to wait for a major correction in the market or a once-in-a-year crash before entering the market to pick up the bargain.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>People are unwilling to invest in ETFs, believing that the subject matter is too boring and the speed of property accumulation is too slow.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Modern_people_are_getting_impatient\"><\/span>Modern people are getting impatient<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I mentioned the following statistics in 1-4 of the book &#8220;The Rules of Super Growth Stocks Investing&#8221;:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The stock turnover ratio on the New York Stock Exchange rose from 42% to 78% between 1982 and 1999.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From 1990 to 1999, the stock turnover ratio of the Nasdaq increased from 88% to 221%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>From 2016 to 2019, the stock turnover ratio of Taiwan&#8217;s concentrated market common stocks was about 63%, 84%, 83%, and 73%, respectively, and in 2020 it rose to 126%.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The stock turnover rate of the Chinese stock market in 2019 was around 300%, which shows that modern investors are becoming more and more impatient.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/f3.jpeg\" alt=\"Patience\" class=\"wp-image-11798\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Closing_words\"><\/span><strong>Closing words<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>James Clear, author of the book &#8220;Atomic Habits&#8221;, has a quote in the book that can be used as a summary of this article &#8220;The biggest obstacle to success is not failure, but boredom.&#8221;<\/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\/2023\/09\/24\/compound-interest-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The power of compound interest<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/09\/05\/compound-interest\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Simple and compound interest calculator<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/06\/21\/why-long-term-investment\/\">Why long-term investment is better?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/08\/30\/irr-calculator\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IRR Calculator<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/07\/25\/stock-worth-holding-forever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Investors should care annualized rate of return (IRR), How to calculate?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/05\/04\/young-people-investing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The great enviable advantages of young people investing in stock<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/09\/18\/time-discipline-and-patience-are-the-three-elements-of-successful-investment\/\">Time, discipline and patience are the three elements of successful investment<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2024\/04\/22\/deferred-gratification\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">People who are good at deferred&nbsp;gratification&nbsp;is more likely to succeed<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/16\/patience-to-invest-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Patience, an indispensable element of investment success<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Patience, an indispensable element of investment success, \u201cThe big money is not in the buying and selling, but in the waiting,\u201d Munger once said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11798,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,15,13,402,20,570,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-patience","category-charlie-munger","category-investing-behavior","category-jesse-livermore","category-john-templeton","category-seth-karaman","category-buffett"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3319","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=3319"}],"version-history":[{"count":51,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40404,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3319\/revisions\/40404"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}