Recently, something heartbreaking happened: While crammed into a middle-seat on a flight from Denver to D.C., I realized that I may never become a great investor.
Tired from a long week, and bored out of my mind, I ignored the more sensible reading material I'd brought along and picked up the in-flight magazine. Before long, I stumbled across an advertisement -- and a troubling fact.
Wasted opportunities
"Over 92% of people who own exercise equipment and 88% of people who own health club memberships do not exercise," the ad stated. The more I read that line, the less possible it seemed. But to be honest, at my own gym, only about one-third of the people even look like they've ever been inside such a place before.
I guess going through the motions makes them feel good about themselves. But why would so many people spend money and then not even pretend to exercise?
Four words that opened my eyes
At one point, all of these people had an "I can do it" moment: a brief burst of inspiration brought on by a friend, a personal trainer, or even an infomercial. They came to believe that with a little effort, they could truly get in shape. I should know -- I'm one of them.
Now, I've gone to the gym fairly regularly for years, and I get my fair share of exercise. But have I ever really reached my loftiest fitness goals? Nope.
Is that because I'm lazy, or I'm undisciplined, or I just don't have the genes for it? Sure, a lack of discipline or even genetics might be good reasons. But the real reason lies in four heartbreaking words ...
"I don't have time"
Time is our most precious resource, and lack of it is the No. 1 reason people don't go to the gym ... or travel the world ... or, well, you name it. It could also be the reason you never become a great investor, or make the kind of money you want in the stock market.
Becoming a master investor takes an almost impossible amount of time. Warren Buffett began his investing career at 10, and he's been practicing for hours a day ever since. Obviously, he's spent his time well.
But what about those of us who don't have the time it takes to become great investors or uncover life-changing investments? Heck, what about those of us who barely have time to keep up with the stocks we already own?
Take you, for example
Suppose you own a balanced portfolio consisting of the following widely followed, blue-chip stocks. Well, here's just some of the reading you should be doing to keep up with them:
Stock
No. of Pages in
Most Recent 10-K
No. of Articles on Yahoo! Finance
So Far This Week
Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)
195
170
Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO)
239
76
Verizon (NYSE: VZ)
134
75
Wal-Mart
117
126
McDonald's (NYSE: MCD)
98
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