A few days back, I saw the Hollywood flick Wolf Of Wall Street. And since I am no pro in writing movie reviews, I decided to share with you guys what I believed was the most important thought of the movie for a long term investor.
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| Still from the movie The Wolf of Wall Street (2013) |
Though the movie is all about brokers and short term trading, it had a dialogue which should be recited by a long term investor everyday!
By the way, if you haven’t, then please go and watch this movie. It is almost three hours long, but totally worth it. And rest assured, you will not get bored for even a moment.
The following statement was made by the character of Jordan Belfort, played by Leonardo Dicaprio to a Swiss guy while discussing laws of banking:
“I’m a student of history, and I’m a firm believer that he who doesn’t study the mistakes of the past is doomed to repeat them.”
So the thought which I am referring to is:
Learn From The Past
And if you think deeply, this statement by Jordan Belfort is indeed a powerful one. And it is not only applicable to stock markets, but to other areas of life too. Studying past events tells you why some people succeeded while other failed.
For example, unless and until you are aware of the carnage of 2008-2009, you will never be ready to face the next market crash. And unless and until you know that there is a definite relation between market P/E multiples and long term returns, you will not be able to take advantage of such situations.
Just imagine the money made by people who invested in 2009. Ten times….Fifteen times their initial investment in next 2-3 years!! And that too by investing in safe and stable businesses!
And these were no extra ordinary people. These were normal people who were aware of the fact that such opportunities come once or twice in a lifetime and hence, took bigger bets which eventually paid off.
And for those who thought that this movie was a work of fiction, please be informed that it is not. There was a con-man named Jordan Belfort and I would advise you to read more about the real Jordan Belfort here.
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| The Real Life Wolf of Wall Street |
And don’t forget to watch the movie and share your thoughts.
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Also there is one more dialogue… as long as you arent god or warren buffett nobody knows where the share price is going…… stop taking tips!!!!! Your broker is just as wiser as you….
True. That was another good one by Jordan 🙂