The title phrase is part of Herman Hesse's book, Siddhartha. It strongly resonated with me. And hence this note.
500 B.C.
The story goes that when Siddhartha was a young monk seeking enlightenment, he was captivated by the beauty of Kamala, a courtesan. Now Kamala desired wealth, and Siddhartha desired Kamala. Sounds like a Bollywood plot from the 1980s, right?
Eager to attain Kamala, Siddhartha approached Kamaswami, an older businessman in town to learn the art of business from him.
Kamaswami: “Siddhartha, what can you offer in return for this business training?”
Siddhartha: “I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”
Kamaswami: “That’s everything?”
Siddhartha: “I believe so!”
Kamaswami: “And what use is that to me? For example, fasting. What is it good for?”
Siddhartha: “Fasting is very good, Sir. When a person has nothing to eat, fasting is the smartest thing he could do. If Siddhartha hadn’t learned to fast, he would have to accept any kind of service before the day is up, whether it be with you or wherever, because hunger would force him to do so. But with fasting, Siddhartha can wait calmly. He knows no impatience, he knows no emergency, and for a long time he can allow hunger to encircle him and can laugh about it. This Sir, is what fasting is good for.”
What this brief episode from the story of Siddhartha teaches us is not trivial.
It seems that (1) the ability to think clearly, (2) the power to delay gratification, and (3) the capacity to endure pain are depicted as virtues in our mythology.
2020.
For a second, let’s put aside mythology from 500 BC and firmly place ourselves in the reality of 2020. And then, view the same phrase from an investing perspective.
I can think.
The ability to think clearly. Using basic principles. Fundamentals. Seems that would be relevant. And not only relevant, I’d argue critical to the success of an investment operation.
I can wait.
The practice of cultivating patience. The power to delay gratification.
As Charlie Munger says, “the big money is in the waiting, not in the buying or the selling. Waiting helps you as an investor and a lot of people just can’t stand to wait. If you didn’t get the deferred-gratification gene, you’ve got to work very hard to overcome that.”
I can fast.
The capacity to endure pain. The ability to build resilience, not rigidity, in the face of adversity.
This is nuanced. Pain, not misery. Resilience, not rigidity. More on these nuances another time.
To me, 'I can fast' carries an element of contrarianism within itself. Paradoxically, this is also the equivalent of being prudent, of being conservative. By definition, if you’re conservative, you want to conserve, to protect.
This means that you’d be willing to forego the highs and likewise, perhaps be willing to miss the lows. This means you’d be willing to look silly in the near term. And this means that you’d be unwilling to take undue risks. Now you’d think that’d serve you well in investing, right?
To conclude, 'I can think. I can wait. I can fast.' is a powerful phrase to etch in our memory. Simply remembering it will serve us well.
And if you're ever able to practice it diligently, I am confident that it will put you in a different zone. My best wishes to all the readers. Thank you for your patient reading.