Did you know that the lessons you learn when learning to play in instrument could also be applied to investing and the financial markets? It’s true.
In college (go Buckeyes) I studied music and psychology while pursuing my passion for music playing the trumpet and singing. Here I am, several years later and still trying to justify my music degree to my parents, however, I am eternally grateful for that time I spent studying music. While it was not easy, it was absolutely full of rewards.
Studying music at the collegiate level was likely one of the most difficult challenges of my life. You are expected to play and practice between 8-10 hours per day leaving little time for anything else.
The one thing I realized was that to be a good musician, you just have to play consistently. To be an elite caliber musician where you’re really making a living at it you have to truly be able to focus your entire attention to it. You have to have a commitment to your instrument and to your craft as a musician. This is something that a lot of people, myself included, struggled with. I was unable to focus my entire attention to it.
The unique thing is that this reigns true for investing as well.
There were three major lessons I learned as a musician that applies to investing.
1. Have a mentor.
The moment you arrive at college to study an instrument, you audition and work for a professor, in my case a professor who taught trumpet. I worked with several over the course of my college career and some were excellent educators, others I struggled to follow, but in the end, they were all incredibly educated and talented individuals and I learned from each one of them.
What was so good about having these mentors is that you have someone who you can directly ask questions, bounce ideas off of, who can give you direction, etc., all based on their experience. They can also review your progress in real-time.
As a student, I had the opportunity to teach high school trumpet students and you continue to learn, even as a teacher. There is a relationship, if you will, that the mentor and student.
So how do you find a mentor? Keep reading…
2. Find your community or ‘tribe’
During my years at Ohio State, I was surrounded by other students who had previously faced or were currently facing, the same challenge as I was. We shared each other’s successes and struggles, and we learned how to work through those together, as a community.
Studying technical analysis, being a part of the CMT association was a great community for me being able to meet traders (past, present, and future), hedge fund managers, money managers, and analysts, all who were making a living using the techniques I was learning and meeting mentors along the way.
We were a community of students who were all going through the same exams to meet the same or similar goals.
3. Practice
As a musician, your ultimate goal is to be the best. You go in with a focus on being the best and proving that you’re the best and when you go into a college situation with many other extraordinary musicians, many of us ultimately find out is that we’re not. It is a humbling and difficult experience.
As an investor, you will be wrong. A lot. You have to learn to deal with the reality of being wrong regularly and how you can best manage your risk (behaviorally, psychologically, emotionally, etc.). Those experiences can be pretty taxing, but practicing and going through the motions will allow you to continuously improve.
Practicing is not something that many of us truly enjoy, myself included. Over the Thanksgiving holiday my parents were visiting and we were chatting about how much I truly hated practicing. My mother was a constant source of support, encouraging me to practice much more than I would have otherwise. But truly, practice was key in getting to the next level.
As an investor, you have to prioritize practice. What practice is is studying and actually putting things into practice. Putting your ideas on display, making bets, and living through those experiences. It is great to ask questions of others and have a community, but you truly need to do it yourself and grow from those experiences.
RR#6,
Dave
Disclaimer: This blog is for educational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. Please see the Disclaimer page for full details.