A no-investment strategy, why Nike is right ati bẹbẹ lọ

Thoughts on the most important investments we should be making, and an argument to 'just do it'.

Hello guys,

Hope you are doing well. Today, I woke up feeling anxious. I have spent the last few weeks struggling with something. Just as I started writing this, I got the text that put me at ease. Alhamdulillah!

As Allah says in Surah 94, verse 6:

إِنَّ مَعَ الْعُسْرِ يُسْرًا

Indeed, with hardship (will be) ease.

It is a gentle reminder for (myself and) everybody going through some difficulty right now. It will be well in sha Allah. 🌟🌟 

Okayy, back to the newsletter. Two short (and totally unrelated) stories.

A few months ago (maybe even last year, Covid has messed up my sense of time), I was in a session with someone I really stan. At just under 60, he has had a lifetime of interesting experiences and I was picking his brain. I had asked questions about almost everything - career, relationships, etc etc when I remembered something I had not asked.

‘Sir, what’s your long-term investment strategy?’

‘My investment strategy?’

‘Yes sir. Like some of the people I’ve talked to actively invest in land, agriculture, stock, etc. What’s your approach?’

‘I actually don’t think I have one’

‘How come?’

‘You see, I have enough money for myself. I know many people that are really aggressive about building wealth but I’m not one of them’

‘Hmmn…’

‘Yeah. My friends have big investments. Hotels, companies, buildings, you name it. I know how much I need to take care of my family and that’s enough for me. We don’t live for so long you know…’

I was shooketh. This man has tons of investments (that I know about) so it was not what I was expecting to hear. We discussed some other things before the session came to a close.

I think what Mr. 60 was trying to say is that life is short. Life is really short. At his age, there’s no longer a need for any investment strategy. He has more than enough to support his family, and that’s all that matters. The perspective he provided was vital. As we go through life chasing every dream and seeking every opportunity, it’s super important to remember that we don’t live for so long. E je ka ma se daada (let us do good), that is the only investment that matters.

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Sometime in July, a friend reached out to me. He was about to publish a Medium article and wanted my input. After reading it, I was confused. I understood what he was trying to do with the article, but it was so far off. Apart from issues with grammar and punctuation, I really didn’t think the logic of the story followed through. Also, the tone was weird and I feared that publishing that story would do him more harm than good.

I advised him not to publish. I shared some of the problems I could see and said it was best to put off publishing for a while until it was more refined.

I have come to regret that decision.

By holding him to my own standards of what I thought a finished product looked like, I had deprived him of the opportunity to make mistakes and learn from the process. Nobody starts anything new with the skills in-built, but we all get better with practice. For example, this morning (literally this morning), I googled the difference between its and it’s. One would assume this was something I knew previously, but for whatever reason, I was struggling with it today.

What I should have told him is to write and write and forget about the quality. When you focus on consistently doing the work, you inevitably get better. On the other hand, if you focus on doing quality work, you might find yourself overwhelmed and never get around to it.

I think this picture from Visualize Value illustrates the point. Perfectionists and procrastinators never get anything done, but the iterators who begin anyway and optimize as they go along will ultimately achieve perfection.

Summary: Just do it.

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If you found this newsletter useful, please share it with your friends. Have them read it and subscribe. I like to share personal stories and life lessons I am learning. They will be super random, but common themes will be around business, personal development, human relationships, and Islam.

Gracias, and see you around.

Hameed

*** side note:

You see that subscribe now button? I just figured out how to insert it into a newsletter now. We get better as we go along, trust me!