Today I want to dive into three timeless investing principles that I call shortcuts, head starts, and changing lanes. I want to use these broad principles as lessons and wisdom to help guide you on your investing journey.
So, without further ado, let’s dive right in…
Shortcuts
I recently attended a conference for Christian financial advisors. At this conference, I had the opportunity to participate in their annual job fair. Hundreds of students from around the country, traveling with their university cohort, with hopes of learning more about the finance industry and future career opportunities. The job fair kicked off with industry leaders speaking about their companies and the opportunities they offer young graduates. Most of the presentations were indistinguishable from one another, but one highlight stood out to me. This particular speaker touted a new program they launched that would “fast-track” the advisor career path and create a shortcut for new-to-the-industry entrants to become financial advisors more quickly.
I just couldn’t shake that comment, and kept asking myself, “Is a career shortcut like that a good thing?” I know it was promoted as a selling point, but I questioned whether that option was really in the best interest of the aspiring advisor.
Later that day, I had the opportunity to participate in a small Q&A session with a group of students. One of the closing questions was to provide one piece of parting wisdom for these soon-to-be graduates. Almost without thinking, my immediate response was, “Whatever you do, don’t pursue any career shortcuts.” I went on to explain that this career was one that demanded patience and experience, something that couldn’t be accelerated or artificially manufactured. I submitted that it was actually in their best interest to take the longcut and not rush role or responsibility.
I couldn’t stop thinking about how damaging shortcuts can be. I thought back to my days competing as a cyclist and how I simply refused to take steroids. I was convinced then, and remain so today, that this equation of hard work + consistency + patience would produce good results. Anything intended to speed that up or amplify outcomes would most likely cause more harm than good, and any “unearned” results just wouldn’t carry that same sense of accomplishment.
Investing is no different. Whether it be leverage, speculation, or fraud, no shortcuts to wealth are built to last. Some can provide a flavor or a sample of success, but it will be short-lived and fleeting. True success in investing comes from hard work + consistency + patience.
Moral of the story: beware of shortcuts and the allure of get-rich-quick strategies and schemes.
Head Starts
As described above, if shortcuts are the path to peril, head starts are the prudent way to amplify outcomes and assure success.
My entire college career was summed up by late starts, late nights, and right-down-to-the-wire deadlines. A teacher could announce a due date 3 years from now, 3 months from now, or 3 days from now, and my response was often the same: “I’ll get to that later.”
When it comes to investing, it’s nearly impossible to catch up. Getting a late start has dire consequences. Compounding is an equation that depends heavily on time, so starting yesterday rather than tomorrow is ideal.
A 25-year-old saving $5,000 per year, for 10 years (total contribution of $50,000), with an 8% rate of return, will have nearly $550,000 by age 60.
A 35-year-old saving $5,000 per year, for 26 years (total contribution of $130,000), with an 8% rate of return, will have less than $450,000 by age 60.
What’s the difference? One saved more money (nearly 3 times the amount) for a longer period of time (16 more years), but still fell short of the investor who took a head start.
Investing is all about saving early and often. So, whether retirement, college savings, health savings, etc., it pays (literally) to take a head start.
Changing Lanes
One area that I just don’t seem to learn my lesson on is when it comes to changing lanes. Whether it’s in line at the grocery store, fighting traffic on the freeway, or navigating the entrance to the parking lot at Disneyland, I often frantically change lanes just to find myself in a worse position. Best described as lots of movement with no progress.
The same changing lanes principle applies to investing. A major pitfall for many investors is this urge to change lanes in hopes of getting ahead, but instead just putting themselves further behind.
Let me make this really practical. In 2025, the market was up nearly 18%, and dividend growth strategies were up roughly 10%. Both have attractive absolute returns, but one is less attractive than the other in relative terms. So, many investors “changed lanes.” Although they may have found themselves once intellectually convinced of the dividend growth approach, their convictions were shallow and even the smallest dose of coveting led to a changing of lanes. Fast forward 60 calendar days into 2026, and the market is near flat on the year, while some dividend growth strategies are enjoying returns in the 10% range.
The lesson here is simply to land on a philosophy and strategy that one can stick with. Stick-to-itiveness is a common attribute that successful investors share.
It’s a Journey…
Successful investment outcomes are not built overnight. The process is a journey. Your wise decisions, patience, consistency, focus, etc., all stack on one another to produce these favorable outcomes. Warren Buffett once said, “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” With today’s topic, I would say investment portfolios and reputations have a lot in common.
So, what does a successful journey look like? Lots of head starts, no shortcuts, and staying in your lane.
