Prove or Build

Conspicuous allows you to justify yourself. Something you can count. In a world that is complex, ambiguous, and random, having a cause for every effect gives you something to hold on to. An explanation. This inhibits foundational investing. A need to prove swamps the need to build. It makes ego and confidence our primary focus. The most powerful investment forces are time and compounding. The time frames we think in are too short. This means the real impact of what you do is only felt after you are gone. Unless you live hand-to-mouth. Then what you do is felt now. That is the problem. You need a genuine sense of ownership to be willing to reinvest rather than consume. For that to become a habit, until the amount reinvested makes the amount consumed a rounding error. Until you are a custodian. What you see is not all there is. Don’t prove. Build.