People see David’s victory over Goliath in the biblical account as a fluke Maybe its not. Maybe every underdogs’ upset win over the favorite is not always due to luck.
David came at Goliath with a sling shot and a staff. These were the tools that he knew. Remember he was a shepherd, not a warrior. So instead of fighting as what Goliath might expect, he brought in shepherd’s rules into the game and won. When underdogs choose not to play by Goliath’s rules, they win.
Any David can beat a Goliath when the underdogs acknowledge their weakness, choose an unconventional strategy and substitute effort for ability. Yes, substituting effort for ability turns out to be a winning formula for underdogs in all walks of life, including little blond-haired girls from Redwood city who almost won the National Junior Basketball championship by playing the full court press the whole game. They refused to play the game the way the rest of the world played it.
In the world of investing, we are all Davids. Mr. market is goliath. He is composed of all the brokers, financial advisors, fund managers, investments bankers out there. The difference between you and goliath is that you want to make money from the market. Goliath wants to make money from you. Whether you gain or lose, goliath will take his commissions and management fee. Even if you dont invest with goliath, he finds a way. He sends you broker reports to buy or sell, regardless you make money or not. Buy in an uptrend, sell in a downtrend, protect your gains. These are the rules goliath has made for the investing individual.
He will never tell you to buy bargains and hold it for 5 years. Instead he will spot bargains, and tell you sell it after a measly 20% gain. Or he will tell you to hold off buying until prices have slightly recovered. Either way, he makes more money off you over the longer term.
So why do most of us invest following the rules made by goliath? Probably because we have been groomed to value “experts” opinion, and/or that we believe we dont have the skill to be a superior investor.
From David, we learned that we can beat Goliath by replacing skill with massive effort. We must find the willingness to try harder than anyone else. Read, learn, explore, satisfy your curiosities and expand your own circle of competence and beat the market at its own game over the long term.
What’s your game plan against the Goliath named Mr. Market?