see how it could be applied in their own investing. In workshops,
I invariably have to push the participants to make this bridge
between the general idea and how they could use it personally. This
is the creative step. It will require effort. If you choose not to do
it, we will find out who you are and come to your house. No, just
kidding. It’s true, though, that those who make this extra effort
will be rewarded with results. Just as lifting a bar with weights on
it is tougher than lifting the bar by itself, so taking this final step
is harder. But in each case there is a payoff for the extra effort.
We encourage readers to use any or all of these ideas. There is
no formula or process for doing so, but there is an acronym that
may help you to remember all seven, if you care: ACROBAT. This
word was chosen because it suggests that successful investors in
the future will be flexible, able to bend and roll with the rapid
changes.Exercise
When I’m working on new ideas, it helps to reread the following
quotations and meditate on them.“All the durable truths that have come into the world within
historic times have been opposed as bitterly as if they were so
many waves of smallpox, and every individual who has wel-
comed and advocated them, absolutely without exception, has
been denounced and punished as an enemy of the race.” (H. L.
Mencken)
“All great Truths begin as blasphemies.” (George Bernard Shaw)I try to really understand and believe that a breakthrough idea will
seem absurd. People will laugh at it. They will dismiss it. They may
try to “help” you discard it by showing you how it will ruin your
career. Or they may be threatened by it simply because it’s new,Guidelines for Safety 15714-25 ware 157 1/19/01, 1:15 PM