I recently had an interesting discussion with an uncle of mine. He’s a good business man who’s done well for himself and his family. You wouldn’t know it necessarily by his lifestyle, being one of the most unpretentious men I’ve ever known.

He challenged me to forget the word, “try.” Now, before I get too far, let’s recognize a simple truth. Both armies in a war truly “try” to win. One side is successful while the other side fails. When we play a game or take on a serious challenge, most of us are genuinely “trying” to win or accomplish our goal.

And we need to also acknowledge that there is nothing wrong with failing, if we truly did all we knew how to do in our pursuit of success. In some cases the failure may be monumental, as in war. In others it’s merely incidental, as in a ball game with friends.

This sort of thought process was on my mind as he counseled me to forget the word, “try.” But he wasn’t talking about this aspect of trying. And he certainly wasn’t discussing the adjectival use of the word, where one is a “trying” person.

Here’s what he ultimately meant: You don’t “try” to be nice to someone. You don’t “try” to be honest. You don’t “try” to work hard. And you don’t “try” to get up in the morning.

You see the difference? It’s impossible to truly “try” to do any of these things and not succeed. You either do it or you don’t. To fail to do any of these and yet claim to “try” to do it is deceitful. We’re lying to ourselves and whoever else will listen.

When it comes to your investments, “trying” won’t cut it. How often have we heard about someone who followed some guru broker’s advice, lost their tail, then said, “Well, I tried”? The fact is that all they did was merely “try.” It’s not that there was no effort. It’s that they simply threw money at it and hoped to get in on a great stock or other investment.

Rather than just throwing money at an investment, we need to study the fundamentals and truly own our actions. If I’m going to own part of company “A,” then I better know who they are. I need to study their history, P/E ratio, dividends, earnings, net worth, debt, solvency, etc. When I get done I need to be convinced that I’ve gotten a good deal and will get a good return on my investment.

It’s no secret that The Gold Informant is bullish on gold. But you’ll notice here that you’re not simply told that gold and silver are good ideas. We discuss the fundamentals so that you become informed. That’s our goal, to inform our readers so they can make the best decisions for their personal circumstances. Then, once you’ve understood the fundamentals, you don’t have to worry about “trying.” You simply “do,” and rest in the knowledge that you’ve done your due diligence and can be confident in the decision you’ve made.

Does this mean all of our investments will turn a profit if we exercise due diligence? Of course not; sometimes we get burned. Sometimes unforeseeable events occur. Sometimes there’s a crook involved that we simply couldn’t see coming. But if we have a failed investment, let it never be because we merely “tried;” but let it be in spite of the fact that we did all we could to ensure that our decision was the right one.

via Merely trying isn’t good enough in many areas of life. | The Gold Informant – Not for the weak minded.

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