Growing Rich - Arabictrader.com

GROWING RICH WITH GROWTH STOCKS
young man who once applied for work as a farmhand. The farmer in
charge asked, “What are your qualifications, son?”
The man replied, “I can sleep when the wind blows.”
That didn’t make a lot of sense to the farmer, but the man was
physically strong, so he was hired for the job. A short time later, a
terrible storm crept up in the middle of the night, complete with
thunder, lightning, and treacherous winds. The farmer was so shaken
and worried about his crop, he jumped out of bed and ran up to his
young assistant’s room, only to find him fast asleep. The farmer shook
the farmhand fiercely, until he finally opened his eyes. “How could
you possibly sleep through this terrible storm?” the perturbed farmer
asked.
“Don’t you remember what I said when you hired me?” the man
replied. “I told you I could sleep when the wind blows.”
“But what about the livestock?” the farmer shouted.
“They’re taken care of in the barn and the hay is covered,” he said.
“There’s no reason to worry. Everything is the same as it was before,
except you’re a little more excited.”
Yacktman believes all investors should be like this young, yet wise
farmhand. They should sleep when the wind of the stock market blows.
Yacktman insists this is his attitude, and his staff will attest to it. He
is known for taking an occasional afternoon nap and has told employees
not to disturb him, even if the market comes crashing down. His
rationale? Even though the herd may be in a panic, he rests assured
that the outlook for his companies remains the same.
NO GUARANTEES
Yacktman’s the first to admit, however, that you can never be
totally certain about a company’s prospects, nor whether it is being
led by a capable management team. “Many people feel it’s the number
of hours you put in at the office in this business that makes the biggest
difference,” he observes. “That’s simply not true. This is a judgment
business. Stephen Covey wrote a book called The Seven Habits of
Highly Effective People. At one point, he talks about the four quadrants.
Quadrant two is where very important and long-term-oriented
decisions are made. I think I spend a lot of time in quadrant two. I
try to concentrate on what’s really important, which is why my office
is so calm. Unfortunately, most people in this business focus only on
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