Many trusted, well-grounded professionals in various fields will agree that true success rarely comes without discipline and a long-term perspective. Due to the amazing advances in technology and the pace of change in the world today, one might think that success can easily be achieved overnight. This does happen on occasion, but it is more the exception than the rule.
There are also great risks in approaching things with a short-term perspective. One need not look any further than Wall Street and the recent meltdown to see what happens to companies, financial markets and entire economies in this case, when too much emphasis is put on growth or profits in the short-term. The changes in the U.S. real estate market are also an example of how emphasis on short-term profits from "flipping" homes has wreaked havoc on many Americans, well beyond the guilty profiteers.
A recent analysis I did on the returns of a well-diversified portfolio showed that the typical average returns of various investment assets have not held up in more recent history. On the other hand, these returns do occur when the investment time horizon is extended to a generation or longer. This analysis, along with personal experience throughout my lifetime, confirms that achieving exceptional returns from the implementation of proven investing principles is a disciplined, long-term process.
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