Jason: Yeah, and to go to the other side of that coin, things that I enjoy — Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) or something like The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), which is pretty much a no-brainer where I’m concerned, because I use Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ:SBUX) products every day, and The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) plays just a tremendous role in my life, with our two daughters.
Those are things that I really enjoy following, because I just keep up with them on a day-to-day basis, so I think there’s that low-hanging fruit, for example, that you can find; those companies and those ideas that are very enjoyable and you know immediately you’re going to like it because it’s something that you do every day.
But yeah, to your point there, I think it’s also a great way to discover whether you actually might enjoy something else or not. The only way to know is to look at it, to read about it, to learn a little about it.
Maybe you read about something for an hour and you decide, “Man, this is as dry as it gets and I’ve got no interest in it whatsoever.” But then you know, so you can then say, “Well, those are companies that I’m not really interested in and I don’t want to follow.”
But the other opportunity there is you find something that you’re really interested in, and all of a sudden you’ve expanded your circle of competence, so to speak. We talk about investing in things that you get, that you understand, that you enjoy. That’s the whole point of this.
Don’t invest in things that don’t make sense or you don’t understand.
Biotechnology, I think, is a great example of something that’s a bit outside of my circle of competence — these biopharmaceutical companies that come up with all these new drugs and tests and trials and things. I think it’s fascinating what medical technology offers us. I just don’t know a lot about it.
I don’t have any experience, any training in it, and I’ve discovered that I don’t really care to learn all that much about it, either. It’s interesting to me, to a degree, but not to where I feel like I need to maintain a level of proficiency so I can invest in it, so I tend to just avoid them. I don’t have any of them in my portfolio, and I just learned that I didn’t really care to follow it.
Rick: Plenty of other stocks to choose from.
Jason: Exactly.
Rick: Don’t need to own them all.
Great. Using “enjoying it” as a mantra, not only for finding those easy companies that you already like, but also as a way of discovering what you may like in the future.
Jason: Yeah.
The article Investment Philosophy, Rule No. 1: Invest in Things That Matter originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Jason Moser.
Jason Moser owns shares of Walt Disney, Starbucks, and Joy Global. The Motley Fool recommends Mattel, Starbucks, and Walt Disney and owns shares of Starbucks and Walt Disney.
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