This week I waited and waited for inspiration to hit. For that thought-provoking podcast or interesting article or unique interaction that would make it clear what my next blog should be about. But alas, as the days went on, nothing perked my proverbial ears.
Also this week, I finished reading The Tao of Charlie Munger, a series of quotes from Charlie that were editorialized by a third party. Quite an interesting read (Charlie is the business partner of Warren Buffet and a very successful investor), and the confluence of these two things reminded me of something:
Many things in life (like writing a blog, building wealth through investing) are actually rather boring. Sometimes even a slog. But it’s actually the every-day slog that makes it all work.
Many people think great investing is timing the market or picking that perfect stock, when in reality, it’s really just about putting your money in the market for the long term and riding out the erratic ups and downs that happen over time. The magic is not necessarily in the best investment vehicles, but just staying steadily in the market and letting your money compound over time while you wait, quietly and not really doing anything, on the sidelines.
Writing a blog (or whatever your work might be) is the same. Oh sure, occasionally there is that lightning bolt of inspiration or the topic that really hits and makes me run to my computer to get my thoughts out as fast as I can. But most times it’s just sitting down to write and seeing what comes out, the process of just showing up and doing the work, day after day.
So while we may think of life – and all its important parts and pieces – as being defined by those incredible high (or sometimes low) points, the vast course of a life is mostly a straight, level line. A stream of boring days, the days we simply show up, over and over, to do the ordinary thing that builds over time to an extraordinary life.
