New York, New York
— January 15, 2026

If you could rewind the clock and start again, what would you do differently as an investor?

It’s a question worth asking, not because regret is useful, but because clarity is. And if you’re just getting started, hopefully this helps!

If I had to distill everything I’ve learned into a couple of foundational pillars for success, it would come down to four core areas that consistently separate reactive investors from thoughtful ones.

First: Business.
Understanding how companies actually work is non-negotiable. That means financial statements, basic accounting, competitive strategy, how companies make/lose money and of course the fundamentals of the stock market and trading. You don’t need to be a CFA, but you do need to speak the language.

Second: History.
Markets don’t repeat perfectly, but they rhyme constantly. Studying history gives you perspective during moments of panic and restraint during moments of euphoria. It helps you zoom out when headlines try to pull you into the noise. It’s also going to be more and more important in the age of AI.

Third: Psychology.
This might be the most overlooked skill in investing. Understanding human behavior…things like fear, greed, overconfidence, anxiety….allows you to manage your own emotions and better interpret the market’s. Most bad investment decisions aren’t analytical failures; they’re emotional ones.

Fourth: Emerging Technology.
Every generation has its defining technologies. You don’t need to chase every trend, but you should deeply understand at least one. Knowing how technology works (this could how steel was made, and the basic physics of it when that was “high tech” allows you to form your own opinion about value, scale, and long-term impact which is key.

Where ever you’re at in your journey, remember, you don’t need to have done this earlier to benefit from it now. Markets reward learning over time, not perfection at the start.

It’s never too late to get better at the game. Be good.