Image source: Scott Phillips
A couple of weekends ago, I spent two days in the bush with my boys: learning how to properly use a bushcraft knife, make fire without matches, and treat water so it wouldn't make me crook. We learned to navigate by the sun… and the stars. And we slept under tarps in sleeping bags.
We had a ball, and it was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things I've done in yonks.
And it won't surprise you that somewhere between carving tent pegs from tree branches and lighting fires from sparks, it struck me: this is what investing should feel like.
Simple. Practical. Grounded.
That might sound strange to some, given the buzzwords and palaver flying around the investing world: trading 'systems', AI, biotech, rotation, positioning, ETF, ESG, DCF, and every other acronym you can think of. And all of the 'news' that traders are trying to react to in real time.
But strip it all back, and successful investing is, if not bushcraft, pretty close to it. It's about understanding the fundamentals, preparing well, and not panicking when the wind changes direction.
So, in that spirit, here are a few things a weekend in the bush taught me about how to think – and act – like a smart(er) investor.
The first thing we learned? Don't obsess over gear.
Sure, the right knife helps, and yes, having a decent tarp beats weaving your own shelter from sticks, bracken and leaves – but no fancy kit makes up for knowing how to use it. Indeed, without the knowledge, a tool can go from helpful to harmful, very quickly.
It's the same in investing. People chase the perfect trade, the perfect strategy, the next big thing. But the investor who understands how businesses work, who thinks long-term and avoids emotional decisions? She'll very likely do better, perhaps much better, than someone with a dozen 'hot' investments and no clue why they own any of them. And better than that? She'll have the tools and knowledge that make it possible to not just survive, but prosper, through quality selection of the best investments.
Next, in the bush, energy is currency and resources can be scarce. You don't waste either. You do it once, and you do it well.
Too many investors fall into the trap of fiddling. Buy. Sell. Switch strategies. Tweak portfolios. Chase 'hot' stocks. It's exhausting, and worse, it's usually counterproductive.
Some of the very best investors own a relatively small number of great businesses and barely touch their portfolios. They're not lazy. They're efficient. They know the real work is in choosing well – and then letting time do the heavy lifting.
If you're always "doing" something in your portfolio, ask yourself whether you're building a better shelter – or just pulling down and rebuilding the one you already have.
And then? There are no tricks in bushcraft. No shortcuts. Fire needs heat, fuel, and oxygen. Miss one and you just get smoke (and frustration). Every time.
Investing's the same. You need to spend less than you earn, put money to work in well-diversified, productive investments, and stay the course when it gets tough. Miss one and you're likely to go nowhere– or worse, get burnt.
The good news? The basics work. Really, really well.
A diversified portfolio. Regular contributions. Reinvested dividends. Decades of patience. You won't read about that in the "Top 3 Stocks to Buy Before Friday" article, or "Strategies the pros are following this month", but that's because it's not exciting. It's just effective.
So, choose carefully.
Speaking of the basics, we learned to work with nature. Not against it. You can't stop the rain, but you can waterproof your shelter. You can't summon heat, but you can build a shelter to reflect the heat of your campfire to make the most of what you've got.
Investors often try to speculate about things they can't control – markets, interest rates, elections, global trade, and geopolitics. But investing is about positioning yourself so that the things you can't control don't derail your future.
In other words, it's about preparing, not predicting. And building a portfolio that doesn't rely on being right all the time, but rather being right over the long term.
Turns out, you don't need a lot of 'stuff' to survive and thrive in the bush. Just the right stuff and the right approach.
Investing should be the same. Buy quality businesses. Ignore the noise. Let time do its thing. It's not easy – because your emotions, the media, and your mates at the pub will tell you to do otherwise – but it is simple.
And it works.
The last thing? None of what I said, above, was gleaned from my own trial and error in the scrub. I mean, it's possible that months and years of failure, with the occasional success, might have led me to some of that knowledge.
But better than that is standing on the shoulders of giants. The company behind the course I did is run by a bloke with decades of experience in the army and who trains soldiers in bushcraft. (Even then, this bloke isn't some macho Rambo. Sure, he's no-nonsense. And he's disciplined. But not arrogant or over-confident. He works with the environment, not against it, and he's thoughtful and considered, not 'crash or crash through'). One of our instructors has spent years as a ranger in Arnhem Land and as a high school educator. Another had been on many such courses as the one we were on, and had honed his skills.
In other words? In other words, I looked for and found the best from whom I could learn, and as a result I learned a lot. No, I'm no Bush Tucker Man or Alby Mangels. (I might just be Russell Coight, but hopefully not!) But I learned the basics. Enough to give me a starting point. And then, with more learning and repeated practice, I hope to slowly but consistently improve.
That's where the value is.
Investors spend way too much time looking for the next big idea, the silver bullet, the clever hack. But when it comes to building wealth, just like surviving (and thriving) in the bush, the best outcomes come from mastering the basics, preparing thoughtfully, and not trying to be too clever.
The best way to prosper in a survival situation is also the best way to do it, as an investor: the people who thrive are those who stay calm, trust the process, and know what matters most.
By the way, that's not just investing advice. That's life advice, too.
Fool on!
