The Appalachian Trail (“AT”) is about 2200 miles long and runs from Georgia to Maine (or Maine to Georgia depending on your perspective). To hike the entire trail is an arduous undertaking and includes both unrivaled natural beauty and a fair share of personal hazards. Completing the hike can be a life-changing experience, leading to a great sense of reward and accomplishment while also providing for many practical life lessons throughout. In many ways, a successful thru-hike (completing the entire trail in a single season) is similar to being a successful investor, whereas both are long journeys that require experience, preparation, discipline, endurance, humility, stoicism, and a good sense humor.
Talk to people that have done it, read as much as you can from different sources/styles, watch some cool YouTube videos, and then dip your toe in. Make sure you are ready, and that you understand the risks in what you are about to undertake. Create a plan that will help you deal with as many variables you can think of, but know you won’t be able to anticipate all of them. Stick to a well thought out plan, as it will prevent you from making impulsive or reckless decisions when something doesn’t go your way. It’s a long journey and you’ll need serious staying power…when things go against you, you might be tempted to throw in the towel. Never forget that you don’t know everything, or even close, and be willing to admit when you’re wrong or make mistakes. There will be many things that are out of your control, so don’t worry about them…get comfortable being uncomfortable and concern yourself with things you can control. Last but not least embrace the humor in it…you’ll make mistakes, the world will seem like it’s out to get you, and at times you’ll be hot, cold, tired, hungry, and smelly…laughing will make your time on the trail more bearable.
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The assertions and statements in this blog post are based on the opinions of the author and Liquid Strategies. The examples cited in this paper are based on hypothetical situations and should only be considered as examples of potential trading strategies. They do not take into consideration the impact that certain economic or market factors have on the decision making process. Past performance is no indication of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.
