A lot of people express interest in being a professional investor. Why? For some it might come from having seen a lot of people become very wealthy as an investor. For others it's the variety; you get to look at lots of different businesses, not just one. There is also a smaller number of professional investors than there are professionals generally. It's much more common to have a job at a big company than it is to be a professional investor, so it becomes more prestigious.
But there is a risk when so many people want to be professional investors. Venture capital and private equity firms (1) don't require very many people, and (2) are not always sustainable for everyone (e.g. not every venture capital or private equity firm will actually make money.) But the more people who want the job, the more of these firms will pop up.
So the most critical thing you can do is evaluating WHY you want to become an investor, and HOW you want to become an investor. Be thoughtful of the balance between building something, maintaining something, and supporting those who are building and maintaining.
<aside> 💡 Builders: “Too many smart people go into finance. That’s both a compliment and a criticism.” (Elon Musk)
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Elon Musk is a builder. Steve Jobs was a builder.
<aside> 💡 Maintainers: "Another flaw in the human character is that everybody wants to build and nobody wants to do maintenance.” (Kurt Vonnegut Jr.)
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The world also need people to maintain. Tim Cook is a sustainer.
<aside> 💡 Sustainers: "You know what the difference is between you and me? I want to be the guy. You want to be the guy that the guy counts on." (Jed Bartlett; The West Wing, speaking to his Deputy Chief of Staff)
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Investors should generally be people who want to support the builders and the maintainers. Removing the obstacles for them by helping provide capital and then getting out of their way.
This is NOT the only way to think about what you want to be. Not everyone will fit nicely in one of these categories. And different people will fit in different categories at different times. What's more important is that you think deeply about your "why."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA
"If you hire someone because they can do a job they'll work for you for money, but if you hire someone because they believe what you believe they'll work for you with blood, sweat, and tears." (Simon Sinek)