Do you have a role model? Mine may surprise you.

We could all use a good role model. Someone to model our behavior after. Someone who has work and life figured out. Someone who inspires us to think better about the big picture. For some that person may be Jeff Bezos, Sara Blakely, Jesus, Kim Kardashian, or Willie Nelson. To be clear, not all role models are created equal. No judgment. (Ok, a little judgement.)

If you are looking for a role model to pattern your thinking after I have a suggestion. Look to Hedge Fund Managers. (You thought I was going to say Bezos, didn’t you?) Like Jeff Bezos, the people who run hedge funds are among the wealthiest in the world. They bring in clinically insane amounts of money for their funds and their investors.

But the money itself is a lag indicator. It is a result. Which means you have to jump in the DeLorean and go back to the original lead indicator to see what makes the hedge fund manager so successful.

At the foundation of the hedge fund is a very simple philosophy. It’s a mindset that any of us can follow. The hedge fund is built on this basic belief:

No matter what happens, I will win.

-Hedge Fund Managers

The fund managers place Big Ben-sized bets on what they expect to happen. They place educated bets that derive from studying the past. They place data-driven bets on the future. And they place smart bets that I assume come from eating a lot of Smarties.

Yet all investment funds do this.

What sets hedge funds apart is the hedge. (Not the popular landscaping boundary made of bushy greenery.) The hedge in hedge funds means that you also place bets that things will go the opposite way that you expected or intended. Which means that you put contingencies in place to capitalize on shifts in markets, conditions, and trends. Or to protect yourself in case a dictator with small tators decides to invade a peaceful neighbor and jack up the world economy.

The hedge fund manager expects the unexpected and expects to win anyway.

I am an entrepreneur. But if you cut me open (please don’t) you’d probably find a hedge fund manager. Because I believe that I will win no matter what happens.

2020

2020 was considered by most to be a doo-doo dumpster fire year. But there were many people who ended up benefitting from the pandemic in significant ways. I was one of them. Because the pandemic created new opportunities. My business, The Weaponry, did well because of how we responded. My personal life benefited from more time with my wife and children. I had more time to exercise than I usually do. I used the gift of time during the lockdown to write my first book, What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? Because I simply decided that no matter what happened, it was going to benefit me.

Key Takeaway

In every situation, there is a way to win. Find it. Think like a hedge fund manager. Find your way to profit no matter which way the wind blows. See the opportunities disguised as bad news. Swim when the sun shines. Read when it rains. There is always an upside. Find it. And make it work for you.

*If you know someone who could benefit from this message please share it with them.

+If you’re on a personal growth journey check out my new book What Does Your Fortune Cookie Say? on Amazon. It features 80 life lessons the universe is trying to share with you.