If you took away the ten best days of the stock market’s history over the past 100 years, two-thirds of the cumulative gains produced by the Dow Jones Industrials would completely disappear. Conversely, if you avoided the ten worst days of the market’s performance over the span of its history, you would have tripled the actual return of the Dow.
Surprisingly, those market-changing events represent just .03% of the market’s entire history.
Most of the time the market kind of bumbles along rather quietly, and then, when no one expects it, there is a giant gain or loss. Afterwards, the market settles back once again into its less dramatic track.
This pattern reminds me of the trajectory of my career path over the past twenty years, which goes something like this: nothing, nothing, boring, hard work, minor breakthrough, work, tedious, setback, nothing, and then, suddenly – BAM! Out of the blue, a major defining moment propels me into a new direction.
It doesn’t occur to us that our lives, for the most part, will be very ordinary.
Our work days are filled with everyday routines that at times may feel like we’re simply circling the same corner over and over without much progress to speak of. Even if we’re certain that our work is supposedly leading to something better, it can often seem like the lag time between cause and effect is excruciatingly meanderingly slow, if nonexistent.
