Reading letters from Terry Smith, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos is an excellent starting point. Their wisdom goes beyond textbooks and highlights the real-world strategies that set them apart from 95% of investors.

The Value of Learning from Successful Investors

By diving into the writings of these legendary figures, you absorb decades of expertise in just a few hours. Their lessons emphasise focusing on business fundamentals over short-term market movements. If you internalise these teachings, you’ll outperform most investors.

Take, for example, Jeff Bezos’ 2000 letter to Amazon shareholders.

His advice remains relevant today:

"The stock market functions as a voting machine in the short term, transforming into a weighing machine in the long term."

Stop Chasing Stock Prices—Focus on Fundamentals

Many investors struggle to shift their focus from share prices to company fundamentals. Here’s why that mindset holds you back:

1. Stock Prices Reflect Sentiment, Not Value

   • In volatile markets, stock prices often drop even when a company is performing well.

   • Successful investors understand this and remain focused on the business's long-term trajectory.

2. Conviction Comes from Fundamentals, Not Prices

   • If your confidence depends on stock prices, you’ll be quick to sell when prices fall.

   • However, if your conviction stems from the company's growth and performance, you'll persevere and eventually reap the rewards.

Lessons from Jeff Bezos’ 2000 Letter

Jeff Bezos’ words in 2000 provide timeless advice for today’s investors:

"So, if the company is better positioned today than it was a year ago, why is the stock price so much lower than it was a year ago?"

This quote underscores a critical point: short-term price fluctuations don’t reflect a company’s true value. Bezos emphasises the importance of “building a heavier and heavier company” over time, trusting that the market will eventually recognise its value.

How to Stay Focused as a Business Investor

1. Read Letters from Successful Investors and CEOs

   • Learn from their experiences and apply their strategies to your own investing.

   • Recommended reading: Terry Smith, Warren Buffett, and Jeff Bezos.

2. Stick to High-Quality Companies

   • If your company is performing better year over year, stay invested.

   • Ignore short-term price movements and focus on the long-term fundamentals.

3. Be Patient and Keep Adding Shares

   • When you invest based on fundamentals, temporary price declines become opportunities to buy more.

4. Trust the Process

   • Benjamin Graham once stated, "In the short term, the stock market functions as a voting machine; in the long term, it functions as a weighing machine."

The Bottom Line: Think Like a Business Owner

Investing success comes from adopting a business owner’s mindset. Focus on the company’s performance, growth, and fundamentals—not short-term price movements.

If you want to achieve multi-bagger results, trust the process, be patient, and learn from the best. As Bezos put it, “We’re a company that wants to be weighed, and over time, we will be—over the long term, all companies are.”

Start thinking like a business investor today and position yourself for long-term success.