Investing is simple. Not easy. There's a very important distinction between the two. Particularly in light of what's currently unfolding around the world. A few years ago, I was listening to a gentleman probably 20 years older than me talk about how his guitar lessons were going. He was intelligent. He was well-educated and successful. But when he was a boy, his family pushed him toward the sciences and engineering. Now, he ultimately built a lucrative career out of those. The problem was, for him to achieve that success, his family kept him away from anything having to do with the arts - music, painting, etc. It wasn't until later in life that he decided to take up guitar. "It's very frustrating," he admitted after three years of playing. "I thought I'd be better by now." All of his other successes - his aptitude for science and math, his mountain of professional accomplishments - made him feel invincible. These successes made him feel like everything would come easily. He figured that if he read voraciously about music theory, he would pick up a guitar and, magically, be able to play like Wes Montgomery or Stevie Ray Vaughan. He didn't expect to put in the same amount of hard work that had been required in his professional life. I often feel this is the same mentality people have when they start investing. They think it's easy. Deceptively so. They believe they're going to become millionaires overnight. And I believe a lot of the frustration - including claims that the markets are rigged or unfair - spawn from this idea that individuals can just jump in and instantly be successful. Investing is simple... but it's far from easy. Being able to understand the importance of one indicator could be the key in this hazy environment. Easier Than DeliveryBuying shares of a company online is less complicated than ordering a pizza. You just enter the ticker symbol and how many shares you want, and press "submit order." It doesn't get much simpler than that. But buying shares of a good company - an investment that's going to generate strong income and/or life-changing returns? That's far more difficult. Investors need to understand the difference between good and bad valuation metrics. They need to know whether a company's growth opportunities are solid. Whether a company's revenue and earnings are beating expectations. And if management is intelligent and overcoming the challenges that dog its competitors. The list goes on and on... There's a lot to consider. And even if it all looks perfect - everything is in tune - a black swan event can swoop in out of nowhere and force a great opportunity to go belly up. That's what the COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting upon whole swaths of the market as we speak. It's how investors respond in moments like this that determine whether they belong at the "novice" table or they're able to step up and join their more seasoned counterparts. | 
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