Why I Admired Jim Rogers (Part 2) – Read his book “A Gift to My Children”

Two days ago, I written a post summarizing Part 1 of Jim Rogers’ book “A Gift to My Children”. Rogers is a successful investor, businessman and author. The 72 year old wrote the book with the intention of imparting what he learn in life and investment to his two daughters, aged 11 and 6.  

This post continue from previous post (Part 1)… 

7) Your Education, Part 3 – Learn History
Learn History and a macroscopic view of the world is what you need.
Connect the knowledge of history when you travel. History will show you how
forces drive the market


“An interest in
history, politics, and economics will help you see how occurrences in one
country affect other nations. E.g. a single country’s political turmoil can
drive up commodity prices around the world; price of gold in particular will
usually rise. A full-scale war will drive up not only the price of goods but
price of most other commodities.”
8) Your Education, Part 4 – Learn Languages (and make sure that Chinese
is one of them)
English and Mandarin most important languages in the world. Learn
English, Chinese and if possible add Spanish.
9) It is the century of China
“In the 19th century
Britain is dominant. In the 20th century it is United States. In the
21st century it is going to be China.  Buy Chinese stocks and buy the future of this
country. Buy commodities stocks due to imbalance of demand and supply. Imagine
1.3 billion populations will consume steel, iron ore, soy, copper etc”
Beware of the hard landing in real estate due to default of loans. Low
rate of interest led to the over investment in real estates and certain
manufacturing industries.


10) Understand your weakness and acknowledging your mistakes
For the most part, it is in
short-term trades that prices are driven by emotion. Mid-term and long-term
investments are usually influenced more by fundamentals.” Historically,
long periods of selling have ended in “selling climaxes” when
everyone finally panics and dumps out to get out of the market at any price no
matter what the fundamental reality might be.”
Always remember to “buy low and sell high”. It is easier said
than done, but just do not let emotions get the best of you. Do not panic. If
you make mistakes, learn from it.
10) Recognize change and embrace it
Successful investors recognize and learn how to deal change! Everything
changes! Everything! For E.g. UK after WW1 is the richest and most powerful.
Just one generation, it lost its empire and become financial mess. USA after
WW2 is the richest and most powerful, but now greatest debtor nation in
history.
11) Look to the future
People who can observe events as they unfold will certainly acquire
wealth. Do not place bet on things that which is dying out. Example many
languages will fall out or be not effective. English, Chinese and Spanish are
the most important.
Women Era is approaching! Girls supply is short since China, Korea,
India and other Asian countries’ priority had been place on birth of boys.
Pay attention to things people neglect. The more certain something is,
the less likely it is profitable. Do not think in terms of what you wish.
Whenever you see people act in the same way, analyze the supply and demand!
“Anytime you think you
become a genius when in fact you simply have had the good luck to turn profit-
it is time to sit back and do nothing for a while. If you stumble upon success
in a bull market and decide you are gifted, stop right there. Investing at that
point is dangerous because you are starting to think like everybody else. Wait
till mob psychology that influence you subside.”
12) Lady luck smiles on those who continue their efforts
Always do your homework. 
“My most successful
investments were those I invested the most time and hard work, collecting all
available info and research every detail. If you don’t understand something – I
mean truly understand it – you will never be successful. Likewise if you merely
dabble in an area, you are gambling not investing.”
If you let vanity and self-important take over, you will lose all you
have achieved. And Fast!
Only service and quality work over time, and not devaluing your currency
to be competitive!
Never let yourself become arrogant. Study hard. The more you learn, the
more you realize how little you know.
Do not stop when you are working towards your dream.
About Boys & Marriage
As you get older, you will have to deal with boys.
“The basic principle to
remember is this: they need you more than you need them.”
They will make you millions of promises in their frantic pursuit of you.
Take it from someone who knows; I can tell the stories better than they can.
Just ignore them and stay true to yourself. Use your common sense when you
start hearing absurd promises, compliments, and flattery. Do not follow a boy
to a different school, city or job. Make the boys follow you. Be wary: learn
that many men who look old enough to be your father or grandfather do not think
of you as their daughter or granddaughter.
Be extremely careful – even reluctant – before marrying. Do not do it if
you have any doubts at all even if it means walking away at the last minute!
Do not get married until you are at least 28 and know a bit more about
yourself and the world.
Rolf’s View

As a parent, I strongly recommend people out there to read this book for
education of their kids beyond textbooks. Even for non-parents, the experiences
within the book are so enriching for our life-long learning.
I really admired Jim Rogers and wish to emulate him one day. Not exactly
as great but at least have traits in common. For now, I humbly noticed some
similarities I had with him too. I enjoy traveling, not so much to see the
monuments but to know and understand the culture and lifestyle of different
countries and people.  I have a keen
interest in History and Philosophy. Investment is considered my second job
right now. The main difference with Jim Rogers is of course the size and
success of the portfolio, and I started only after 30 and still learning a
great deal now at 36, while he already retired at 37.
Coincidently, one of the reasons why I started this blog is to keep a
record of my personal life experiences for my daughters. When I retire one day,
I will like to write a similar book for my daughters as well.
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9 thoughts on “Why I Admired Jim Rogers (Part 2) – Read his book “A Gift to My Children”

  1. Jim roger have written a number of books on children development.Recently I read his latest book “A Gift To My Children”.I like his message which he gave that more knowledge about the past will prepare more bitter for the future and essay writing service can be used as help.

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