Ask any top consultant and they will tell you that ‘the greatest difficulty in consulting is ensuring CORRECT and PERFECT implementation.

Whether it is a dietician who is worried about implementation of his plan or a Financial advisor worried about his suggestions, the fear remains the same. Our growing knowledge is not really helping us. There is growing evidence that as you grow older you should do more exercises (strength), do yoga (flexibility), eat more greens, consume very little alcohol, shun tobacco, and reduce stress. However, if you look around (and for me in the mirror too!!) you realize that WE are not able to implement it the way it should be. We should do heavy rigorous exercise (bones need help), reduce belly fat, eat more greens – nice in theory, not being done. Despite increased awareness and knowledge of weight loss and health, we are getting heavier, rigid, and less healthy.

Getting healthy is easy. You eat less for sure. You eat healthy. You exercise – a lot – repeat a lot more than what you are doing. You take Fridays off to meet friends, Saturday do household chores and Sunday stay away from all screens. Monday you hit office refreshed. We all know this, right? How many of us above 50 can or do implement this? Actually it is not about knowing at all (Saraswati) it is about doing (with the help of a Guru like Hanuman).

Because at the end of the day you ultimately have to be disciplined about eating right and working out.

Now come to investing. People spend their life time arguing about the following:

1. active fund or passive
2. is it the right time to invest NOW?
3. what if the market crashes as soon as we invest?
4. is strategy A better than strategy B vs C vs D vs E

We now have a lot more research and a lot more knowledge than what we had say 20 years ago. We know that at the top all strategies will create some alpha. We know Icici Pru vs Hdfc amc is an never ending debate. However most people cannot sit idle with one strategy. We all need some action and short termism – paying more in terms of trading costs and taxes. Sounds stupid, but it is completely true.

The more time I spend with people the more I am convinced that changes have to be small, incremental, and woven with life. Very important learning for me is ” being disciplined in one field MAY not mean you are DISCIPLINED in all fields. You need to learn all these basic survival skills….and implement them well.