Media negativity reigns and drains.
What they don’t tell you is what matters.
It’s knotty to find good news. Bad news garners more clicks. Take a glance at the College of Biblical Studies Division II women’s basketball team. What they’re infamous for is losing in 2024 to Division I Grambling State by the mind-blowing score of 159-18!
This outcome says two things. First, these women need to pray harder, and second, Grambling State will never win a trophy for Sportswomen of the Year.
The Biblical Study Ambassadors went on to lose 34 out of 35 games in their two inaugural seasons. Some of the scores were 105-35, 127-29, 107-38, and 119-27. Ouch!
There was talk of mercifully closing down the program.
Then things changed, starting with the hire of 29-year-old assistant Sasha Martins. Martin ruthlessly installed discipline and accountability.
Her calling card was, “If you can’t play defense, this isn’t the school for you.”
The Ambassadors didn’t win immediately; they started losing by less.
The tides began to turn. According to Jason Gay of the WSJ:
This is when Biblical Studies started winning. For real. They won three of four in the middle of January and their final regular-season game. In their NCCAA conference tournament—that’s what Biblical Studies plays in, the National Christian College Athletic Association—they squeaked by Dallas Christian College 48-46.
It put Biblical Studies into a tournament semifinal against Champion Christian, a No. 1 powerhouse, ranked atop the entire NCCAA. Champion had already beaten Biblical Studies twice that season.
This semi couldn’t have been more David vs. Goliath. But this time, this program that had once lost a game by 141 points did something only they thought possible:
They won. The College of Biblical Studies stunned Goliath, 74-66.
Were these front-page headlines like the Ambassador’s previous humiliating losses?
Of course not.
Scaring people and dwelling in misery feed the media’s bottom line.
Investors are constantly subject to similiar forms of good-news deprivation. Recently, the market has been experiencing a typical 5-10% correction due to the War in Iran and various other factors.
Instead of highlighting some of the amazing market stats achieved over the last decade, we are fed from an apocalypse well, with worse waiting on the doorstep.
Here’s what’s not on the top of the pecking list of recent financail headlines.
- The S&P 500 has delivered double-digit average returns over the last ten years. This means ordinary investors who stayed the course more than doubled their money without adding a penny to their accounts.
- Earnings growth roughly doubled over the same time period. Earnings are what drive stock prices higher, not temporary short-term events meant to distract you from this key fact.
- The markets have proven remarkably resilient despite the shock waves that reverberate from time to time. COVID, Traiff Tantrums, and inflation have all failed to derail the surge upward. Every single time, the market recovered to achieve new highs.
- Participation in wealth creation has expanded dramatically, especially among young adults and lower-income individuals, who could be the drivers of future gains.
Short-termism is a chronic disease that destroys dreams before they have a chance to blossom.
Take the words of Ralph Waldo Emerson to heart: “The years teach much the days never know.”
There’s a new final score daily. Dwelling on yesterday’s news only enriches the fear-mongers.
