There’s a lot we can learn from Warren Buffett. He’s earned his place as one of the greatest investors of all time.
But the single most important lesson I’ve taken from him has nothing to do with valuation models or balance sheets.
It’s this:
There are no called strikes on Wall Street.
I wrote about this concept 10 years ago, and it matters just as much, if not more, in today’s environment.
You see, in liquid markets, you’re never penalized for not taking a trade. Missing an opportunity is not a mistake.
That’s a lesson that took me years to fully understand.
And once it clicked, it changed everything about how I approach markets.
Baseball Was My First Classroom
I grew up in Miami with Cuban parents. Baseball wasn’t just a sport; it was part of the culture.
To their credit, my parents put me in everything: soccer, football, tennis, basketball. I enjoyed all of it. But I always wondered why other kids were playing baseball while I wasn’t.
I was a baseball player. There was never any doubt in my mind.
And the lessons I learned on the field still show up in my work today – especially when it comes to patience and decision-making.
The Pain of a Called Strike
Picture this.
You’re a right-handed hitter. A southpaw backdoors a curveball that freezes you. You didn’t swing because it wasn’t your pitch.
Strike one.
Even worse? Sometimes the pitch is too low. Or too high. Or off the plate entirely. You know it. Everyone in the park knows it.
Doesn’t matter.
The ump rings you up anyway.
There are few things more frustrating than having a strike called on a pitch you never should’ve swung at in the first place.
Markets Don’t Work That Way
Fortunately, markets aren’t baseball.
If we don’t like the pitch, we don’t have to swing.
We can stand in the batter’s box all day watching pitch after pitch go by, with little consequence. We can do it for days. Weeks. Even months.
No strikes get called.
We have the luxury of waiting for our pitch – and nothing less.
And here’s the beauty of it:
That pitch will come.
That’s the only real guarantee markets give us.
What’s not guaranteed is whether you’ll be disciplined enough – and prepared enough – to take advantage of it when it does.
Frustration Is the Enemy
After a few losing trades, or even one bad decision, frustration creeps in.
That frustration leads to forcing trades. Chasing setups. Swinging at pitches you know you shouldn’t.
And those distractions are how you miss the giant elephant walking right past you.
Only swinging at the best pitches is one of the greatest advantages we have in markets.
Very few other areas in life offer that kind of optionality.
Where FOMO Actually Matters (And Where It Doesn’t)
In life, some opportunities really are fleeting.
If you meet someone you like at a bar, let’s say, and you don’t make a move, you may never see them again.
If you pass on a private deal like Uber or Coinbase, for example, there’s no second chance.
Private markets don’t offer do-overs.
Public markets do.
Stocks, ETFs, commodities, forex, crypto… there will always be another opportunity. That’s the gift Mr. Market gives us every single day.
If you forget that, you’ll start swinging out of fear instead of logic.
Waiting Is a Strategy
Jim Rogers once said, “I just wait until there is money lying in the corner, and all I have to do is go over there and pick it up.”
That kind of patience requires watching a lot of bad pitches go by.
FOMO – “fear of missing out” – is toxic to returns.
Why chase?
Why blindly bottom-fish?
Why swing early?
Wait for the perfect pitch. Then swing for the fences, with risk management in place.
That’s how professionals play the game.
Ignore the Noise
The financial media wants you to believe there’s a perfect pitch every day.
They’ll even try to make you feel stupid for not participating.
Ignore it.
They’re selling ads. They’re chasing clicks. They don’t care about you or your portfolio – and they never will.
Your results are your responsibility.
Your losses are on you.
Your gains are yours alone.
You don’t need to swing at every pitch.
Cash Is a Position
There is nothing wrong with raising cash when you need to.
Cash is patience.
Cash is discipline.
Cash is readiness.
It’s what allows you to act decisively when the right opportunity finally shows up.
Because as Warren Buffett reminded us, there are no called strikes on Wall Street.
So just wait for your pitch.
Stay sharp,
JC Parets, CMT
Founder, TrendLabs