Patiently Reach For It
Cover Story, by Mark Robertson, Managing Partner August 1st, 2007
Our actions and words matter to those around us as we reach for success in investing.
The athletic ability of Charlie Sanders made him the secret weapon on offense for the Detroit Lions from 1968-1977.
On August 4, 2007, Charlie Sanders will be inducted into the Hall of Fame for the National Football League. It is the highest honor that an NFL player can achieve. Players are eligible for election five years after they retire as an active player. Charlie played tight end for the Detroit Lions from 1968-1977 and was elected to seven Pro Bowls (all-star honorary selections) during his career — more than any other tight end in NFL history. Charlie has remained active in the NFL and has continued to be employed by the Lions organization in a variety of capacities for 40 years. Some of you have already done the math. He was first eligible for the Hall of Fame in 1982. Others are thinking, “What does a story about a football player have to do with investing?”
First, Charlie wasn’t “just a football player.” He was THE football player to a youngster growing up in Illinois back in the 1970s. As my spouse and close friends could attest, there have been times when the number of “88” jerseys in my closet outnumbered the balance. Despite decades of frustration, my loyalty to the Detroit Lions has never waivered. It never will.
Second, we may be talking football … but we’re not really talking about football.
That’s merely the stage. What we’re really talking about is how small the world is and how magnificent the journey can be. The key is an optimistic outlook combined with diligent doses of patience and discipline.
Charlie Sanders is arguably the greatest player at his position in the history of the NFL. It took the selection committee the better part of 25 years to realize the mistake they’d made. What took them so long to come their senses?
Patient Faith
You see, Charlie didn’t make a whole lot of noise about this injustice. He never did and never would. Life is too short and valuable for whining. Charlie met his wife Georgianna (Georgie) at the University of Minnesota. They have nine children ranging in age from 15 to 42. Daughters Charese and Mary Jo founded a non-profit charity, Family to Family, and the entire Sanders family has been active in causes like dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Mary Jo is a world champion boxer! Charlie is supportive of the efforts of all the children and grandchildren. His thoughts on his long-awaited selection:
“It’s been a journey. The last few days have been very nerve-racking. Not only for me, but for my family and I know for a lot of my friends – especially being in the business that involves the NFL. There are a lot of supporters that are close to the game, so you kind of carry that extra burden of hopefully not disappointing them. God knows this is a blessing, not only for me, but for my family (and) the city. I want to again thank everybody that had anything to do with me standing here today and to those who were not as fortunate as me, by no means does it have any implication on your ability or your desire to go out and compete in the greatest sport in the world. To you I say: Hang in there. To you I say: Be patient. To you I say: I’m pulling and I’m hoping for you. Again, thank you all.”
Growth & It’s A Small World
The story about the Sanders children doesn’t end there. Subscribers may recall our invitation to think about the concepts of growth featuring our teenage son, Alex. (See Stacking the Odds: Forecasting Growth – Expected Returns; April 2006)
In the article, readers were invited to estimate how large/tall Alex would become. If any of you guessed less than 6-2 and 230 lb, you’re already wrong.
When I accepted the senior contributing editor position for Better Investing magazine and our family relocated from Chicago to Michigan, we chose Rochester Hills for our residence.
It turns out that Charlie chose the Rochester area over 30 years ago. Our son Alex plays defensive tackle for the local high school football team, our Rochester Adams Highlanders. The two youngest Sanders boys, Wayne and Jordan, also play for the Highlanders. In fact, there were a few plays last football season when Alex lined up between freshman Jordan and senior Wayne Sanders on the Highlander defensive line.
I’ve been privileged to spend a little bit of time with Charlie during the games or when picking up the boys after practice. He’ll often show up in Lions sweats and he’s very quiet but also very approachable. We’ve talked about the boys and how he supports their football aspirations without pressure. He’s even learned to accept having a world-ranked professional boxer for a daughter but openly admits that a lot of pacing was required when Mary Jo first started.
He says (laughing) he’ll never have to worry about her on a blind date.
Excellence & Results
Sitting next to your childhood hero in the high school bleachers may not seem that exceptional to you. To me, it’s living proof of the powerful potential all around us and that the world truly is smaller than we sometimes think it is. When Charlie was asked to name an influential person in his life, he targeted a junior high coach who challenged him to reach for the best. Coach McKee questioned whether he had what it took to excel in football … the literal birth moment of a hall-of-fame career.
Words are powerful.
Casting a vision of success is one of the most powerful things that we do (1) as individual investors and (2) when we encourage others to discover long-term investing.
During market corrections, the confidence of many long-term investors can be shaken. The long-term perspective is not something that is formed quickly and we know that it builds and is conditioned over time. Our actions and words matter to those around us as we reach for success in investing.
Charlie was once asked about “coming up short” in the voting with respect to entitlement and closure:
“I’ve always been one that wondered about my career, not necessarily in terms of how hard I may have participated in it, but really on how I got to where I am today. I feel that everything, and I know and I believe in my heart, that everything that has happened in my life up until now has already been written. It’s a special thing for me to look back on my career and know that all of the good, all of the bad feelings and all of the people that have touched me, smiled at me, helped me in this sport – all played a part in [what I’ve achieved.] When I got up this morning I felt that it’s written.”
I find it fascinating that Charlie’s an even bigger hero to me as I’ve come to know more about him. The opposite is often true as childhood “celebrity” dreams are trumped by reality. Charlie and I may some day discuss long-term investing. Based on all that I know so far, his perspective probably includes large measures of patience and discipline. And I’m absolutely certain that he believes that patiently reaching is part of the longest journey rewarded.
Mark Robertson
Mark Robertson is founder and managing partner of Manifest Investing, a source for research and portfolio management focusing on strategic long term investors.