I am a harsh critic of movies in general and I do not watch many movies.  That’s why I thought I’d share one that I found worth watching.  I found themes and lessons in this movie that resonated with me (and baseball seems to lend itself to good stories – I don’t know why.) 

Put it on your watch list and let me know what you think of the movie.  Check out the movie review from the Dove Foundation for evaluating offensive content.

I could identify with the main character, Billy Bean.  He acts on his convictions.  He is passionate about his work.  He wants to win.  He is threatening the establishment simply by executing his strategy.  He is not distracted by short term results.

This movie has a lot of parallels to the Free Market Investing strategy we advocate for our clients’ invested savings.  I hope you like the movie as much as I did.  Here is what got me excited about the picture:

1. Baseball and Investing.  This is a baseball movie and says little or nothing about investing savings.  However, the main character, Billy Bean (played by Brad Pitt) came to a place where he realized he could not win games using the traditional methods for acquiring players.  It was a multi-million dollar guessing game with no clear evidence for success.  The same is true for your investments!  This is precisely why we left the traditional methods for investing money.  Traditional money management is a loser’s game of speculating and gambling. 
2. Perseverance.  Billy Bean believed in the strategy and stuck with it.  We need to believe strongly enough that the short term results (good or bad) don’t distract us.  Perseverance is a character trait built on faith and convictions.  To win in baseball and with investing you must persevere!
3. Attacks.  A great quote in the movie “I know you’re taking it in the teeth out there, but the first one through the wall always gets bloody, always…”  When Billy begins to implement the new strategy, the baseball establishment feels very threatened.  Statistics and the academic research prove to be a superior method of picking baseball players for a winning team.  The same is true for Free Market Investing.  As Free Market Investing gains market share, we will be increasingly attacked and discredited.  A multi-billion dollar financial services industry and media will be exposed and they will not let go of their billions in fees without a fight.
4. Purpose.  This has to be about more than money.  In another quote from the movie, Billy tells Peter, “I made one decision in my life based on money, and I swore I’d never do it again.”   The best decisions are not easy and they offer no quick payout.  Investing is no different.  Know your purpose!  I challenge you to consider your purpose in the light of absolute truth.  These are things that never change.  Truth and purpose clarify life’s most important decisions.

Enjoy the movie!  Let me know your thoughts about it.  Let me know of movies you found to be worth watching.