"If you can keep your head when all about youAre losing theirs and blaming it on youIf you can trust yourself when all men doubt you…….". ___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Read also: Alec Hogg: Happy birthday to investment icon Warren Buffett.During a brief but active stay at Maritzburg University, my most memorable lecturer, a well-intentioned leftie, ripped into Rudyard Kipling's "If" (above) as an example of stiff upper lip stupidity. I agreed with much of what he taught. But this dismissal of the classic work by Britain's leading Victorian wordsmith never sat well. Thank goodness..Because in later years, when learning what made Warren Buffett tick, I discovered the writing of Marcus Aurelius and listened to modern stoics like Charlie Munger. Their philosophies align with Kipling's. In short: emotion and smart decisions are poor bedfellows. It's so much better to keep your head when everyone else is losing theirs..Read also: Alec Hogg: Trailblazing at all ages – Shaun Tomson and Herman Mashaba.When Covid-19 hit the world in February, during that month and March, many panicked sending global share prices down by almost a quarter (see below). But since then they have risen 35%, the market's best stretch since 1938. In August, the S&P500 index rose 7%, its best month since 1986. Not surprisingly, the US-tech heavy Biznews portfolio also cracked on the pace as you'll hear in the Premium-only webinar at noon today.
