Visualize it. Long-term investing is much like climbing a tree.

It can be difficult getting started (investing or climbing) because there’s simply too much to get your arms around. You may have to start over several times before you start seeing any progress, but each time you’ve learned more about how best to approach the challenge. Eventually, you reach the lowest branch, and first feel the satisfaction of accomplishment.

As you progress higher and perhaps try out different limbs, you gain more and more skill and satisfaction. At some points, branches are spaced just right so that climbing is easy and quick. At other places, progress may be very difficult and even painful. You may sense that the going is becoming increasingly more risky, as you go higher up or venture farther out.

At each point in your progress, you have the opportunity to stop, continue, or retreat. Which decision you make depends on how much you are willing to risk to accomplish your goal, what your goal is, how much you enjoy taking risks, what the weather looks like, whether the roots seem deep and strong, whether others appear to be progressing well, and many other factors.

You may reach a point that is high enough and decide to stop there. If the future looks stormy or you see signs of stress, you may retreat to a safer position. You may find that you’ve taken a wrong turn and have to backtrack a bit to get on a better branch. And you may fall – completely back to where you started, or to somewhere lower in your progress.

From this analogy, some simple advice for both tree-climbers and investors:

• Don’t let others dare you into doing anything that you think is foolish.
• Never go so high up or so far out that you feel insecure.
• If the weather looks stormy, retreat to a safe perch. What may be sturdy in times of calm can give you whiplash in a storm.
• Keep your eyes open for potential problems and rotten roots