On this episode of The Retirement Huddle podcast, Mark Howard shares some famous quotes from basketball star Shaquille O’Neal. They contain some hidden gems that might help your retirement plan.

We heard Shaq speak at a conference and were amazed at the smart financial knowledge he shared and how he handled his money. Here are some of his famous quotes and how they can apply to your finances.

“Excellence is not a singular act, but a habit. You are what you repeatedly do.”

When it comes to saving for retirement, some people want to find the home run investment that’s going to greatly increase their wealth in a short period of time. But the average person who builds great wealth does it by saving a little bit at a time, over and over, for many years.

“I’m like taxes. Mess with me and you’re going to pay one way or the other.”

There are many different types of investment accounts that are all treated differently from a tax perspective. The 401k or IRA where you get a tax deduction now but pay later, the Roth where you get no deduction now but don’t have to pay later, or even the after-tax account where you pay on gains and dividends as you go.

But all of these accounts have one thing in common — you’re going to pay some taxes one way or the other. So if you “mess” with investing, you’re going to pay your taxes one way or the other. It’s just part of the deal.

“The day I stopped worrying about stats is the day I started winning.”

People who watch the market constantly and overthink all of their decisions usually don’t make very good investors (and they add a lot of unnecessary stress to their lives). The most successful investors just learn to ride the roller coaster and not think about it constantly.

Listen to the full episode or use the timestamps to jump to a specific section. Thanks for listening! We’ll be back for another show every other Thursday.

Today’s Rundown:

0:46 – Seeing Shaq

5:05 – Excellence

7:15 – Taxes

8:59 – Stats

11:02 – Motivation