Jack Welch, retired General Electric CEO, says, “If you don’t have a competitive advantage, don’t compete.”

There may be five, ten, or even fifty different ways to accomplish a task. But there is always only one best way to do anything. Successful people are those people who find the best way to do something, then repeat that process over and over and over again.

In the business world, this truth is widely accepted. Success usually comes to people who have found their strengths, developed them, and used them over and over. On the other hand, most people who spend their lives hunting for a quick score never perfect any particular skill. Those are the people who end up in pine boxes with a stack of unpaid bills in the apartment.

The same thing happens in the investing arena. Having taught investing strategies to thousands of people, I can tell you that the people who commit to a broadly diversified plan and set aside regular contributions almost always outperform the people who are always chasing the next hot stock. The old adage “buy low and sell high” is fine and good—until it doesn’t work. Then what do you do? You can’t go back and not buy. There will always be day traders, market timers, and stock pickers. But sooner or later, it’s nearly certain that the bottom will fall out — and what comes from that is a bone-crushing experience. The doggedly steady, consistent, disciplined investor usually retires with a bigger smile.

It is your job to find the single best and most efficient way to achieve your goal. Then ignore the “noise” that surrounds you. There will always be those (sometimes the very people who are closest to you) who will laugh and give you a hundred reasons why your plan won’t work. But, when you are certain of your goal and direction, maintain a laser-beam focus. Don’t let anything knock you off track.