Past Performance is Not Indicative of Future Results

Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. —Oscar Wilde

Grace changes us and change is painful. — Flannery O’Connor

Do not wait for the Last Judgment. It takes place every day. — Albert Camus

If you have ever invested in anything—mutual funds, mortgage-backed securities, or metaverse parcels—you have almost certainly encountered this bit of legalese: Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Like primer on siding, the phrase coats investment prospectuses of all shapes and sizes; ensuring firm regulatory footing in compliance with SEC Rule 156.

It serves as a disclaimer—warning would-be investors of the future’s unpredictable nature. Expectedly, it is often skimmed over quickly (if read at all).

However, just as turning a prism can refract a rainbow, when viewed differently, there’s beauty and magic to be found in plain sight of these eight simple words.

While many read them as warning, I see hope and opportunity.

Something Alan Watts once said captures it perfectly: “You're under no obligation to be the same person you were just five minutes ago.”

That is, past you has no bearing on present you.

The addict can sober up.

The wronged can forgive.

The criminal can repent.

The prodigal son can come home.

In a recent TED Talk, Pope Francis hammered this hopeful message home:

To Christians, the future does have a name, and its name is Hope.

Feeling hopeful does not mean to be optimistically naïve and ignore the tragedy humanity is facing.

Hope is the virtue of a heart that doesn't lock itself into darkness, that doesn't dwell on the past, does not simply get by in the present, but is able to see a tomorrow.

Hope is the door that opens onto the future.

Hope is a humble, hidden seed of life that, with time, will develop into a large tree. It is like some invisible yeast that allows the whole dough to grow, that brings flavor to all aspects of life. And it can do so much, because a tiny flicker of light that feeds on hope is enough to shatter the shield of darkness.

A single individual is enough for hope to exist, and that individual can be you.

And then there will be another "you," and another "you," and it turns into an "us."

And so, does hope begin when we have an "us?"

No. Hope began with one "you."

When there is an "us," there begins a revolution.

Whether good, bad, or ugly, you can always be better.

Learn from your past, use your present, create your future.

Today’s sinner is tomorrow’s saint.

About the Author

This article was originally published on White Noise and republished here with permission.

Tom White works as a solopreneur: writing, editing, researching, and ghostwriting professionally for a number of bestselling authors, startup/F500 executives, VCs, and fund managers; advising and consulting on web3/growth/storytelling/customer psychology for a number of different international B2B and B2C startups; and penning a free weekly newsletter on books and behavior, psychology and philosophy: www.whitenoise.email.