What Dara Torres can teach us about investing
Discipline can get you to the medal stand

Don't you just love the Olympics? I don't watch much television, but I was glued to the set last Friday night, watching the opening ceremonies. The pageantry and the technology on display were simply breath-taking.

I've always admired Olympic athletes for their dedication and discipline. It takes long hours at the gym, on the track and in the pool, each and every day, to reach elite status. And every Olympic games, I look forward to the stories behind the athletes, the tales of triumph and overcoming adversity.

This year, my favorite story has to be that of Dara Torres, the 41-year-old swimmer who helped her relay team win a silver medal. This is her fifth Olympic games. She first competed in the Los Angeles games of 1984 -- the year before her fellow Olympian, Michael Phelps, was even born!

Can you imagine the discipline it took for Torres to maintain her elite status as a swimmer? She's battled through countless surgeries and grueling training sessions over the years, and she's arguably better than she's ever been -- last year, she set an American record in one of her events. And did I mention she had a baby just two years ago? Think of all the times she could have easily given up and walked away. And yet, she persevered.

Dara Torres is a success story because of her discipline. And the same commitment to discipline can do for investors what it does for elite athletes.

Success in investing comes from creating a plan and sticking to it every day. That sounds awfully complicated, but it really isn't -- provided you have a solid system in place.

Systematic investing strips away the complex external variables and tells you exactly what to do and when. A huge rally or one-day drop in the stock market may cause your emotional brain to make rash decisions that you'll regret later, but a system will help keep you on the right track. In the event you suffer an investing "injury," a system will help you recover faster. By sticking to your system, you're more likely to avoid the mistakes that send other investors permanently to the sidelines.

Dara Torres' system of disciplined training has made her the oldest Olympic swimming medalist in history.  A disciplined system of investing – be it dollar-cost averaging or the Snider Investment Method® -- may make you a successful investor at any age.

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