Has anyone become a better investor after looking at fewer ideas?

Your best idea will make you a lot of money.

Your second best idea will make you less.

Your fifteenth best idea is probably worthless.

Yes!!

simplicity is key

You become a better investor because you spend more time understanding the company.

Yes. Focus on the best. Forget the rest.

Chris Hohn is one of the best investors in history and he's made 20%+ returns for decades by only investing in a handful of predictable industries

Sometimes less is more

Yes. I only buy oversold stocks. I use no other strategies.

Filters are the most important. And filters will lead you to fewer ideas anyways. The more you focus on a few in the beginning, the more you can apply that knowledge to other businesses as well.

I think having the fortitude to wait, and not over-optimize is a huge factor too. You probably know what the most secure companies are, but sometimes they're really expensive and your brain nags you about how your money isn't working for you if it's not invested in something. Sure enough though, something goes sideways every few months and another buying opportunity reveals itself. (Like how tech is approaching Iran War levels again.)

Certainly. You make a good point and an often overlooked one. It's a simple concept but so many fall down in it. I owned too many stock's when I started. I was too diversified. If you want to be diversified own the index (I do). You can't own everything. Ever hot sector or asset class. So I 100% agree. Own less. Be more concentrated. Sell your loser's. Own more of your winners. It's easier to understand what you own then and simpler to manage. Then you can manage risk by position size. Like everything in life you need to simplify it. Keep it simple stupid....