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The A-share market's nearly four-year-long adjustment has made the path of investment particularly challenging.

On the last trading day of August, the A-share market finally witnessed a long-awaited surge, with the market rebounding throughout the day and sector hotspots blossoming. By the close, the Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.68%, the Shenzhen Component Index by 2.38%, and the ChiNext Index by 2.53%.

The year 2008 was also a difficult period for global investment. The Sapphire Fund managed by Guy Spier once saw a net value drawdown of nearly 50%. Faced with this predicament, his choice was to refuse to sell even a single share of his major investments, not allowing fear to erode rationality during the financial storm.

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Guy Spier, who calls himself a "loyal disciple" of the value investing master Warren Buffett, once bid on and won a charity lunch with Buffett in 2008, along with another renowned investor, Mohnish Pabrai.

"From a statistical perspective, there will come a day when my fund will drop by 50%. You just need to look at the turbulent history of financial markets to know that such a situation will eventually occur," Guy Spier said in his book "The Education of a Value Investor: My Transformative Quest for Wealth, Wisdom, and Enlightenment."

The challenge lies in predicting when such an avalanche phenomenon will occur. As a long-term investor, my choice has been—from the past to the present—not to attempt to dictate timing to the market, a task that is impossible to accomplish.

Guy Spier successfully weathered the financial storm. His holding in American Express once plummeted to $9.7, but he held on and reaped a ninefold return in the following years. His holdings in Berkshire Hathaway and other financial companies also repeatedly reached new highs.

In his book, Guy Spier not only narrates the principles of value investing taught to him by Warren Buffett but also how these principles have become an integral part of his life. It is this inner stability that has been the main reason for his ability to navigate through difficult investment periods.

"Like competing in top-tier events, top-tier investing is, in fact, an 'inner game.' Maintaining inner stability is more critical than external skills," as Guy Spier puts it.

Adhering to one's principles, the Sapphire Fund was established in 1997. In the first ten years since its inception, it brought a fourfold return to its original investors, significantly outperforming the index. However, the Sapphire Fund suffered a cumulative decline of 46.7% in 2008."Emotionally speaking, my year 2008 was painful, but I could handle these massive paper losses. Because I understood that they did not reflect the intrinsic value of my investments. I knew that as long as I did not give up under any external pressure, I could hold on until the other side, and everything would be fine. To some extent, I also made an estimate of the macroeconomy, believing that we would not repeat the mistakes of the Great Depression, because our policymakers understood the risks and would use all available tools to avoid disaster."

"Another favorable factor was that I was prepared for this turmoil. My attitude towards debt was also influenced by Buffett—even before he told us the tragic story of Rick Green's leveraged investments. Buffett once mortgaged his home in Omaha, but he paid off the loan soon after, and he never wanted to get into a pile of debt."

"I learned from painful experience that I must create the best possible environment for myself—my body, my mind, my emotions—so that I can operate more efficiently and be safer in the face of the negative impacts of the financial crisis."

Stay away from the mad crowd and noise

To avoid external distractions, one of the biggest changes Guy Spier made in his life in 2009 was to leave New York for Zurich.

"The financial crisis undoubtedly taught me that controlling the irrational factors in my brain must become an indispensable part of my management of the securities portfolio. In New York, there is restless energy, competitive spirit, and large amounts of wealth, which exacerbate some of my own irrational tendencies, which are not conducive to good investments."

"About a year after we had lunch together, Warren Buffett generously invited Monish and me to his office in Omaha. The most striking feature of his office is that there is very little to disturb his thinking. There are only two chairs there, and there is no place for large meetings—this practice means discouraging unnecessary communication. His blinds are closed, which probably helps him focus on his work. Buffett's desk is so small that it can't hold any clutter, which forces him to read efficiently and effectively."

"There is no Bloomberg terminal in Buffett's office. During the financial crisis, I became more aware than ever of what an unhealthy addiction to the Bloomberg terminal can lead to. The constant barrage of bad news can easily exacerbate my irrational tendencies, and what I need most at this time is to block out the noise and focus entirely on the long-term health of my securities portfolio. In the second half of 2008 and the first half of 2009, when the market crashed, I kept my monitor turned off all day."

Learn to tap dance

The experience of 2008-2009 was too profound and intense, and Guy Spier realized that it was necessary to maintain mental health, enjoy a comfortable personal life, and maintain a certain level of calm mood."Living in Switzerland, residing in a place far from the city center, makes it harder for the 'wrong' people to visit me. They need a proper reason to make the effort, which serves as a useful filtering mechanism. But I am not isolating myself; on the contrary, I increasingly want to invest a significant amount of time and money to visit some important figures."

"In investing, if I am to receive great ideas, I need a calm and focused mind. When I am in this state, the right investment ideas will flow abundantly."

"I am striving to control myself, not just my portfolio. And I believe that as long as I can stimulate the joyful side of my nature, decades later, my investment returns will be better."

Cultivating and maintaining valuable relationships

By observing Warren Buffett and Mohnish Pabrai—both from a distance and up close—Guy Spier says he has gradually learned how to become a better investor, a better businessman, and a better person.

"The book 'The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life' changed me; it allowed me to escape the moral maze that had me lost, introducing me to the right people and the right ideas at that time. Of course, the best way to learn is to be around the right people. As Buffett said to me and Mohnish at the charity lunch, 'Surround yourself with better people, and you will improve imperceptibly.'"

"Mohnish showed me a better path. In his view, life is too short to waste time with people who cannot be genuine and candid with themselves. The best approach is to set aside mystery and confusion. Both Mohnish and Buffett are down-to-earth and unpretentious; they are only interested in people who are honest."

Facing oneself

Guy Spier says that if your life goal is to become wealthy, value investing is a hard path to beat, and sometimes it is not respected, even the greatest practitioners may find that they have lost their charm like musty old goods, but it remains a broad and fundamental investment avenue that will eventually regain its glory.

"Part of the reason I was able to successfully weather the financial crisis was that I faced my fear of loss and found ways to address it. If I had not been aware of this aspect of myself, I might have panicked when I saw the stocks of financial services companies falling by 80%. But instead, I held firm and waited for the rebound.""The securities market has a magical way of seeing through us, exposing our weaknesses, such as arrogance, jealousy, fear, anger, self-doubt, greed, infidelity, and so on. To achieve sustained success, we need to confront our weaknesses, whatever they may be. Otherwise, the foundation of our success will not be solid and will eventually collapse."

"The true reward of this inner transformation is not just achieving investment success. Its greatest gift is allowing us to become the best versions of ourselves. Clearly, this is the ultimate reward."