When your neighbor, friend, relative, or colleague makes a bundle through investing, remind yourself to manage the envy you naturally feel. If you don’t manage this envy, you’re likely to copy his strategy or type of investment. It’s possible (though unlikely) that copying it may be effective in the short-term, but it is no way to meet long-term objectives.

FundsViewed without any context or history, a buddy’s great investment is not always what it appears. He may have been investing in food-related companies for years without much success, but he happened to be holding one food company stock that shot skyward because of some hugely successful product introduction. You are not privy to the years of futility as he pursued this approach; all you see is that a food company investment paid off handsomely. If you try and duplicate his “strategy,” you’re doing so without seeing the whole picture. If you possessed this broader perspective, you would never attempt to use his flawed approach.

Diminish your fervor to copy other successful tactics and techniques by asking your neighbor or colleague the following questions: How long have you had this particular investment? How has it done over the last three years? Have you ever had a similarly spectacular success in the past ten years? Have you been disappointed by your investing approach over the last five years? How were you disappointed? The answers are likely to make you less covetous.