I've been "getting rich slowly" for 8 years, and boy let me tell you, it sure is slow. Definitely doesn't feel like my wealth is growing in index funds fast enough to retire within this life time.
http://www.macrotrends.net/2488/sp500-10-year-daily-chart
If the market hasn't been going up enough for you to feel good about your investments over the past 8 years, you are probably not saving enough to meet your goals.
Ha ha, I feel the same. But don't discount the fact that small percentage returns are actually exponential growth. (For example, 2% returns actually doubles your money every 10 years.) Just because it 'feels' like your investments are stalled doesn't mean that they are.
I wish! More like 35 years.
7% returns will double initial investment every 10 years.
Higher risk, higher upside, but perhaps the upside is disproportionately higher than the downside or the additional risk you are taking on, so you could be willing to invest in said company / asset / etc.
As a counterexample, I've done great on individual stocks when I really understood the company well. You generally get 2 to 3 good investment ideas per year, so you could go overweight into those ideas.
Stan Druckenmiller (who is an interesting person in itself with unconventional views) uses a similar strategy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6LgojkA6bo