Do You Want to Feel Good or Grow Rich?

Sensationalism is growing in the money and investing world. And I am here to warn you against it. The art of making a lot of money is often boring. If you want it interesting and entertaining, you would probably lose a lot of money.

This is why I discourage trading. When it comes to short-term gains, there is no such thing as skill. In most cases, it is a long stroke of luck.

The more trades you make, the less money you'll actually make. The fees will add up. Also, the taxes will add up. And that doesn't mean you will make profits on every trade. In fact, you will make more losses.

The more you are under the pressure to trade and make profits, the more you are prone to losses. This is why I recommend having a strategy and investing for the long term.

Having a Business Income

Initially, your income from investing is not going to be life-changing. Except you are starting with some astronomical amount. So, I would recommend you not touch your investment yields or dividends at all. Just keep reinvesting them according to the strategy.

If you can do this for the first 10 years, that would be great. But if you can't always remember to pull money out from the first quadrant only. Never sell prematurely.

The best thing to get by is to have a business income. I strongly encourage having money flow to you from the operations of a particular business. It could be your business, it could be a business partner's.

In investing, you get paid from profits or yield. But with business income, you get paid from revenue. That is what you want. This is another way of diversifying income flow to you.

Having a business income reduces the pressure of interrupting your investing strategy. That is why most people fail. Many start with a great strategy, but they can't hold on. Life happens and they scatter what they are building, in most cases, in less than 2 years.

So, have a business income so that you can sustain the investment strategy for the long term. A work or job income is also good if you love the job (or don't mind it). But you mustn't look at your investment as an alternative to it. You must look at your investment as something entirely different.

Investing is not an Adventure

The purpose of your investing is not to feel good or brag. If you are the kind that likes to brag like, "I bought shares in Microsoft just as it started going up", you have to find another hobby you can brag about like that.

Investing is not supposed to be an adventurous thrilling thing. It is supposed to be boring. It is like brushing your teeth or washing your hair. Boring process, but then the outcome makes you feel confident.

If the process of investing is fun and thrilling, you are probably on a losing spree. Even among the trading professionals in banks who have access to the fastest tech in the investing world, it is still a losing game for most.

They only show you those who are winning. For every 1 winner, there are 1,000 losers and quitters. It is not a healthy game for a human to play. And the further problem is that even the winners turn into losers after a few years. Only a few giants have stood the test of time. Like Warren Buffett.

If you want the thrill of winning at the moment, get into sports. Don't gamble with your investing portfolio. Don't let anyone get you excited for anything. Don't invest in anything because you are excited about it.

If you do, you will probably lose all your money. Investing should be boring. It should feel boring if you are doing it right. If you want excitement, look into sports.

In investing, boring equals rich. Exciting things and opportunities will make you broke very quickly. If it is not consistent with your strategy, don't do it. Even if it will end up being successful but not consistent with your strategy, don't do it.

And also, there are no bad investments. There are only bad investors.

Conclusion

Do you want to feel good or do you want to be rich? Investing is not the place to feel good. Investing is not the place to feel excited. Investing is not the place for thrills. Investing is supposed to be boring. Boring equals rich.

Excitement (in investing) will make you poor. Be sure to stay away. Make sure you always follow your strategy.

Stay rich.