Episode Transcript
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Welcome back to
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The Wealth Effect.
Today, we're talking about something that
holds people back from financial success.
Fear.
Fear of investing.
Fear of making
mistakes.
Fear of the
unknown.
The idea of investing
used to freak me out.
The stock market, bonds, crypto, it
all felt like a foreign language.
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But once you understand how investing
works, it's no longer something to be
afraid of, but rather it's
something to be excited about.
Let's talk about why
investing freaks people out.
Maybe it's because you watched your friend
lose his life savings on a crypto scam.
Or maybe every time you turn on the news,
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they make the stock market
sound like it's on fire.
But the real reason is that
you don't know what's going on.
Understanding
the fear...
Let me ask you
a question.
What is fear?
Fear is imagination.
Fear is focusing on everything that could
go wrong instead of everything
that could go right.
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Fear is your brain
being dramatic.
It's like your own
personal doomsday narrator.
People are afraid to invest because
they think they'll lose money.
But let me give you a
different perspective.
You're already
losing money.
Inflation is eating away at the value
of every dollar sitting
in your savings account.
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Every day you delay investing is another
day your money loses on
its potential to grow.
People say, what if
I lose everything?
Well, let me ask you
a different question.
What if you don't
lose everything?
What if you make a decision today that
sets you up for financial freedom?
The greatest investors
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don't start out fearless.
They start out
determined.
Determined to learn, determined
to grow, and determined to act.
What if I lose
everything?
But they never say, what if I make
a ton of money and buy a puppy?
Weird, right?
People are afraid of making the wrong
decision and feeling dumb, especially when
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it feels like there's
so much to learn.
But what if the
market crashes?
Do you mean like it does every few years
since the dawn of its existence and then
rebounded and
made people rich?
Fear can only hold you
back if you let it.
But when you replace fear with knowledge,
action, you take control
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of your financial future.
It's not about
eliminating fear.
It's about moving
forward despite it.
The first step to
overcoming fear.
Start small.
You don't have to climb the
whole mountain in one go.
You just have to take the first step and
then rest along the way
until you reach the top.
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Start small.
The problem is people want to go
from zero to millionaire overnight.
People want to go from, I've never
invested to, I'm going to become the next
Warren Buffett.
Slow down
there, champ.
They think investing means risking
everything, but you don't need thousands
of dollars to start.
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You can start
with $5.
You can start
with $10.
But, most importantly,
you've got to start.
Going all in or betting everything on
one stock, that's a risky strategy.
And it can lead to blowing up your account
and making you move back
in with your parents.
Consistency
beats intensity.
You don't have to time
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the market perfectly.
You just have to
be in the market.
The longer you stay, the
greater your rewards.
Because the magic of investing
isn't about making one big move.
It's about making
consistent moves.
You don't need
to be a genius.
You just need to
stay in the market.
One of the best ways to overcome the
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fear of investing is to start small.
Nobody's saying go all in on some meme
coin because your buddy from college swore
it's going to moon.
To overcome this fear, focus
on how to mitigate risk.
Diversify your
investments.
Start small and start
investing for the long term.
The more you learn and the more you
understand your investments, the less
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imitating the
risk feels like.
Here's the truth.
The majority of people who have
ever built wealth started with zero.
They weren't
fearless.
They were just willing to be
uncomfortable for a while.
Breaking free from
investment myths.
Now let's get rid of
some false beliefs.
Beliefs that
keep you stuck.
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Investing is
for the rich.
Investing is how
you become rich.
Wealth isn't something
you wait for.
It's something
you build.
You can't just wait around for an
inheritance or to marry someone with a
trust fund.
I don't have
the time.
If you have the time to scroll through
social media, you have the time to set up
an investment
account.
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Investing doesn't have
to be complicated.
It just has to
be intentional.
I don't
know enough.
Let me tell
you a secret.
Neither did the wealthiest
investors when they started.
The difference is,
they started anyway.
They learned
along the way.
No one knows what they
are doing at first.
That's why there's always
beginner-friendly investment tools like
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index funds,
robo-advisors.
You don't need to pick individual
stocks or time the market perfectly.
Just start small, stay
consistent, and keep learning.
The best investors aren't necessarily the
smartest, but the ones who stay in the
game the longest.
I don't have
enough money.
The idea that you need thousands
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to start investing is a myth.
With fractional shares and investment
apps, you can start with as little as $5.
Think of money you would have spent on
other things, like coffee, subscriptions
you don't even use,
or impulse buys.
Even if you redirect a fraction of that
into an investment account, you'd be
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surprised of how
quickly it adds up.
Investing is about consistent
effort and not one massive deposit.
Handling market
drops like a champ.
The market goes up,
the market goes down.
That's not a crisis.
That's normal.
When the market drops, do
you know what the wealthy do?
They buy more.
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Because while the fearful are running
away, the wealthy are running in.
Every downturn in history has eventually
recovered and led to new all-time highs.
The question is, will you still be
in the market when that happens?
You don't panic when your
favorite store has a sale.
In fact, you
buy more.
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The stock market
is no different.
A market drop isn't a
loss unless you sell.
If you stay persistent and trust the
process, history shows that the market
recovers and rewards
those who stay in it.
If you panic and sell during a downturn,
you've officially completed the buy high,
sell low strategy.
The exact opposite of
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what you want to do.
This is what separates
winners from losers.
Losers sell
out of fear.
Winners buy and ride
the wave back up.
You don't lose money
unless you sell.
So hodl and stop checking your portfolio
every five minutes and
let time do its thing.
Learn from
mistakes.
But keep
moving forward.
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You're going to
make mistakes.
You'll probably make
more mistakes than wins.
You're going to buy a stock that doesn't
perform the way you thought it would.
You might
sell too soon.
You might invest too
cautiously at first.
But guess what?
But that's part
of the process.
The only people who never make investment
mistakes are those who
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never invest at all.
They make the biggest
mistake of all.
Missing out.
Every lesson you learn
makes you better.
The goal isn't
perfection.
It's progress.
Investing works
the same way.
Keep learning.
Keep adjusting.
But most importantly,
keep going.
Over-trading.
Trying to time the market leads to
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unnecessary stress and often losses.
Stick to a long-term plan instead
of making impulsive trades.
Two.
Not doing research.
Investing in something just
because it's trending is risky.
Always understanding what you're investing
in before putting your money down is the
best way to
build wealth.
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One of the most successful investors of
all time, Peter Lynch, said you only need
a few good stocks
in your lifetime.
I mean, how many times do you need a stock
to go up tenfold to make a lot of money?
Not a lot.
Developing an
investor's mindset.
The difference between those who build
wealth and those who don't isn't luck.
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It isn't high
intelligence.
It's mindset.
Wealthy people don't wait for
the perfect time to invest.
They just start.
Wealthy people don't focus
on what they might lose.
Wealthy people focus
on what they can gain.
Broke people focus on
what they might lose.
Rich people invest even
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when they're scared.
Broke people wait until it feels
safe, which is usually too late.
It's time to stop letting
fear dictate your future.
Because the future belongs
to those who prepare today.
Success in investing isn't
about picking perfect stocks.
It's about discipline,
practice, and consistency.
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Your money should be working for
you even while you're sleeping.
You don't need a finance
degree to invest.
You need practice, discipline, and a
willingness to start
before you feel ready.
The emotional
rollercoaster of investing.
Investing is
emotional.
One day your portfolio is up 15% and
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you're ready to retire on a yacht.
The next day it's down 10% and you're
googling the best place
to live with no money.
The key?
Don't let emotions drive
your investment decisions.
Stay consistent.
Keep investing.
And always remember, you're
playing the long game.
Educate yourself.
Knowledge is power.
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The best way to overcome fear of
investing is by educating yourself.
A quote from a character from a video game
called Apex Legends said, It's hard to be
scared when
you're prepared.
There's so many resources out there to
help you get comfortable with investing.
Whether it be podcasts, YouTube
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channels, books, and online courses.
Start with
the basics.
Learn about stocks, bonds,
ETFs, crypto, and mutual funds.
Understand what they are, how they work,
and how they fit into your financial plan.
By educating yourself is one of
the best tools to reduce risk.
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When you understand the ins and outs of
investing, it won't seem so scary anymore.
The more you learn, the more you'll
realize that investing isn't as mysterious
or as risky as it
might seem at first.
And there's a funny saying that the more
you know about investing, the more you
realize that you
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can't make money.
So try not to
get too smart.
Fear says,
what if I fail?
Success says,
what if I succeed?
Your financial future
is waiting for you.
And all you have
to do is start.
Jim Rohn once said, Success is nothing
more than just a few simple disciplines
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practiced every day.
Taking small steps today lead
to a big reward in the future.
Start small, stay consistent,
and let time do the rest.
You can do this.
Stop
overthinking it.
If you found this helpful, don't
forget to like, subscribe, and share.
Let me know your thoughts or
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questions in the comments below.