In the year 2021 people still say it’s impossible to get rich quickly, but thanks to the harmonic collision of tech and business that myth has since been debunked. It is inherent human nature to have doubts. After all the saying; “if it’s too good to be true it usually is” did not emerge out of nowhere. What we forget is that this statement is contextually exclusive and entirely subjective.
Just because something sounds too good to be true for one person doesn’t mean it won’t for the next person. After all one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This blanket statement “Too good to be true” has been responsible for so many missed opportunities due to societal ideals. Why?
The human brain is designed to be our first line of defense. Often times when we experience any kind of imbalance (stress) we are presented with a fight or flight mechanism internally. The same applies when in the face opportunities. When we think an opportunity is too good to be true, that’s a result of our brains trying to protect us.
Because of this, there are moments when we miss out on opportunities. In trying to protect ourselves we let our anxieties take over which ultimately affects our performance. It’s happened to the best of us, athletes deal with it all the time.
Make no mistake, it is necessary for our survival as a species to question everything. However, it can also be detrimental when we let fear rule over our thinking. The truth is getting rich is easier than you think, especially in the new money era we live in. This can quickly lead to inflation, which means $1,000,000 may not have the same buying power in the future as it does today.
Your mindset might be the only thing holding you back
Hear me out…
When I started out trading and investing, I got an education for it. In my pro trader course, I was a 26-year-old post-grad student, the only person under 50 among a crowd of older coursemates, I was also the only person of color. I learned a lot from that, got a lot of valuable information and, made some good relationships. This education did not cheap and was definitely worth every penny. However, after I was done I was plagued by imposter syndrome. I was a broke college graduate trying to get rich from the financial markets.
I remember so many times I would scout a perfect trading opportunity and think to myself “this seems too good to be true that I can make $5000 from this trade alone”. The funny thing is that the trade idea almost always played out to perfection. This cycle continued for a little while because I was a really good analyst, but I had a bad perspective about money. There was a part of me that thought it was too good to be true to make money directly from my computer in such a simple fashion.
Have you or anyone you know ever referred to the rich and wealthy as “the other side(or half)”? Why are they referred to as the other side? Yes it is obvious they are on the high end of the financial spectrum but, referring to them as the “other side” suggests to your brain that;
- You’re on the outside looking in.
- It’s something beyond your reach.
- It’s something you were never meant to have.
The problem here is, this minuscule detail actually amplifies the world around you, and you walk around with the belief that something like that is too good to be true, therefore it is and you end up missing out on opportunities to change your life faster than you can imagine.
The world of trading and investing has been widely referred to as gambling by people who do not understand it. The issue with this dismissive categorization is; all life is gambling. By definition, gambling is doing anything with the hope of a positive outcome. Therefore if you get in your car now and drive to the grocery store to pick up a few items, you are gambling with hopes of;
- Getting to the store and back safely
- Finding all the items you prefer at that particular store
- Not getting into a fight or having a random customer ruin your day.
The possibilities are endless in this scenario just like they are with any other activity in life. Trading and investing do not come close to gambling in comparison.
Trading is binary, the price of an asset either goes up or down. Therefore in this “gamble” you already have a 50% probability of being right. With education and understanding of the financial markets, you have an increased edge which can give you a 65–70% probability win rate. Having said that, my question to you becomes;
If it is gambling, how come there are people who get rich from it?
My follow-up question to that is; if it is gambling how come the rich got richer after the markets’ panic of the pandemic?
Bill Ackman made $2.6 billion when the markets crashed, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos got even richer than they are now. Just like so many others did. The reason for this being one thing; their understanding of the market place.
So what’s this magical way fast way to $1,000,000?
Compound Interest
Albert Einstein described compound interest as the 8th wonder of the world, “he who understands it earns it, he who does not, pays it”. It couldn’t be any truer. If you’re reading this and you are not where you need to be financially you’ve probably wondered in the past where all your money goes when you earn it.
It takes money to live therefore it takes money to make money. But remember this;
Money is JUST a tool, and we think so much of it yet it thinks nothing of us. So when you grab a cup of coffee from Starbucks almost every day or eat out when you shouldn’t(even after getting groceries), it adds up fast.
Have you ever wondered why the guys on Wallstreet boast astronomical numbers on earnings reports? To the everyday listener, it might sound like a bunch of percentages and 7–9 figures being tossed into the airwaves, to the investor or entrepreneur that’s good risk management and a compounding ROI.
You do not have to be the Oracle of Omaha or a Harvard graduate to understand it or put it to work for you. There are several vehicles you can leverage in order to achieve this goal. With just $100 you can compound a million in under 100 trades(if you know what you’re doing) and as an investor, you can compound that in 5 years. Obviously, it’s a steep hill to climb but if you saved a little bit of money, you would be adjusting the topography of that hill.
You may find this hard to believe but innovation has played a key role in the influx of new money. Thanks to the internet, making a million dollars is NOT so hard. From going viral to Social Venture Capitalism to drop shipping, becoming an overnight millionaire isn’t a far fetched idea anymore.
Compound interest is just another way. In fact the most practical to do so. To put it in perspective, we’re thought to go to school and get a job that teaches us to work from the neck down, trading and investing teaches you how to work from the neck up.
The good news is time is on your side, to learn either one and save up some money. The most important thing is learning how to make your money work for you.
Author
Edward Emono
Founder and CEO@Golden:Ratio:Club
