You know it, but you think it’s too risky.
By Derick David
Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash
What would I tell to my younger self? Ideally, my 16-year-old self?
A lot, but sometimes the best things in life must be experienced firsthand before you think you understand it. Nowadays, people want to be millionaires or even billionaires and you see these people all over social media, especially Twitter.
What gives? People seem to be having dilemmas of decisions on how to get rich but are oblivious to the idea of not having to completely reinventing a wheel when building wealth.
Take note, don’t take my word for this, not only my word. Take the word of thousands, if not hundreds of Millennials in the modern-day that have achieved the freedom they desire in their lives.
There are daily stories we find all over the web telling how people overcame their challenges to finally able to save and invest money until they reach 7 figures.
What’s the easiest way to millions of dollars?
Before I get to that, there’s one thing you should know. The path to millions of dollars will only be easy unless you master three things first. These three things are what act as a bridge to achieving the goal itself.
And this doesn’t apply to money only, but it applies to pretty much everything you desire to achieve in life. Without understanding and mastering these, then you will always think getting wealthy is pure luck. I’m telling you it’s not, not only. It’s both.
What are they?
- Perseverance
- Patience
- Persistency
Without these, you will always find a way to make things harder for you. Master these things and everything will be easier for you, including having a bank account that contains a million dollars to your name.
So, how?
Basically by investing your money. On the stock market. As early as you can.
This valuable advice was given by self-made millionaire Ramit Sethi in his article dated May 15, 2019 entitled: Self-made millionaire: This is the No. 1 way to get rich—and most young people are not doing it
“Why do so many of us have such poor attitudes toward money? There are a few convincing cases you can make: Not enough education, too much information, confusing messages from the media or simply a lack of interest.
People always come up with reasons to not invest. Some say they’re not really into finance, few say investing your money in the stock market is like gambling, meaning it’s too risky.”
Well, what more can I say? It’s normally how the game of money works.
Also, according to a recent Gallup poll, the results show only 37% of young Americans ages 35 and under said they owned stocks between 2017 and 2018, compared to the 61% of people over the age of 35 who did own stocks.
The poll showed more Americans ages 35 and over own or have owned stocks. This is not new, since it always became a cliche that only when you get old that you realize the value of money.
$1000 now could turn $10.000 in the next few years. But that’s just a grand. What if you decide to put more through time? And you do it consistently, let’s say adding $300 every month to your portfolio.
The future valuation of your investment would definitely be bigger.
A lot of people even told me repeatedly,
“I wish I had started investing on the stock market when I was younger…”
I’m not wealthier than them and these are my over 30 friends telling me this exact same thing. They also add that if you start investing at a relatively young age, you will be a millionaire in less than 10 years with patience.
Remember that one of the first qualities needed to become successful or wealthier in life is patience?
Exactly.
Invest early, Learn early, Profit Early
The Internet has unlimited resources in everything and this includes access to finance knowledge.
As Naval Ravikant once said,
The tools for learning are abundant.
It’s the desire to learn that’s scarce.
Modern technology has given us a gift that the past generations lacked. We somehow still overlook the possibilities of what we can do with it.
Why do people who have achieved financial freedom themselves always say you should start early?
Well, first you learn early. But it’s also because investing early unlocks your portfolio to take advantage of compounding. Compounding is when a number multiplies tenfolds through time and this applies when you invest your money.
There’s one thing you have to know though, this mostly applies if you invest for the long term, meaning you don’t put your money today just so you have money to use for your Las Vegas trip next month.
A lot of people do this. I’ve seen them hundreds of times and they fail.
The law of investing, the earlier you start, the earlier you profit.
Put your money into use and achieve your financial freedom while you’re still young. But again, with exceptions applies, nothing will be easy unless you master your ability to be patient, to persevere, and to be persistent.
This article by Derick David first appeared in Medium on March 22, 2021.
