Below is Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. The bottom layer is Food, Water, Air. The next layer is housing and a place to live. The next is sex and a relationship. The next is confidence and the ability perform. The last need is to fulfill your dreams and set goals.
How many of your needs are met? Where are you on this hierarchy?
If you have any of these needs met you should count your blessings and be grateful for what you have.
I think there are lots of troubles coming, There’s too much wretched excess.
Charlie Munger
Charlie said this before the COVID-19 Pandemic. He was right there is too much excess and now there is about to be more excess added to the market. The US is adding close to $3 Trillion dollars.
What does this mean? Why does this matter for a business and for people?
It matters because everything is about to change. Your old life is never coming back and you better adapt to the new or get left behind.
Is $100 dollars a lot of money to you. The new $100 might be $1000. Inflation is driving up the cost of assets and driving down the value of the dollar.
I have a tendency to look at the competition and see what their doing. If they are doing something that is working then I should do it too right?
Steal what works and leave the rest.
Today people are compromising their values for followers. Monkey see monkey do. Is a race to the bottom. Who can troll the best? Who can show the most skin? Who can make the biggest promise? Who can create click bait?
The day you try cut corners is the beginning of the end.
Stick to your truth. Stick to what inspires you. Stick to what motivates you. Stick to your interest.
Filling a need is a lot easier than creating a need. You must listen to your audience and know what their needs are. Do not waste your time and create something that no one wants.
He who cannot be a good follower cannot be a good leader.
Aristotle
You must get in the minds of the group or niche you want to help. What are there pains and struggles? What are they doing that is wrong? What do they believe that is false?
If you create a better mouse trap or disprove something that everyone believes to be true then you will stand out.
Usually a goal is set because it is something you want and don’t have.
Once a goal is set then you can’t keep reminding yourself of what you do not have. You must forgot or get over all the limiting beliefs that you have.
You have to focus on what you do have and what is going to get you what you want.
Everything has a beginning, middle, and end.
Bring awareness and note if you are at the beginning of the end. Or in the case of the market it looks like we are at the beginning of a recession. If we are at the beginning then what does the middle and end look like.
The way you see something will also affect your actions. If you treat a relationship like its the beginning always then you will still do the things that attracted the other person to you in the first place.
The ending is a work of art. Finish the way you start and know when something is finished. If you know your job is finished then go out with a bang.
Learn to let go of old habits, old ideas, old thoughts, old patterns, old beliefs, old diets, old failures and the old you.
The past performance does not equal future results.
Holding onto the past keeps you in the past.
We are now in a new world and if you do not let go of the old one then you will never embrace the new one.
Imagine letting go of all your past pain, all the tension in your body, all the worries and anxieties in your mind. These are now removed from your life and are replaced with different pain, worries, and anxieties. You must practice releasing these things to make room for greater things.
What can you do to make yourself 1 % better everyday. In the financial world these returns are unheard of. If you work hard on yourself everyday for a year your hard work will compound into astronomical returns.
Returns are small at first but compounding works best in the long term.
You can’t do it all so pick a couple things you want to master in your life and work hard on them everyday
Also pick things you want to get worse at and don’t do those.
Diversification is a big topic among investors.
Is it better to have all your money in one thing or to diversify across many things?
There is no easy answer because it revolves around how risk tolerant a person is.
Rule No. 1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No.1
Warren Buffet
You are not going to have many great ideas or many great opportunities so when these things come you should take advantage of them as much as you can.
There is no such thing as a sure thing so know your downside.
You are managing your money or you are giving up that responsibility for someone else.
You are at your job to make money. How many years of hard work did it take you to build up that retirement nest? Then you hand over your hard earned money to someone else to manage and invest for you because you do not have the time or education to do it yourself.
That is what they want you to think.
Realize that most actively managed funds do no beat the market average.
The easiest and least time consuming method is to put your money in a low expense ratio Index Fund, like the S&P 500 or Total Market.
Stay away from fees.
It’s your money do you know where every cent is?
