1. Don’t stop dreaming.
When we were kids, and asked what we wanted to be, we always have an answer. Some wants to be a doctor, a police man, an engineer, a rich man and so on. Then came when we graduate from our colleges and the real life splashes on our face like freezing water in the morning. We lose the dream. The reality sets in and the dreams that we have gets blurry. Buying a house alone would not let you get ahead for 30 years. Let alone the car that you want for your family would have made you bankrupt every month. It seems life is a very hard one and dreaming would not make any difference.
Well in fact, it will make a lot of difference. The only thing that stops us from dreaming is the bills that we have. The stress that accumulates every month. If we only have our dreams back and be emotional about it, it will make it easy to invest. When you dreamed of a nice house you own without a debt on it and you see that you can’t achieve that house by working, you will be forced to find an alternative to making money. And finding that alternative leaves you no choice but to invest, then you will invest no matter what the consequences are. So don’t stop dreaming. Dreaming will only make our will so strong and it cannot stop us from getting to our dreams.
2. Don’t tell your friends or family about it.
The most common stopper is our friends and family. I know some will disagree because there are families who built their foundation solely on business. But for most family, their foundation is built on job security and the concept that the government will take care of them when they retired. But there are people like me who came from job security to building my own wealth. Those people need guidance and this is my answer. Don’t tell your friends or family about it. Why? Because they will stop you, they will tell you negative things that they do not know of.
They will tell you things like, “that’s a very bad decision” or “it is a good investment, but for how long.” It doesn’t just give you a negative thought. It will also make you fearful. You see, the things they say are the things they say to themselves not you. They don’t want you to do it because they have not done it. And why would you listen to someone that did not do anything other than be on their jobs? If you can fight it, better, but then they may grew distant from you. So the best way is not to tell them so they won’t say anything to you that will give you negative thoughts and they won’t grew distant from you because you did not listen to their advice.
3. Avoid Analysis paralysis.
I’m not saying you should not analyze what you invest in. It’s just that, most investors only make this analysis paralysis a means not to invest. They say to themselves that they have to analyze more but the truth is they want to analyze to see the faults so that they may not invest. It is your responsibility to analyze what you’re investing with, but your life is also your responsibility so ask yourself why you should not invest. Don’t waste so many times analyzing an investment. Do the analysis in 3 days then have a decision.
“If you cannot make up your mind decisively, then you will not learn to make money anyway.” – Rich Dad, Poor Dad
4. Be greedy.
Do you want to have the things you aspire for? Then be greedy. I’m not saying be greedy and take money from other people. Be greedy in a sense that you want to have everything that you want. It will show you ways to make money. If you love your luxuries then invest so you can have money to pay for it. It is a very good motivation for most people. But some will buy their luxury on credit and that is a very bad greed that will also make you poor.
“Buying luxury on credit causes the person to hate that luxury because the debt on the luxury becomes a financial burden.” – Robert Kiyosaki
I’d say this saying is true most of the time. Yet unless the money that pays for the luxury comes from your investment, then you will treat that luxury with love.
5. Be emotional about things that you want.
Emotional intelligence is intelligence more powerful than our academic intelligence. Our emotion sometimes drives us to do things that are not logical like shouting on our loved ones when we are angry. But this intelligence if controlled will not only make you smarter, it will also make you wealthier. Use your emotional intelligence to think things through. For instance, when I want to buy that G-Shock bumble bee I made that emotional want to make me invest on a business I know so that the money will not only end up on the watch shop. It will grow and it will be able to buy me a new G-Shock. Sometimes these emotions are so strong that we will be able to forget the reality we are in and just force us to acquire what we want. So be emotional about what you want be it a Flat screen television, a fully furnished house, a brand new car. By using your emotions you will be able to buy anything you want without putting a debt into it.
6. Take a good look at the life of your retired parent.
This may sound brutal but it is a powerful way to make me to want to invest. When I look at my father’s life I simply don’t want to have that kind of life. He is now retired but his pensions won’t come. The social security company says that when he was still working, he took a big loan he did not pay for and that is why the money for his monthly pension goes to it. When I think about it, even the government cannot take care of him when he grew old. If I stop giving him money monthly, he will not be able to make it within a few months. That is one of my weapons to overcome the fear of investment. Because I don’t want to end up like him. Even if he has a pension every month it will still not make him live a comfortable life because he will only have Php 2,000 pesos every month. And that is so little money compared to the living expense here in the Philippines.
7. Luxury won’t make you rich.
Some time in my life I think about blowing my money on a smart phone instead of investing. But when I think about it, it will do me no good if I buy that phone. I will strive again every month just to have that kind of money. So what I did is I invest it so I can buy a lot of luxuries that I want. It’s simple as that. Your money ends when you buy luxury instead of investing it. But if you invest it, the luxury will never end. It will pour just as the investment money you pour in. You just have to discipline yourself not to buy luxury first. Buy luxury last.
8. Find someone else that wants to invest.
When you have someone who shares the same ideas with you, you will gain courage to do the things that you want to achieve. This also applies in investing. When I started to invest, luckily I found 2 people that are also into investing. It made me courageous to take the challenges of investing because I have 2 friends whom I can rely on and talk to about investing. It sparked my financial geneous. And it will not only give me courage, these 2 men are now giving me more ideas on where to invest and how to invest. It is good to have buddies who can appreciate and understand what you wanted to do. You just have to find.
9. The law of reciprocity.
If you want more money, simply give more money and it will come back in groves. Give and you shall receive what you want. I know it’s hard to give even a little money but if you want it then you should first give it. And more importantly, you’re not giving it to anyone else, if you invest it; you are giving yourself the chance to grow yourself financially. By being generous to yourself you will be able to grow yourself not just financially but also mentally.
10. Just put the money up.
If you still fear to invest your money, just put it up. The investment may fail but you will gain knowledge. It will be a foundation for your future ventures. It will start your career as an investor. Always remember that failure is not a sign that you are dumb, it’s just a sign that you still have to improve your skills. And skills in investing are very vital if you want to live in this world wealthy. If the investment succeeds, then you hit the jackpot. But don’t get it in your head, the more you succeed the more you should test your limits in investing. Don’t stop at a certain level where you think it’s already enough. It will make you richer than any man you will ever know.
In conclusion, these tips are not necessarily the things you should follow. You may have better tips. But this will be a foundation for you to think of better ways to overcome the fear of investing.
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