I have a friend who got lucky on the stock market. He didn’t know anything about investing so he followed a tip. The tip turned out to be a golden ticket. He made a lot of money quickly.
How much more could he make at this rate? Why hadn’t he done this before?
The strategy was obvious: double down.
He put an app on his phone. Talked about crypto. Gold bars in the house. He’d caught the bug.
If it was exotic, risky, and backed by a get-rich-quick theory then he was into it.
He kept gambling. Kept pushing it. High like a tourist in a casino. On a hot streak.
Until his luck ran out.
He no more understood why he was losing than he had when he was winning.
He hadn’t learned the fundamentals [1]. Couldn’t bear to put it down to dumb luck. Now he had two problems:
- The loss of a paper fortune.
- The loss of his self-identified investing genius.
He was a busted flush. Staring into the ashes like a defeated emperor.
Today he’s in full retreat. Rebuilding is unthinkable because it means facing the facts. Nobody wants to be thought a fool. Least of all by themselves.
He’s just turned the wrong side of 40. It’s past time to get a plan [2]. But moving back up to the start line has turned into a walk of shame – in his head.
You won’t read about him in any newspaper. He’s neither rags-to-riches nor riches-to-rags.
He’s just another guy who wasted time and money on a shortcut.
Take it steady,
The Accumulator
Reader! Do you have an anecdote to share about the perils of (not) getting rich quick? Please share it in the comments below.