The Investment U E-Letter: Issue # 380
Thursday, October 21, 2004 The Lazy Man's Way to Riches" - And More
By Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, President, Investment U A former Enron executive sat next to me at lunch today. "Boy, am I glad I started reading your stuff," he started… "Back in the late 1990s, I never even considered cutting my losses… I never considered anything outside of the traditional 'buy and hold' advice that hasn't made anyone any money in the last five years… And I hadn't even considered your contrarian approach, where you say if EVERYONE is doing it, let's look at it the other way and see if there's a way to make money." I was glad he brought this up. Sometimes I forget these things. I get into my own world, and think that everybody realizes these basic truths: - There is no magic bullet (even "buy and hold"), so stop looking for it.
- You can't let a small loss become a big loss.
- To make real money, you've got to buy what nobody else wants, not do what everyone else is doing.
Beware the Bookshelves: The Lazy Man's Guide to Investing and Riches In addition to the reminder about what we're doing from the gentleman from Enron, I got another reminder about our service while in Barnes & Noble yesterday… I'm in Baltimore now, hosting a seminar for 300 of our most loyal subscribers. When I get a free moment at conferences in big cities, I like to poke through the bookstores to see what's on the shelves. While life on a small island in Florida is nice, we don't have a real bookstore. I couldn't believe what I saw there… "How can I compete with that???" With what, you ask? Shelf after shelf of schlocky personal finance books. They all promise you the moon, offering up dangerous strategies that will likely hurt you more than help you… Titles like How to Get Rich by Trump (hasn't he gone bankrupt or been forced to give up control of his organizations many times?)… The Lazy Man's Way to Riches… The Automatic Millionaire: A Powerful One-Step Plan… And the list goes on. I haven't read these books, so it's probably not fair for me to comment. Then again, I don't feel I need to… Chances are pretty good a lazy man isn't going to get rich. And chances are you're not going to become an "automatic millionaire" in one step (that step would be worth a lot more than $20). Boy, this is what people want to hear? My pitch isn't so easy. Forget Magic Bullets - Remember What It Really Takes I won't tell you that you can get rich automatically by being lazy. And I won't promise a magic bullet - as it seems every personal finance book on the shelves does - because quite frankly, there isn't one. Believe me - my life is spent analyzing bullets for the magic one. Building wealth requires diligence. Independent thinking. Self control. Recognizing it early when you've made a mistake, and correcting it. And having the courage to invest in something that nobody else is willing to touch, in order to have the potential for huge profits. That's what's required to turn money into more money. Not gimmicky books. So there you have it. And I didn't even charge you $20 for it. In a world where every book on the shelf offers "too-good-to-be-true" advice, it's hard to compete. They're promising what can't be delivered. And I'm not going to do that. Thanks, Mr. Enron, for reminding me that we are doing a good service for individual investors like you. We'll quietly continue to do what we do, keeping you in the money, instead of in the hype. Today's IU Cribsheet - When you get excited about a book or investing advertisement, before you pile in your life savings, remember the three basic truths above: 1) There is no magic bullet (even "buy and hold"), so stop looking for it. 2) You can't let a small loss become a big loss. And 3) to make real money, you've got to buy what nobody else wants, and not do what everyone else is doing.
- For some books and other resources I really believe can help you make more money, check out Investment U E-Letter #339 - The Two "Secrets" to Mastering Investing I would also recommend you check out our own Investment U Course
Good investing, Steve Back to Archive
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