In investing as in life, our attitude has a lot to do with how successful we are. Because I have worked with so many investors over the years, it has become easy for me to identify the attitudes that win and those that lose.
Losing Attitudes:
-Scarcity: An attitude of scarcity comes from the belief that that there is a finite amount of wealth to be had so you better not squander it. This is a false belief. Wealth is created at an astounding velocity. The stock market is just one of many ways to capture the creation of wealth. If you are overly concerned with conserving what you have you will miss opportunities.
-Fear and worry: I think this is the hardest losing attitude to overcome. It’s nearly impossible to see abundance from a position of fear. A majority of poor financial decisions I have seen investors make were made out of fear. Unfortunately, many advisors will play this emotion against you for their own gain. There is nothing to be afraid of. Investing can be fun and fulfilling when you seize it and face challenges with courage and confidence.
-Entitlement: My faith is firmly based upon the belief that I don’t deserve anything. All I have has been given to me by a benevolent Creator. This attitude has served me well. Unfortunately, it has become a very rare belief in our culture. Those that don’t have what others have believe they deserve better, and those that have what others don’t have believe they are better than everyone else. Both ends of the entitlement spectrum lead to very poor investment decisions characterized by apathy and/or foolhardiness.
The Winning Attitude
A winning investment attitude is first based upon a belief that life is filled with abundance and opportunity. Because of this, there is nothing to be afraid of. A winning investor courageously makes well thought out decisions with confidence. However; the winning investor understands success is not deserved or expected, it’s earned.
So the question is: how is your attitude? We have helped many investors find success by simply nurturing winning convictions. It’s not easy. I personally struggle with attitude from time to time. Do you? If so, how do you overcome it? Please share your thoughts with me. I would love to gain more perspective from you on this important topic!
Rob.
