Finally, you now want to invest in the Stock Market.
After all the promotional seminars, Youtube and Facebook Ads you’ve seen about the investment that everyone’s talking about.
Adding to the hype… is your friend showing you his portfolio of blue chips stocks. (Even though she’s losing money)
Telling you proudly “I am now a shareholder of Jollibee” (financial freedom anthem playing)
Bakit naman hindi?
Each one of us should learn as well as participate in this exciting world of investment.
There shouldn’t be an exclusivity in the stock market or in any kind of investment.
If Bro. Bo Sanchez kasambahay invest in the stock market and became a millionaire, all I could wish for is Sana All!
But before you submit your CAIF and fund your online broker’s account, let me tell you these two stories that serve as my guide throughout the years of my investing journey.
One story serves as a warning and the other one gives hope that despite the adversity don’t give up.
First Story: The Monkey, Villagers and the Salesman
Once upon a time in a village, a man appeared and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for P100.
The villagers seeing that there were many monkeys around, went out to the forest and started catching them.
The man bought thousands at P100 and as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort. He further announced that he would now buy at P200. This renewed the efforts of the villagers and they started catching monkeys again.
Soon the supply diminished even further, and people started going back to their farms. The offered rate increased to P250 and the supply of monkeys became so little that it was an effort to even see a monkey, let alone catch it!
The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at P500! However, since he had to go to the city on some business, his assistant would now buy on behalf of him.
In the absence of the man, the assistant told the villagers. Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that the man has collected. I will sell them to you at P350 and when the man returns from the city, you can sell it to him for P500
The villagers squeezed up with all their savings and bought all the monkeys.
Then they never saw the man nor his assistant, only monkeys everywhere!!!
Second Story: The Chinese Bamboo
A man got frustrated with life. Despite all the hard work and effort, failure was all that he learned. Feeling defeated with life, he left everything and exiled himself in the woods. There he met a Hermit. The disappointed man shared is a failure with the hermit. “Give me one good reason not to quit?”- He pleaded the Hermit
“Look”, the hermit said, pointing towards two plants. “Do you see that fern and bamboo there?
“Yes”, the man nodded.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them water, light, and fertilizer. Within a short period of time the fern quickly grew from the earth”, the hermit continued.
“But despite the Bamboo seed being watered and nurtured for years, it did not outwardly grow as much as an inch. In fact, nothing at all happened in the first year. There was no sign of growth. But I did not give up on the Bamboo seed and continued to water and nurture it. By the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. And within six months, the tree grew a hundred feet tall.”
“So, did the bamboo tree lie dormant for four years only to grow exponentially in the fifth?” the hermit asked. Baffled by the question the man kept quiet. “The answer is quite obvious. The little tree was growing underground, developing a root system strong enough to support its potential for outward growth in the fifth year and beyond. Had the tree not developed a strong foundation, it would not have sustained its life as it grew.”
“Did you know that all the time you had been struggling, you were growing strong roots”, remarked the hermit
Greed and Discipline
I hope you learned something from those stories. I suggest reading these stories again and again until it became part of your subconscious mind.
The two stories are all about Greed and Discipline.
Whenever you feel you’re all-powerful and confident, greed controls you.
Remember the first story? Tragedy in the market happens when you begin to think you are superman.
We have this term called “superman syndrome” in the trading community.
Superman syndrome means people make reckless decision because they think, if the outcome of their decision goes south, it won’t affect them badly.
Thus, thinking of themselves as some soft of invincible like superman.
Superman syndrome comes when the greed sit-in. Greed (and other emotions) comes when you lack knowledge and experience.
And to acquire enough knowledge and experience, we need to be very discipline.
The market is wild, more often unforgiving. Remembering the two stories above might help you to get going.
Welcome to the stock market! Good luck. Have fun!