The Internet is full of rags to riches stories, whereby Joe Dirt bet it all on a hot stock tip and got rich overnight. What’s even worse, the internet marketers will pump big money and resources into advertising how you too can be Joe Dirt for just $99 per month without even mentioning the thousands of losers they had to step over to find Joe Dirt—so they could pretend his strategy is somehow disciplined and repeatable—instead of acknowledging the obvious fact: Joe Dirt’s success was pure dumb luck. And if you follow his strategy, you are going to lose.
The reality is, disciplined long-term investing is the eighth wonder of the world. Specifically, long-term compound growth is one of the most powerful income and wealth creating machines in the history of mankind. Sadly, most investors don’t have the patience or knowledge to do it right.
For example, most people will be disappointed if their stocks fail to perform well 2-3 months (sometimes 2-3 weeks or even 2-3 days) after their purchase, and they quickly lose conviction.
The reality is that stocks are long-term businesses, and those businesses were never meant to be bought and sold repeatedly during short periods of time. And even more importantly, NO ONE knows where the stock market is going to be tomorrow, next week or even next month. And anyone that tells you they do is either foolish or simply not honest. However, over the long-term, meaning 5-10 years (and sometimes less) good businesses will likely be trading higher, and often a lot higher.
Furthermore, healthy dividend stocks will likely keep paying strong dividends quarter-after-quarter and year-after-year for a very long time, while their share price also continues to rise. That’s just how investing works.
Anyone that tells you they can help you achieve Joe Dirt wealth overnight is quite simply full of it. Don’t fall for it. Don’t be fooled. Sure it’s fine (for some people) to go to Vegas and do a little gambling, but that is NOT investing. Investing is a disciplined long-term process. It’s about as exciting as watching paint dry, yet it is one of the most powerful income and wealth-generating machines in the history of mankind.
Be disciplined. Stay focused on your long-term goals. It’s a winning strategy.