Get-rich-quick schemes are for the lazy & unambitious. Respect your dreams enough to pay the full price for them.
Steve Maraboli
I had a dream when I came to Dubai. I will earn a lot of money quickly and retire to a distant beach and live happily ever after.
If I asked you, ‘what is your plan for life?’, I can literally guess you have the following answer:
I want to make a lot of money and retire early.
We are all in a race. A race to make money quickly and lots of it. Ask any adult about when they’d retire and most would say, when they have saved ‘enough’ money. This ‘money’ part is so important that we have literally made it our sole goal. And none of us are wrong. To sustain in this time, money is essential.
The problem is we make it our whole and sole purpose.
I was not different. I already told you about my dream….earning a lot of money!! Yes, my primary source of income was my day job. But, you know I am ambitious. So, how to make extra money which would fast track my dream? How have these rich people got rich? How to have the best car? How to have the latest gadget?
Lotteries:
Forget the lottery. Bet on yourself instead.
Brian Koslow
The lure of extra money got so intertwined with my thoughts that I forgot how to live a normal life. I would mostly think of ways to make money. And then I read the following article:
One Million Dollar!!
And thus began my destiny with the lotteries!
My First ever purchase of Dubai Duty Free lottery was in the year 2014. By this time I had read at least 50+ articles on various winners of the lottery. The thing about buying a lottery ticket is that, you are so confident that you will win it this time. And when you don’t win, you tell yourself that there is next time.
I have actually lost count of how many draws of lottery I was part of!! I recently learnt that the odds of winning a lottery are far lower than getting struck by a lightening. But, us, the lottery buyers, don’t read these statistics. This is a ‘get rich quick scheme for us.’
Off Plan Properties:
Never invest in a business you can’t understand.
Warrent buffet
Dubai is such a weird places when it comes to off plan properties. In the years, 2006, 2007, 2008 I have literally seen people queuing up in front of the developers’ premises just to get a chance to be the first ones to book the property. It was such a hype that there were squatters appointed to be on the line to reserve the place.
Those days, I used to work a mortgage lender based in Dubai and I had the first hand experience of all these. I have visited more than 50 of such launches. The frenzy did catch up with me. But towards the end of the cycle. Call me a laggard.
I saw all these developers launching properties like there was not tomorrow, mortgage lenders financing these like hot cakes, people buying properties as if they had their life line running through it. And I was tempted!
I too got into the hype. ‘Dubai property prices would never fall,’ one investor told me. And by way…if you bought a property which only existed on paper paying 5% down payment (sometime less), you called yourself investor. Sounds good, ain’t it?
So yes, I had some (hard earned) money saved up in my bank account. And where did it go? Yes, you guessed it right: To An Off Plan Property.
Since I was a laggard, I caught the wave towards the end. And by 3rd quarter of 2008, everything have evaporated in a flash. Nothing existed. Not my property. Not the developer who sold me the property.
Kudos to all people I know who had successfully bought and swapped the papers for a cool 10% return. I could not. And after losing several hundred thousands and a property on paper, I was left with nothing.
Hard lessons learnt. Now, somewhere at a small corner of my mind, I still have some regret for my decision.
Cryptocurrency Revolution:
What value does cryptocurrency add? No one’s been able to answer that question to me.
Steve Eisman
Invest in the next bit ICO, which stands for Initial Coin Offering. If you have heard about this, good on you. You saved yourself a fortune!
On back of the success of bitcoin, charlatans came ahead with their own Coins. With less than quarter of a percentage of the talent of Satoshi Nakamoto, many came forward with their plans to revolutionize money.
But thank God. I had become wise due to my old losses. And I was a cynic at most of these ICOs. I had only bought into bitcoin and truly believe in the decentralized nature. I had done all my homework on this and was pretty sure, bitcoin was not a scam.
But human greed has no bound! After carefully reviewing loads of ICOs, I was confident that given the team and the developers, I could take a risk on 3 ICOs. They had my attention and I invested. Little did I know that all the hype and gala would come to an end. The markets crashed and I lost whatever I invested in them. I still do own these, but the valuation is roughly 5% what I bought them for.
To say the least, I have learnt good lessons from all these experiences. They have taught me important lessons in investing.
Making money is not an easy task. It takes time and patience. My idea of making money was to double the money in a month. But that is not how real world operates. There may be ways where you could double your money quickly. But would I venture there. No way!
My idea of making money has considerably changed in the last 6 – 7 years.
Where do I invest these days?
These days, I am much more calm and composed when it comes to financial investments.
I have 2 primary investment areas these days:
- Investment in my own growth
- Investment in stock market
Investment in my own growth:
The more you learn, the more you earn.
Frank Clark
I am very serious these days on my personal growth. For this, I have invested in buying books, learning new skills, taking online courses, updating myself of latest trends in technologies etc.
With access to internet and online courses, I feel the playing field has leveled for anyone who has the willingness and desire to succeed in their personal growth.
Investment in stock market:
My only financial investment these days is in stock market in India, US and other emerging markets.
Why?
Because stock markets offer some of the best return on investment for the risk adjusted return. Companies listed in stock market have an obligation to share their latest financials which you can review to see if they fit your investment criteria. These are companies which operate in public domain and if you are investing in the right companies, the long term gains are unmatched by any other form of investment.
The reason for me to share my personal stuff here on this blog is so that you don’t make similar mistakes.
It is quite hard to make. And it is quite emotional when you lose it to your poor decisions. Hence, I would urge you be careful when you spend or invest your money. Get rich quick does not work. It will ultimately turn into a disaster. If you chase money, money will run away.
All my actions in the past were a result of my limiting thoughts. Since the day I adopted abundance mindset, my life has changed completely. The best way to make money is to first invest in your own education. That will yield results unthinkable at any level.
Have you tried to get rich quick? Have you fallen for any scam? Let me know.
Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.
Jim Rohn
(Disclosure: I have invested in bitcoin. Investment in stock market is quite risky; this is not an investment advise)
Call to Action
If you want to increase your creativity and banish mediocrity, check out my FREE guide called: Ultimate Guide to Be More Creative.
Click here to get the guide right now!