Stop Looking For The Easy Way To Make It

It’s me again, Chris Chico, and today I find
myself in another dilemma…

Before, I couldn’t understand why other investors got stuck with Analysis Paralysis, and now I don’t get why so many people let the Persistence Plague keep them down and out. I mean, who said investing was easy? But still, the most common mistake of new investors and many of my students is that they underestimate the challenges of investing.

The Persistence Plague Diagnosis: What are the Symptoms?

So, how do you know if you are contaminated with this disabling disease? See if you have one or more of the following symptoms on this checklist:

You thought investing would be easy money. You fantasize about taking pictures of your high dollar checks to post on your personal website (and maybe Facebook).
You picture a future drinking fruity, coconut cocktails and making YouTube videos for other investors (with the beach and palm trees in the background). Your videos will tell them how easy it was for a regular Joe, like you, to make it big in the investing world. Between videos, you take surf breaks (and maybe post those pics, too).
You try something and it doesn’t work, so you then find the newest investing strategy available thinking, “This is going to be my breakthrough (aka Bright and Shiny Object Syndrome).”
You use virtually any excuse to hide behind your computer and try to make it as a virtual investor. After all, it’s your destiny.
You try something one time and tell yourself, “I must be in the wrong niche. Next.” Or… “That investing education material I purchased was bogus. Next.”

Do you hear what I’m trying to tell you? In other words…

You are plagued with excuses that keep you from being persistent, duh.

Living with PPD: There is Treatment

So, if you believe you may be suffering from PPD (Persistence Plague Disorder), you need to understand that you have a serious illness. If not taken care of, it can disfigure your investing career and may even be fatal. (Well, not literally fatal of course, but it is serious.)

But, you don’t have to be a goner. It’s nothing that a few doses of my Awesome Sauce can’t remedy (all natural ingredients, of course. Warning: Side effects include the feeling of intoxication. Do not drive or operate heavy machinery under the effects of this drug).

Awesome Sauce Dosage: A Smack into Reality

The way I explain PPD to my students is by using the metaphor of a car. New investors assume that driving a car is as simple as:

Getting in the car.
Putting the key in the ignition.
Turning the key.
Changing the gear to “drive.”
Pressing the gas pedal.

But, what seems really easy is actually extremely complicated if you know what’s going on, in reality, under the hood. Capish?

Persistence Must be Fueled by Inspiration

Okay, now it’s time for some antibiotics; some inspiring words of love…

Learn to be positive and think of ways to inspire yourself.

Here are some of my favorite quotes for inspiration:

“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.”— Dale Carnegie
“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”— Confucius
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
“When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”— Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”— Thomas Edison
“In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.”— Bill Cosby