Taking stocks

'Stocks buying is risky business,' says Lay-Z, 'it is just like gambling.'

Igneron agrees totally. 'Yeah, my aunt got burnt really badly. She lost some 50,000 dollars.' They smiled and congratulated each other on having no part in it.

D'Ligen came along. He heard the guys' talk and was getting increasing uncomfortable. 'Hey, I've got a question: what's wrong with investing in stocks?'

'Oh haven't you heard?' exclaimed Lay-Z, '90% of those who invested incured losses! You just can't beat the stock market!'

'Have you tried to be that 10 % yet?,' asked D'Ligen nonchalantly.

'Man, with that kind of statistics, who wants to get involved?'

'Why can't we be that 10%?' D'Ligen added.

Lay-Z and Igneron look at D'Ligen, then shook their heads. 'No thanks man, if you want to play the stocks, you go ahead. We're happy with our current pay cheques.'

Not giving up, D'Ligen wants to convince his friends, 'Hey dudes, stock investing is risky because we don't understand it. Just read up more and try it out. It's just like anything in life. All it takes is a passion to learn...'

'You tried yet?' Lay-Z challenges.

'Not yet man, i ain't have that much cash yet, but i'm reading up.'

'See, it involves so much money, and so much work. My job's already tough enough. On top of that, i've got my family, my car and mortgage.' Igneron laments.

'Yeah dude, you haven't had a family yet man; you don't know how stressful it is to plan for a family's expenses; and my boss is such a Bitch. She probably did something "extraordinary" to get that high man.' Lay-Z sniggles.

'Dude, you go ahead and dabble in the stocks man. Tell us when you make a profit ya?' Igneron steals a glance at Lay-Z and they chuckle, very much to the annoyance of D'Ligen.

What kind of friends are these? Hangout buddies? Spending buddies? I think they are just that, no more. They have lost their directions in life man. When someone talks about life that way, it is the beginning of the Rat Race - the Trap. I'm not saying that money is everything, but it does have an overwhelming control over your life. So why not control your life by controlling money? We can work, but jobs are not an end man. They are means to an end - Personal Freedom.

This week i have at least a dozen of these conversations. It is indeed a lamentable situation where 8 out of 10 people - teens of my age or dudes past studying years alike are facing. They are smart, law-abidding, committed people who care. But why are they suffering from the lack of time with family, stress, F***-Up bosses and poor health? It is the Rat Race man. We must strive to get out of the Rat Race!

Some people go through motion - 'I'm going to a good U and doing engineering cos everyone's doing so and it's something that i can fall back on; it's more specialised than business and more marketable a degree than economics, though i think the latter two subjects are interesting.'

If you ask me, that's just a waste of time. Do you really need that engineer degree to fall back on? If you need to fall back on something, fall back on your intelligence! The mind can learn anything and everthing, if you would only motivate it hard enough. Successful dudes don't need safety nets, they don't diversify; they focus. To quote Sun Tzu: To be strong everywhere is to be weak everywhere; a huge army that diversifies too vastly will be defeated my small army focused at one point. Why waste time studying a subject not in line with your life vision or a job that does not contribute to your direction in life? To diversify? To create that safety net? Why bother when you know that your strong commitments to your goals and the motivations behind them will be the strongest safety net ever! But of course, diligence and meticulousness will definitely cut down on the pain that you'll face while pursuing your goals. But firstly, know yourself - what do you want in life? How can you get there? Is that the only way to get there? What am i afraid of? How can i manage my fears? What is the best and worst thing that can happen? Once you know yourself, you will truly be in control of your life and all that's around you. You will be truly confident of your life.

Lay-Z and Igneron have just missed out capitalising on the 8th phenomenon of the world - Compound Interest Investment. If you don't know what this is, you will do well to find out about it.

You hear, they say, who's right? Don't depend on hear-say, go check it out! It'll take some work, but as always - No Pain No Gain. Be a D'Ligen today! Indeed, to my great relief, there are some D'Ligens in my circle of friends who share my lifeviews.

Unfortunately, no-one can be told what the Matrix is, you'll have to see it for yourself.