3 Minute Read

Too busy to read? Listen to the article on-the-go instead!

 A man went to a monk & said “I try my best to focus but I get distracted. I am unable to understand the focused way of working.” The monk took him to a river whose path was filled with rocks. The monk asked, “What do you see?” He said, “I see the river.” “What else do you see?” asked the monk. “I see the rocks,” said the man. “What else do you see?” asked the monk. “I see the river is moving around the rocks,” said the man. The monk said, “That’s the point I want to make. In life, many obstacles will distract you, but you should be focused on the goal. Like the river, just move around the rocks of distraction & move ahead, without colliding with the rocks.”

What are the key distractions one faces in their wealth creation journey? The first is how to control expenses & save more. The answer is to save before spending & invest on the day of your salary. Thus your expenses are restricted to what is left after saving. Also, budget your expenses into needs & wants where you can use your discretion to reduce ‘wants’ & save more. The second distraction is how to save regularly & not in spurts. This happens as most investors try to time the market on the way up & aim to exit when it moves south. This is also backed by a herd bias & emotions of greed/fear wherein one invests more out of greed & withdraws when there is fear. Remember that, when we travel, the road is full of twists, turns, tunnels, bumps, signals, etc but the final destination is beautiful. The market history too is also full of ups & downs, but the ultimate direction has always been north. Just ‘focus’ on the process, goals will follow.