Wednesday, May 27, 2015

If you don't work for it, you'll pay for it

If there's a important lesson in life that we must learn, then one of them must be this: If you want to get what you didn't work for, you'll end up losing more than what you hope for.


This important advice applies equally throughout different domains. I give a few examples:


1. If you want to get high returns without working hard for it by studying or researching deep into it, you'll get scammed. You see newspaper report of people getting scammed by land banking, ponzi schemes, MLM and so on. Of course, you can argue that there are people who had made it big this way. However, it's seldom by dumb luck that they end up being the winners. They know what they are doing. Do you?


I remembered when I started investing/trading. Initially I wanted to earn enough to buy myself a guitar, which is around maybe a thousand? In the end, I lost about half the value of a car! Why? I didn't know what I was doing.




2. Those who want to lose weight, there's only two things you can do - eat less or exercise more, or some proportion of both each. You can't do the same and lose weight consistently. Any methods that allow you to eat the same amount and do the same level of exercise cannot be sustainable, and might actually be harmful to your health. Again, if you didn't work for what you want, you'll get 'scammed'. In this case, you might be spending a lot of money on pills or diet regime that costs thousands, and still end up not achieving much in weight loss.


3. If you see everyone jumping into property because it's so lucrative, you have to be careful not to apply their success to yourself without also applying their hardwork too. We all want great returns without doing much work - that crazy idea of PASSIVE income. Puiz...totally corrupted the meaning of passive income.


It pains me to see people getting scammed. We're at that period in the market where everyone has a lot of money but nobody knows what to do with it. Be careful. Be very careful.

12 comments :

Singapore Man of Leisure said...

LP,

That's the concept of passive income taken to the extreme! Something for nothing!?

1. Land owners have to set goals, KPIs, and hoops for their shepherds to jump through. The moment a smart shepherd detects his land owner is sleeping...

2. Even Warren Buffet has to read annual reports and peruse a few newspapers daily to generate his own investing ideas. You don't see him visiting investment fairs or seminars to let others "sell" him what to buy ;)


My reflection on this latest property scam:

1) Either people don't read newspaper (surf the news in internet), or

2) we don't learn from other people's experience.


The needle don't prick our skin, we don't feel pain ;)

Createwealth8888 said...

Some of them are aware but this time is different?

la papillion said...

Hi SMOL,

This resulted because pple followed blindly. They see pple do this and they follow them blindly, without really understanding the psyche behind it.

Really leh, if they had read the news just a wee bit, they would have seen similar types of scams around. Why are they still scammed? Sometimes really don't understand.

la papillion said...

Hi bro8888,

Haha, indeed...this is the killer statement. Seldom do things happen under the sun that haven't happened before ;)

Jimmy L said...

some people dont have to work for it leh
how about those born with a silver spoon?
they got everything they want

la papillion said...

Hi Jimmy,

Yup, they got the things they want but they haven't paid for it yet. If they didn't work hard to earn the things that already have, they will lose it one fine day. Still the same principle.

Lizardo said...

The occasional TOTO winner?

la papillion said...

Hi lizardo,

Well, have you seen those instant millionaires reports? They usually end up in a worse state than they are before they won the lottery. It's like the universe knows you can handle a certain amt of money. If you have less than that amt of money, the universe will do whatever it can to bridge that gap, even giving u a lucky winning ticket to the lottery. But if you have than that amt of money, you'll lose in all sorts of way until the gap is gone.

Lizardo said...

LP,

Here today, gone tomorrow? Easy come, easy go.

Would it be a world of difference if it was won by a Value Investor? Or do all Value Investors stay away from TOTO I wonder?

la papillion said...

Hi Lizardo,

Haha, interesting question :) I think value investors won't be punting on TOTO, so they couldn't possibly win!

Rolf Suey said...

Hi LP,

In life, we work for what we are worth.

Those who inherit without working hard may not pay this life, but their kids will, on behalf.

la papillion said...

Hi Rolf,

I totally agree. If the kids suffer, it's another sort of suffering for the parents too. In general, I still think my principle in life, "If you don't work for it, you'll pay for it" still works ;)