I spent this weekend on a cruise ship to celebrate a friend's birthday. The cruise was an amazing time.
For those who know me in real life, you know I enjoy asking lots of questions as I mingled and chatted with people I've never met. I always slip in some casual questions about the stock market, money, and financial freedom because I want to gauge a person's knowledge and temperament to take risk.
The responses I got were all too familiar: "I don't have time," "I don't have enough money," "I don't know enough," and "I'm afraid of losing money." These self-limiting beliefs kept popping up, and it made me realize how common they are.
Don't get me wrong, everyone I met was super busy, and I get it. Life moves fast. That's also the problem, it moves so fast that if you don't focus on finances you will miss the most important parts of the journey called life!
But what most of them don't realize is by building passive income streams they'd have more time to spend with their family and friends. They'd be able to spend 5 days randomly traveling down to celebrate a birthday without worrying about money. They can build sand castles with their kids without worrying about how we're going to afford dinner tonight.
Financial freedom and substantial wealth usually doesn't come from just working 40-hour weeks endlessly, unless you have a highly specialized job that pays a lot. The safest thing isn't just to work hard and stash a bit away in a retirement fund—that's the work-and-pray method.
When people tell me they don't have time, I explain that you can set up passive strategies to fit your goals and objectives. Even build a simple portfolio with a few index funds. Then let time work for you, often better than any financial advisor might. But then fear kicks in. I see it in their eyes. They're afraid of losing money, making mistakes, or thinking they're not smart enough.
I've been there. I've had all those thoughts. So I understand where they're coming from. But I also see how these excuses are holding you back by sticking to mainstream thinking.
Yes, it takes a bit of time to learn how to invest and trade passively. Everything has a learning curve. But once you have the knowledge, actually doing it takes minutes out of your week or day. When you take control of your savings and finances, spending a small amount of time each week can build wealth that lasts generations. And it doesn't have to be complicated.
Some might think, "If it was that easy, wouldn't everyone do it?" But the truth is, people don't because they believe they don't have time or they're too afraid. They think they don't know enough and assume that someone with a title like financial planner or investment banker knows more. What they don't realize is that many of these professionals are just salespeople who prey on these fears.
So when I meet new people, it's frustrating to see them stuck in beliefs that aren't protecting them—they're holding them back. Once you take control of your investments and build a foundation of knowledge, all those excuses start to fade. Yes, you'll need to save money. I know that's not always fun to hear, but within five years of sticking to a plan, you can build up enough to make a real impact on your life. There will be ups and downs, but clinging to the mindset of "I don't have time, I don't have money, I don't know how, I'm not smart enough" won't get you anywhere.
We all have these limiting beliefs. You're not different from anyone else. The sooner you decide to push through them, the sooner you'll find your freedom. I was never content with the idea of retiring in my 50s or 60s. I wanted it sooner, and I hope you will too.
I'm sharing this from my own life experience. I'm not trying to sell you on expensive or complicated strategies that might not work. I'm just trying to show you that if I can do this, anyone can. You just need to understand why it's important to make a few sacrifices at the start and how powerful time is in growing your wealth. I've written several blogs about the importance of time in the market versus timing the market. What I'm saying isn't just hypothetical—there's real research and methodology behind it.
Honestly, I'm tired of hearing the same excuses about being too busy. That mindset is actually holding you back from the time freedom you want most. I'll see you this weekend with a weekly recap, Mr Money Maxwell Inner Circle will get a video with my trade ideas and market thoughts.
Come join us in discord if you don't want to wait until this weekend :)
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