Investing and fun are probably not two words that you would use in a word association game…
Let’s face it, the majority of jokes when it comes to money are about bad financial advisers. Like this one:
‘I have bad news and I have worse news…
…a financial adviser says to his client. “Which would you like to hear first?”
“The bad news,” the client says.
“All your money will be gone in 24 hours.”
“Oh my gosh,” the client says. “What’s the worse news?”
“I should have made this call yesterday.”
Now I totally believe that investing is a serious pursuit, we are talking about your money, right? But that doesn’t mean you can’t make it fun.
I remember a while ago I attended a presentation by Shabnam Mogharabi of Soulpancake (#soulpancake). Her presentation was about joy, and how we can bring more joy into our life…
Shabnam demonstrated ways that she and her team have used video content to change the way people view certain significant issues and questions. So inspired by her work, I thought it would be a good idea to look at ways we can make investing more joyful and fun.
The Attitude of Gratitude
One of the simple takeaways from Shabnam was the impact of gratitude…
Many studies and examples exist to prove that when we feel grateful we are happier.
Think of a time when you felt grateful, like after a birthday and you’ve had over 100 messages on Facebook celebrating your special day. It makes you feel pretty good, grateful for the friends you have. It’s hard not to be joyful when this happens.
So what we need to do is create a similar experience when it comes to investing.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned in studying wealth and money for 25 plus years is the importance of gratitude…
Lessons from my research
All of the most successful people who have made their wealth from scratch have an overriding sense of gratitude.
An important character trait they all share is the need to be grateful and the importance of sharing their gratitude with those that have helped them, or that have contributed to a positive life experience for them.
A simple way you can do this is to have a daily ritual of recalling why you are grateful. It instantly makes the experience more joyful. At the end of each day list a few things that you were grateful for that day before you switch off for the day.
When it comes to investing, be grateful or show gratitude for what you already have, what you are building and for those that are helping you get to your goals.
I am personally grateful to many people who have taught me either through their work or personal teachings. People like Louise Bedford, Chris Tate, Peter Spann, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham and Richard Branson, and most importantly my family. That’s just to name a few.
4 Tips to Make Investing Fun
Tip 1: Use Technology
There are now many apps and research tools you can use right from your phone to research new investments, track your investments and even buy and sell stocks.
One of the great benefits of technology for investing is that it has brought down fees. Competition and the ease with which we as investors can shop around has dramatically reduced fees…
And if there was ever a way of making investing more fun, less costs is a good start, right?
Tip 2: Set Goals
Sure you have heard this before, but I’m not necessarily talking about financial goals, instead I’m suggesting small action goals.
Action goals can be small tasks that you want to take to move forward with your investing. Everybody likes to get things done, so these small actions will move you forward on a consistent basis and make the process much more fun.
These actions can be things like how many stocks you want to research this week, how many properties you will view this month, the number of stocks or properties you want to purchase each month or quarter.
Align your goals with your WHY, build the connection between why you want to be financially free with the actions you take for each goal. This connection is what motivates you to succeed and ultimately makes investing a lot more fun.
For example, I often get asked why I do a weekly blog post, or why I spend the time I do on helping others with their wealth. The answer is simple, one of my why statements is that I want to impact 1,000,000 people with positive money outcomes, because I know the difference that will have on the world we live in. So connecting the writing of a blog with that vision, or why, makes it all worthwhile, and fun. Simple, right?
Tip 3: Invest in Things You Like
Another great way to make investing more fun, is to invest in things you like.
If you like to travel, research stocks that are related to travel. If you are more a technology person, look for ways to incorporate technology stocks into your portfolio, or technology into the way you do property investing…
Technology can be used in many ways in property, whether it be in research, design of renovations, tracking performance, finding buyers and of course, finding properties.
If you like doing renovations or projects, consider flipping properties as a way of making money.
The thing I have found over the years is that when I invest in things I like or enjoy, the results tend to be better. During the technology boom of the early 2000’s, Warren Buffett stayed away from the hype as he explained he didn’t understand the business models. Wasn’t that a fortunate thing for him. 🙂
Tip 4: Make it a Game
Like I said before, your money is important, and should be managed carefully…
But to make it more fun, let’s gamify the process.
This can be as simple as setting yourself rewards when you complete certain actions or achieve certain financial milestones.
The good news about setting goals is that it triggers a mental process that actually supports your success. When you reward yourself for a task well done, your brain recognises these rewards as a good thing, and seeks out more of these rewards.
The more rewards you are able to give yourself, the more self-fulfilling your success becomes. And guess what happens, you magically produce more good results, your brain aligns with what you want because it likes the rewards. Now that is fun, right?
Investing and Fun
For most people, investing is something you do in addition to your job… and the hard reality is that most people don’t enjoy their jobs. If this is you, then investing and fun are key to your financial future.
Investing can play two roles…
First, it can be a way to build for your financially free future. A financially free future where you can have the things that you want, do the things you want to do when you want to. What joy does that bring to you just thinking about the opportunities. I’m sure it brought a smile to your face, it was fun, right?
The second role that investing can play in your life is to replace the job that you don’t enjoy. Once you achieve your financially free future you can choose whether you continue to work or not…
Or you could choose to work in a completely different role, one that you do for fun and not the money.
Conclusion
Investing can be fun; you only need to find ways to make it more enjoyable…
Take these four tips and find ways to bring them into your daily action plan. Step by step you will be having so much fun, your returns will be improving and heck, the fun will be through the roof.
Leave me a comment and let me know how you can make investing joyful and fun.
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