The Ultimate Investment

Today’s Topics

• Why You Should Start Investing for Your Future 🫵

• Reality Check ✅

  3 Mins Read Time

Why You Should Start Investing for Your Future 🫵

By Jo

The stock market is one of the greatest wealth-building tools available to the everyday person. While it’s long been associated with the ultra-wealthy, the truth is it can work for anyone who is willing to put in a bit of learning and consistency.

Stocks offer you a stake in a company’s growth, but more importantly, they give you the opportunity to grow your own money in ways that simply saving cannot match. Yes, there are risks, and yes, there is a learning curve, but nothing truly worthwhile is ever without its challenges. Investing in stocks isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme.

If you’re employed, there’s a good chance you already have access to an investment program through your job — maybe a 401(k) or similar plan. That’s essentially your foot in the door to the market, even if you didn’t realize it. But beyond what your employer offers, you can take things even further by coming up with a personal investment plan that works for you.

It’s never too late to start. Whether you’re in your 20s or your 50s, putting money into the stock market can help secure a better future. The key is understanding your goals, your risk tolerance, and committing to learning the basics.

Don’t overthink it

Contributing as little as $25 to $50 per paycheck toward stocks, or even better, toward an ETF (exchange-traded fund) that captures dozens or even hundreds of companies, is a powerful way to diversify while staying consistent. Over time, you’d be amazed how those small contributions add up and compound.

Reality Check ✅

By Marcus

Like so many of us today, our technology consumes us, and we don’t realize how much until we go without it.

This happened to me last week when I had to part with my laptop for critical repairs. If you rely on tech for work, you understand how inconvenient this can be for a number of reasons. I wasn’t happy about losing momentum or being unable to access the tools I use daily.

Still, I tried to convince myself that maybe this was an opportunity, a sign to relax outside of my main job. I thought this “forced vacation” from personal projects might lead to a major epiphany or breakthrough.

Well…

That didn’t happen. But something else did.

With more free time than usual, I found myself gaming more. And during one of these longer-than-usual sessions, I had a thought that completely caught me off guard:

“This is how my life used to be.”

I reflected on how I used to spend my evenings and weekends doing things I enjoyed—gaming, relaxing, unwinding. Now, most of my time is spent on personal development, skill acquisition, research, side projects, and this newsletter.

Thinking back, it felt like a simpler time. It brought me to memories from 8–10 years ago, when I believed the following:

• Hard work itself is enough

• Life is reasonably fair

• Job security is a normal expectation

• One job or source of income is sufficient

• Work/life balance is something I should have

Ignorance was bliss.

My beliefs have changed quite a bit. If you were to ask me now, I’d say:

• Hard work alone isn’t enough—it requires strategy to maximize outcomes

• Life just isn’t fair

• Job security is a relic of the past

• One income source is too close to none—I’m willing to do more to avoid that risk

• Work/life balance may exist, but I haven’t earned it yet

It’s okay if you disagree. This is simply my lived experience.

Doing a little reflection on your past beliefs isn’t a bad idea. What beliefs of yours have shifted in recent years?

What long-held ideas are starting to fade?

Most importantly, what path are your current convictions leading you down?

Maybe the goals and extra work you’re doing have more value than you think.

Summer.…. Summer.… Summer… Time…