Last week I saw a post on my X feed, that I can't get out of my head. There are many posts on the named platform, that remains in my mind for different reasons, but this one is different and you'll see why.
As some of you may know, I'm in trading and using X is kind of a must for several reasons. It's a great place to stay informed about what's happening in the Geo-political, economical and financial world, as well as stay in touch with other traders, exchange TA ideas and so on. As good as it is though, it has huge disadvantages as well and can cause a lot of harm if you don't have the necessary balance in your life along with a good amount of self control.
The competition between influencers, finfluencers and fame seekers is brutal and so many would do anything (literally anything) for attention. You see these people posting photos with them sitting in a Lambo (btw, people with class don't buy Lambos), wearing (apparently) gold watches and (apparently) gold necklaces, flying helicopters or private jets, or dining in the most expensive restaurants with trophy women and so on. I bet you get the idea.
You see them posting their trade results, trying to guilt trip others for not taking their calls and deleting every post in which the market turned against them and so on.
It's a brutal world, you need a lot of self control and cool head, if you don't want to be caught in this vortex and get swallowed by it. It's so easy to get carried away, while trying to fit the mood and the expectations of these "famous" people" and get hurt while being careless in trading and with your personal finances in general.
This is why the mentioned post had a huge effect on me and I'm still thinking how come people like the mentioned user exists.
I'm not going to quote the post, because I want to give the guy the privacy he deserves, but basically he said he went to the library and got himself six books to read for the next two months, because he wanted to reward himself for doing really well in trading lately.
If you're not familiar with this world, the big guys (yes, it's a male dominated world and everyone is bro, bruv and buddy here, there's no room for the other sex yet, unfortunately), when doing well in trading, usually buy themselves a new watch, a new car, or go waste money on whatever they think would make them look good on the platform. Some of them post about books they have bought, but I've never seen anyone post about borrowing books from the library.
I didn't know the guy till then, and the only reason his post popped up in my feed was because a legend, a big name in this industry I follow, commented on his post. He basically said he knows these books and that some of the books are very challenging reads but well worth it.
Obviously the first thing I did was to check out his profile, to see who he is and what he is posting. Turns out he comes from a very poor family and had a lot to suffer because of this as a child. He's not the only one, there are many who have similar childhood experiences, some landed in their current country as illegal immigrants and are millionaires now, but the difference between them is, this guy remains humble, he knows how to handle money and has not let it change him. He doesn't show off, doesn't flex his muscles to get more followers.
As I said, it's a brutal industry, where you can get rich quick if you're smart, but you can go broke just as quick as you got rich and some even end up in jail due to extreme greed and stupidity, or dead.
One of the things I always tell people is: "everyone is an example, you just have to decide if they are a good example (to follow) or a bad example (you should not follow).
Managing your finances is not an easy thing to do, especially if you want to manage it well. There's always the question: "Do you really need it, or you just want it?" When you get to a certain level and you have way more than you need, most of the time the answer is, "You just want it". The next question is "Why?" and if the answer is: "To impress others", then you are definitely on the wrong track.
At this point of my post, I can't help but think of those users I met on the legacy chain, who came in like movie stars, thinking they hit the jackpot and spend every single penny earned on new shiny things, like shoes, clothes, phones, you name it, just because they got money. I remember them posting about their new acquisition so proudly, mainly ot show off and also hoping to get more money to buy more shiny things and then start the whole process again. Needless to say those people are long gone, their shiny shoes and phones are also long gone and most likely their life is in the same mess as it was back then, or even worse. Others saw Hive as an opportunity to invest, in order to earn passive income for example and even more, but temptation was too strong for many. Still is.
Losing balance and sense of reality when you get some money is really easy, especially if you've been poor all your life. It can change you quite a lot and cause more harm than you think. I see this happening even if the person gets very little. Imagine when you're making 20k, 30k per week, sometimes even more and you no longer have to think about how to pay your rent or what you're going to eat tomorrow and these these concerns change into how many blonds to fly to Ibiza and what jet to rent or buy.
Getting into the wrong crowd is easy. Associating with the right people is also easy, but you need to know who's good for you and who isn't. Financial safety and ultimately financial freedom is the goal we're all working towards. Getting it fast is a different matter though.
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