Читать книгу Psychological Analysis - Adam Sarhan - Страница 14

The biggest obstacle that prevents most people from getting ahead is themselves—not the market, not the economy, nor any other external force. At the end of the day, your success in life (and in capital markets) is determined by one factor: the quality of your decisions. Most people spend their life thinking they are making great decisions, but their actions tell a different story. Talk is cheap; actions matter.

Most people live in a near‐constant state of suffering, and most of the disasters that befall them are the result of self‐inflicted wounds. Dumb money people sabotage themselves, often feeding personal addictions. Dumb money people have no structure, no plan, and repeat the same mistakes over and over.

There is a battle between good and evil going on inside all of us. For the purposes of this book, I will call the good side “the smart money superhero” and the evil side “The dumb money beast.” I've named the beast “Shmelf.” Shmelf is a concept I developed while raising my kids. It's the beast inside of them that doesn't want to take a bath, wants to eat candy, doesn't want to brush their teeth, and throws a fit before bedtime.

Shmelf is consumed by petty desires, fears the future, worries about the past, is highly emotional, is not rational, and is consumed by an endless stream of foolish thoughts. We pretend to stomp on Shmelf, squashing the beast while symbolically destroying the base instincts inside ourselves that prevent us from being successful and achieving our goals. “Squashing Shmelf” is a great exercise that can snap anyone out of a funk, change their mental state, and help them focus on winning.

Smart money people recognize the self‐sabotaging forces within themselves and they make changes that allow them to convert suffering into prosperity.

To live your dream life, you have to overcome your self‐destructive desires (stomp on Shmelf) and become the best version of yourself (bring out your smart money superhero). If you make a real effort to level up, showing the world your best version of yourself on a daily basis, your life will improve in ways that I can not even begin to explain with words, and you will thrive in more ways than you can imagine!

The easiest way to do that is by living life with a clear purpose, learning how to overcome the common psychological pitfalls that are holding you back, conquer the dumb money beast inside of you (your dark side), and bring out the smart money superhero (even when you don't feel like it) so you can shine!