2023 - The Year of Execution!

The year 2023 is set for a thirst for knowledge and action. Whatever goals we have set for the new year, now is the time to put them into action rather than just plan on paper.

Most of the time, we put off taking action for one of the following reasons:

- Lack of priority
- Lack of clarity
- Not having desired knowledge
- Mindset block
- Limited belief
- Identity mismatch
- Waiting for the perfect time
- Fear: How to handle failure
- No self-discipline
- Excuses
- Lack of Time Management
- Involved in multiple tasks

The goal should encompass all aspects of our life after considering our core values, personality traits, and SWOT analysis.

- Health (physical & mental)
- Relationships
- Social
- Finance
- Spirituality
- Career & Profession
- Personal Development

To overcome procrastination, we should get into action mode.

- Maintain a diary or journal
- Make a Vision Board
- Use Mindmap
- Make Goal cards
- Have a commitment plan. Fix a deadline for action
- Set 12 goals for 12 months and review them periodically
- Reset or redefine action under the review process, if needed
- Goals could be short-term / long-term. Focus on the top 5 goals
- Find your start point and break it down into smaller tasks. Just take baby steps daily
- Access your resource availability
- Remove obstacles
- Get an accountability partner (most important)
- Find your mentor / guide (most important)

It's time to take action for 2023 and keep learning new things every week for the rest of the year. It is absolutely essential to track our progress on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, and annual basis.

Set goals with a WHY factor that will motivate you. Why do you really want to achieve this goal? Many times, results are not seen right away, which can be discouraging. As a result, concentrate on procedure and progress, while remaining detached from the end result.

Finally, celebrate and give yourself a reward for each milestone reached. Remember, Version-One is always better than Version None.

Happy New Year 2023!

Keep moving despite hurdles

How many times have you started a vacation trip to your favorite places only to return halfway?

Do you frequently make U-turns in your decisions, whether they are related to your career, business, personal life, or anything else?

Whatever we do in our personal or professional lives, we always strive to reach the destination, which we may refer to as a target, goal, or milestone. And this is referred to as SUCCESS because we have achieved what we desired.

If we do not have an end goal in mind, we will continue to move from one point to another without getting anywhere. We are not a football that life throws at us. We must plan our lives in order to achieve our goals.

It is our life journey, and we need to arrive at each station one by one. We must maintain continuity while also fully enjoying the journey. It is equally important to be happy in our journey and to make others happy as well!

How often have you stopped your investment journey in the middle and never got there? Your investment journey is similar to your life journey. Never stop abruptly until you reach your financial goal.

Top performing financial behaviour!

I recently received a WhatsApp message from one of my clients (Gen Y). She intended to make some investments.

She: Please recommend some top-performing funds.

(actually, this is a fundamentally wrong question asking for top-performing funds)

Me: Time horizon?

She: What's that?

Me: How long do you intend to stay invested?

She: Not sure! May be 2-3 years.

Me: Go with FD.

She: Why not MF or stocks?

Me: If you have a 5-year investment horizon, I recommend a balanced fund. Equity funds should be held for at least 10 years for best results.

She: Can I go with direct shares for 2-3 years instead?

Me: (I prefer to remain muted)

I'm still figuring out the following, which requires deep thinking.

* Is short-term investment (read trading) in the stock market an alternative to long-term MF investing?

* Will she be able to generate profit if she invests in direct equity with very little market exposure?

* Is the stock market a better place to put your short-term money?

* Are people aware of the distinction between investing and trading?

* Do people ever calculate the difference between the returns generated by short-term trading and the returns generated by long-term investing?

* Can they truly understand how greed and fear operate in this market all the time?

* Do we need top-performing funds or the top-performing financial behavior of the client?

* Do people really invest or speculate?

* Is it the market or the stock or the MF to blame, if you lose money?

Perhaps people are still unaware that in India, investing for the long term can earn more money than trading or speculating.

Be aware with blunders of life

I remember one of my school friends had a bad habit of smoking from a young age. He wanted to quit smoking and unsuccessfully tried several times. However, he lacked the courage to overcome his addiction. Later in college, he became a chain smoker.

After smoking all day and night for several years, something unexpected happened. One morning, he awoke with severe chest pain and was unable to breathe. He was admitted to the hospital. His lungs had suffered severely. His doctor gave him two options: choose life or death. He had to quit smoking right away or face death in a few weeks.

He then decided to stop smoking because he had no other choice and death was knocking on his door. He gradually began to recover, but it took nearly 15 years to clean his lungs.

Many times, we become addicted to bad habits, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, or eating fast food on a regular basis. We require proper health guidance from time to time in order to get back on track if we deviate.

When it comes to investing, lacking knowledge or committing a blunder can set us a decade back. As a result, having someone who can alert you if you deviate from your planned path is essential.

                                        

You can control your happiness only, not outer world

Raja was overwhelmed when his marriage to the girl he desired was finalized after a long family debate. He was excited to have finally found his true love. 

One day I saw him on the way six months after his marriage; he appeared tired, stressed, and irritated. His joy and optimism for life had faded away. When I asked him about it, he said he most likely chose the wrong life partner. After a year, he was separated from his love, for whom he was willing to die some years before.

What went wrong with Raja? Was he expecting too much and failing to recognize that reality could be different?

When we invest in the wrong asset class, we also suffer the same consequences. Our happiness vanishes, and we try to find a way to get rid of it because it adds to our stress on a daily basis.

Long-term investments need commitment, and we must adjust to the unique characteristics of various asset classes. We must control our emotions while ignoring our partner's flaws.

This is how we keep a long-term relationship going. I'll leave the rest at your discretion.