Cash Is A Position

I spent a portion of last week reading a book about stock market investing. It broke down what happened during the 2008 crash and went over some very general ideas behind smart buying and selling.

 

Here was a big one: You don’t always need to be in the market.

 

“Holding cash is an investment position.”

 

If you think a stock is going up can you buy it. If you think a stock is going down you can short it. But you’re not forced to stay in the market. If you don’t know where the market is going you can get out. Nobody is forcing you to make a decision on one stock or another.

 

It might be best to take a ‘cash position’, protect your investment, and focus your energies elsewhere. This would be the best decision for the vast majority of people.

 

Beyond The Stock Market

 

It’s not just about where you invest your money. It’s also about where you invest your focus and mental energies. When should you take a ‘cash position’ on certain issues so that you can invest those things that really deserve your mental energy?

 

There are a million issues you can debate about today (Islam, Abortion, Taxes, Immigration, etc.) but do you need to take a side? Do you need to spend hours, days, or your entire lifetime educating yourself about these issues?

 

“But don’t I need to stay knowledgable about the election?”

 

Well, do you?

 

Iran hostage ransoms, Zika outbreaks, Hillary’s court appearances, Trumps nasty tweets, Black Lives Matter… Stop.

 

YOUR LIFE MATTERS!

 

I choose to take a ‘cash position’ and stay out when it comes to most of these issues because I choose to spend most of my time minding my own business.

 

I’m okay saying ‘I don’t know’.

 

By focusing on your own life, your own business, your own family, etc., you can have a massive and direct impact.

 

This makes more sense than investing valuable time attempting to have a tiny, indirect effect, or having no effect at all.

 

You Only Have 24 Hours…

 

It’s up to you to decide how you’re going to invest your time. The more you learn about Hill, Trump, Zika, and Iran the less time you have for your own life. Worst of all, this ‘breaking news’ will never end, much of it is mis-information, and yes, you can spend your entire life keeping up with it.

 

If you have a definite goal, then that’s where you should focus. If you know what’s most important to you then you know what deserves your largest mental investment.

 

Maybe it’s time to take a ‘cash position’ on the hot, shocking, dramatic & entertaining national issues and invest more heavily in yourself.