How your brain is keeping you poor


At the beginning I didn’t want to believe it.

Until I watched the video by myself.

It’s just a 30-second video.

It will change forever the way you look at the world.

Some guys go to the center of a plaza in a tourist city with a mannequin.
They put a T-shirt, a hat, and a skirt on it, and spray the mannequin with gold paint.
Finally, they place it in the middle of the plaza with a sign that says "Human Statue" and a basket with a handful of coins.
They come back an hour later.
38 dollars and a handful of cents.

Now, think for a minute.

Maybe two minutes.

Is your brain not exploding?

No?

Not yet?

​
Let's do the math.

​
Let's imagine not every day is a good day.

Let’s say that you are also lazy… that you have other commitments like watching the latest movie in Netflix.

Then, let’s imagine that only 150 days a year are good, you have no commitments, the weather is not that bad, and your boss didn’t ask you for a new Power Point Presentation.

Let’s also be super cautious.

Suppose there are only a few peak hours.

Just 4 good hours a day.
Let’s suppose that, on average, they don’t even make 38 dollars, let’s say they make 25.

Yes… just 25.

  • 150 days
  • 4 hours a day
  • 25 dollars an hour

150 Ă— 4 Ă— 25 = 15,000 dollars a year.

It’s probably more than double that amount, but let’s say that it’s just that: 15,000 dollars a year… Per statue.

Yes… who said that you could use only one.

So, 45.000 dollars a year with:

  • No contracts
  • No sick leaves
  • No social security or payrolls

I know what’s happening right now through your brain.

Yes…

I know it quite well.

Right now your brain is working at lightning speed to come up with reasons why this wouldn’t work:

  • People would eventually notice
  • The police would take it away
  • They’d probably ask you for a permit
  • Golden paint is probably expensive
  • Other people may imitate you
  • Your dog may become sick one day
  • A new power point presentation

Keep going.
Keep going.

​
While you're at it, others are counting the coins… and the dollars… and the hundreds of dollars.

​
You can argue all you want, but the world is full of easy opportunities to make money.

​
The problem is that there's nothing harder than spotting an easy opportunity. And even harder is believing in it.

Exactly one year ago… I created a portfolio with my money.

Real money. Real cash.

I invested following a series of guidelines.

This is the result.

Investing 100.000 euros, or 140.6k CAD dollars…

Look at this:

30 September: 140,600.84

31 October: 139,533.02

30 November: 149,311.00

31 December: 152,101.00

31 January: 158,959.08

29 February: 165,329.06

31 March: 169,995.03

30 April: 167,714.94

31 May: 176,419.64

30 June: 179,177.74

31 July: 182,027.52

30 August: 182,772.25

30 September: 186,818.21

​Return since creation: 32.87% or 46,217.37 CAD dollars.

Still, you’ll be thinking… that this is impossible, it won’t happen again, someone will ask me for a new Power Point presentation…

While you’re thinking why not to buy the course below, my portfolio is making money for me.

​Invest better than 99% of people... including fund managers​

PD 1: If you liked this email, don't keep it in secret and forward it to a friend. They will thank you enormously one day.

PD 2: If somebody has sent you this email and you want to receive emails like this yourself, visit vicentevalencia.com

PD 3: If you want unsubscribe, click the link below.

Vicente Valencia

Weekly insights on how to perform when it matters | High-stakes decisions. Real situations. No BS. | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇

Read more from Vicente Valencia

There's a fascinating way to save money in infrastructure. Stop building. Apparently, someone in the UK thought this was a brilliant idea. Take HS2. If you think the name of this railway project is spectacular, you should wait to see the cost overruns. The Government needed to control spending. Understandable. So what did they do? They delayed construction work. Reduced annual expenditure. And presumably celebrated the savings. Excellent. No money no deal… Except… if you need a piece of...

The other day, I saw another business guru sharing his wisdom. Apparently, founders and managers should delegate absolutely everything that can be done for less than $1,000 an hour. So they can focus on higher-value activities. Thousands of likes. Hundreds of comments. Everyone applauding. Sheep. Cheerleaders. It looked like an election campaign. But… don't get me wrong. You won't need to convince me about delegation. But… Delegation without control is called abdication. And there's something...

Ah… this consultancy world… it’s so funny. I just lost a mandate. The reason? Apparently, I was “too active.” Literally. Yes… this is why it is “too active” Not too expensive. Not too inexperienced. Not too busy. Too active. Infrastructure is… fascinating. Apparently, some projects need someone who doesn't ask too many questions. Doesn't challenge too many assumptions. Doesn't make too many decisions. And, above all, doesn't make anyone above them look uncomfortable. Ideally, someone who...