I subscribe to many newsletters and have attended numerous teleconferences over the years relating to financial matters. The majority of information concerns personal wealth; how to create it, and more importantly, how to keep it. One theory made me smile, but then made me think.

Everyone has at some point bought items they use and never expects to get a return on the purchase price. A bed or a microwave oven are two examples. Motor vehicles always lose their value, unless it happens to be rare and collectible. Some items such as basketball cards or vintage bottles of wine can expect a higher price if the right buyer is found.

Buying shares or securities is exclusively done in the hope that the initial price per share will rise and therefore see a capital gain. There are a host of reasons why people sell, but only one when buying–they want to see a profit.

For most of us, the biggest purchase over our lifetime is the family home. History shows that most real estate increases in value, which means after living in the house, it will be sold for more than it was bought for.

But what if it doesn’t? What if, instead of a tidy little profit, your home sells for a big fat loss?

Much the same as owning shares in the stock market, property increases over time. And although house prices may fall in the immediate future, given enough time they will recover.

Being a greater fool is nothing to laugh about

In finance and economics, the greater fool theory states that the price of an asset is determined by whether you can sell it for a higher price, at a later point in time. On assets where the theory applies, it is implied that the asset’s intrinsic value is less important than the increase in demand, however irrational it might be. The person buying the overpriced asset later on, for a higher price, is deemed the greater fool.^[

                                                                                                                              From Wikipedia

Early one Saturday morning in a remote camping spot called the Blowholes, Ellie and stepdad Jake awoke to their worst nightmare—four-year-old daughter Cleo had gone.

A full-scale search of the Blowholes and surrounding area using helicopters, drones, and land and sea found no trace.

Over the next 18 days, a dreadful fear gripped the West Australian State; Cleo Smith was dead.

Against the odds, Cleo’s story has a miraculous ending that would otherwise be the stuff of fiction. They found her alive and well in her abductor’s house.

Unlike real-life dramas, the promise of fiction sees the hero, when faced with impossible odds, come out on top.

Aristotle said that when we watch a tragedy, two emotions come into play: pity (for the character) and fear (for ourselves).

With regard to fiction, psychologist Keith Oatley calls it, “the mind’s flight simulator.” Those of us who read fiction improve our social skills with each recent novel. Oatley’s research found that when we identify with characters found in fiction, we think of their desires and goals, instead of our own.

Fiction gives us the promise that none of the perils faced by fictional characters will happen to us.

To follow a plot requires a skill known as “theory of mind.”

It means that when we read about what a book’s character is thinking, our own brains associate with those feelings.

When we dream, places, people, and emotions appear with no input from our eyes or ears.

Shakespeare likened the way we dream to Prospero in The Tempest when he says about humans “are such stuff as dreams are made on.”

Philosopher Martha Nussbaum thinks that when we read, we become ‘sympathetic spectators.’ And as such, makes us better people, especially for issues such as justice.

Being able to understand what is going on in the minds of a villain and how it affects our hero makes us finer citizens.

Everyone loves a winner, and no more so than Scott Morrison the prime minister of Australia.

The remarkable performance of Ariane Titmus, Emma Mckeon, Nicola McDermott, Paddy Mills, and Jessica Fox, to name a few, lifted the spirit of our nation.

During the 2020 (delayed until 2021) Tokyo Summer Olympics, Australia came fifth in the world with a total of 46 medals.

Scott Morrison (Scomo) said in parliament, “our magnificent athletes have delivered.”

Continuing with the winning theme, Scott Morrison in an interview with The Australian newspaper on the current COVID-19 infection rate locking down the country’s major cities, “our gold medal run to the end of year is now well under way.”

Scomo loves a winner and is up for gold every time.

However, if advanced economies with the ability to build infrastructure to lesson CO2 emissions were a race, Australia would cross the finish line just ahead of the dead-last runner Saudi Arabia.

In 2021 China emitted 6.59 tons of carbon dioxide per person. India 1.58 tons per person. Australia emits 15.83 tons per person just behind the United States at 15.53 tones per capita. Source World Population Review

The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the IPCC, states, global warming is expected to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2030 unless something is done to decrease the current rate.

Scott Morrison has his eyes set on 2050 to reach emission targets.

If reducing global CO2 was a race, Scomo isn’t in training, but rather, still under the bed trying to find his running shoes.

A story published in The Times by Peter Stubley reports on the death of solicitor Leslie Lawrenson. Lawrenson was not vaccinated and died from a COVID-19 infection.

The real story, however, lies behind the reason Lawrenson did not get the jab. He read on social media that governments across the globe were harnessing fear to control populations.

In a post just days before his death, he said, “(COVID) is nothing to be afraid of.”

Lawrenson went on to say people should, “trust your immune system,” rather than get the jab.

In another report by ABC News Breakfast, revealed paid ads on Facebook by American tech writer Kaveh Waddell were all approved. The ads were part of an experiment to see how much misinformation could be published.

The posts claimed COVID-19 was really a hoax, and a dash of bleach with your favourite drink will protect you.

Waddell had seven ads green-lighted, all with outrageous claims. Fortunately, the ads were never seen by the public. The tech writer set out to prove that Facebook is heavily reliant on automated systems, which he says, “don’t seem to be working just right.”

A statement by Facebook on policy updates and protections says it engages with experts and government authorities to keep members of our community safe during this crisis.

Good intent is one thing, reality another. A search by The New York Times found dozens of videos, photographs and posts across various social media platforms disseminating untruths about the virus.

Solicitor Leslie Lawrenson was Cambridge educated and considered by those who knew him as a clever chap. His daughter Carla Hodges said, “He was so brainwashed by the stuff that he was seeing on YouTube and social media, he said: A lot of people will die more from having the vaccine than getting COVID.”

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome: SARS-CoV-2 virus is a concern for people everywhere. So too, it seems, Facebook falsehoods are equally fearful.

“Never give up,” how many times have you heard those words? But what does it mean when you try to succeed and fail, not once, but often?

Homer Simpson declared, “If at first you don’t succeed, give up before you fail again.” Insanity, Albert Einstein observed is, “…doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

Success, however, is in many ways doing just that–the same thing over and over until you don’t fail. Thomas Edison refused to recognize failure when he said, “I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, said, “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.”

In this year of the Tokyo Olympics, the dream born out of years of training whereby success depends on mere minutes in competition as to whether individuals triumph or fail, is never more evident.

US gymnast Simone Biles is one such individual where the concept of not giving up is embodied. Biles suffers from ADHD and was giving an exemption by the Olympic committee to use the drug Ritalin. In 2018 she was sexually assaulted by a team doctor. But those setbacks were part of a long list of discouraging incidents.

The champion gymnast’s mother, Shannon, battled alcohol addiction and was incapable of looking after her children. In an interview for the Guardian, she recalled the time living with her mother, “Growing up, me and my siblings were so focused on food because we didn’t have a lot of food,” she said. “I remember there was this cat around the house and I would be so hungry. They would feed this cat and I would be like, ‘Where the heck is my food?’ And so I think that’s [why] I don’t like cats … because this freaking street cat, she always fed it. But she never fed us.”

Simone and her three siblings were taken away from their mother. After learning the children were put in foster care, Simone’s grandfather Ron Biles adopted her and her sister. The other two siblings were adopted by their aunt.

If ever someone had excuses for not applying themselves because fate dealt them a cruel hand, it is this tiny US gymnast. And if the motto ‘never give up’ needed a meme, Simon Biles fits the bill.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

The Q2 of 2021 saw almost all cryptocurrencies decline in a bearish crypto winter. Could the above quote by Steve Jobs, “Here’s to the crazy ones…” apply to alt coin investors?

Possibly, Bitcoin’s biggest critic is Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. She declared blockchain dealings as “an extremely inefficient way to conduct monetary transactions.”

Yellen is not alone in decrying deregulated digital investment. In Australia, many financial commentators warn against those with “no respect for the status quo” as not so much investors, as gamblers.

Hamish Douglass is Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Magellan Financial Group, and Lead Portfolio Manager of Magellan’s Global Equity strategies, sounded this warning.

The other asset in bubble territory is Bitcoin. Douglass described the cryptocurrency as “one of the greatest mass delusions in modern history”, noting the cult-like following it had gathered around the world.

“I have to say it is one of the greatest irrationalities that I’ve seen in a very very long period,” he says. “The scale that is behind it – there are millions and millions of people participating.

“There will be many people who disagree because people in a cult don’t like someone pointing out the Emperor may have no clothes. I think it’s inevitable that it’ll crash to zero.”

Time will tell whether cryptocurrency speculators are villains or pioneers.

James Thurber first published The Secret Life of Walter Mitty in 1939, loosely based on his friend Walter Mithoff.

The story revolves around Walter Mitty, who drifts into fantasies about himself: a US pilot, a surgeon, an assassin testifying in a courtroom, and a Royal Air Force pilot volunteering for a secret suicide mission.

Mittyesque is a derivative word in the English language describing a heroic daydreamer who lets life and the real-world pass by.

Walter Mitty uses his imagination to escape from his mundane existence, and his domineering wife. His creative fantasies help embellish his life to feel more exciting than it is.

In reality, Mitty is neither successful nor exciting. The underlying theme of the story questions the notion of success and failure. Walter retreats to his internal self because of an inability to fulfill and live successfully in his external life.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is James Thurber’s most famous story. Danny Kay starred in the 1947 movie based on the story. The 2013 remake was voted as Ben Stiller’s finest movie role.

All of us recognize Mittyesque moments in our lives, the dreams and ambitions to never materialize. Everyone entertains a desire, whether it is to play tennis or the violin, it’s part of our thoughts.

But how many take actions to materialize those longings, while most of us invent excuses, stopping us from taking action.

If we were to pin a definition to what self-esteem means, it may be found in the words of Sir Winston Churchill. “To each there comes in their lifetime a special moment when they are figuratively tapped on the shoulder and offered a chance to do a very special thing, unique to them and fitted to their talents. What a tragedy if that moment finds them unprepared or unqualified for that which could have been their finest hour.”

Does that mean waiting a lifetime for those “special moments”? Or does the dawn of each new day “offer a chance to do a very special thing”?

Robert Plant, the singer of Led Zeppelin, once said, “The past is a stepping stone, not a milestone.”

Each day has the potential to be our finest, a moment befitting our unique talents.

True self-esteem is not only knowing this, but believing it.  

 Imagine standing at the counter of a vehicle service centre awaiting the bill to be itemised when your mind drifts to your neighbour’s yard. You sneakily inserted a hose nozzle through the mail slot moments before. Now, when your neighbour peers through the latch-door to check the mail, they get blasted in the face with a jet of water.

An absurd thought, a wacky idea at entirely the wrong moment.

Is it a sign you have mental issues needing the attention of a medical professional?

While some wayward thoughts are pleasant, even funny, others are not.

Like the time you left the rings on the kitchen bench-top on your daughter’s wedding day. This momentous occasion ruined by your stupid mistake. Now, at three in the morning, wide awake, you relive every cringe-worth, embarrassing second, exaggerating the moment to world-wide scandalous proportions.

This temporary madness and loss of mental control are your personal hellish moments to be re-enacted when you least expect it.

Such feelings of guilt do not mean you are a bad person.

The opposite is true; you are normal.

Neurologists observed the brains of people meant to be relaxed and found heightened activity. They call it the default mode network. Some 50% of our thoughts are spontaneous.

And here’s the thing: you can’t turn them off.

Unruly musing may be the source of creativity, especially when it comes to solving problems.

Does this mean being successful is simply a matter of daydreaming your way to wealth and happiness?

Not according to Sir Winston Churchill.

Imagine standing on the podium at an Olympic Games and holding a gold medal?

Such an experience not only rewards those who have helped, but gives thanks to the hours of training and dedication. Ultimately, holding a gold medal acknowledges to the tens of millions watching around the world, that you are the best-of-the-best on earth.

One such athlete is Matthew Mitcham.

Mitcham stunned the crowd watching the 10-metre diving event by scoring 112 points in his final dive to win gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

You would think after such an achievement, Matthew Mitcham could bask in the memories of his former glory.

But Mitcham drifted into an awful place.

Mitcham admitted in a BBC interview he became addicted to crystal meth after the games. He said, “It got dark. My self-esteem was shattered, at times killing myself seemed like the easiest way to deal with this, but I finally took myself to rehab.”

Matthew Mitcham explained that his life was much happier now, “I’m proud of not only what I won, but being able to do it all as an openly gay man.”

Mitcham married is partner Luke Rutherford in 2016. He uses his past glory and high profile to speak against oppression of gay people in other places around the world, saying he looks back on his life with kinder eyes now.

Practicing clinical psychologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of New Brunswick, David A. Clark, Ph.D. says gloomy thoughts are normal. It’s how the brain works.  

Perhaps self-esteem is not congratulating your success in daily monotones, but fostering a little forgiveness.