A Christmas Gift That Will Make You Rich

Why Everything You Know About Money Is a Lie

Lately, I’ve been feeling like my work as a writer doesn’t make sense anymore.

Maybe it’s impostor syndrome, or maybe I’ve reached a point where I see things with such startling simplicity that I feel like I’m not providing value to my readers. In those moments, my mind reminds me that this is normal when you’ve gained significant knowledge about a particular subject.

It’s exactly then that I remember the meme we’ve already shared here a few times:

This meme perfectly sums up what I think I know about finance. Of course, there are plenty of people who know far more than I do—people who get into technicalities I’ll likely never reach. But at the end of the day, life boils down to one simple truth: we tend to overcomplicate everything. Life is much simpler than we imagine.

Investment banks, strategy consultants, doctors, lawyers… all of us need to feel that what we do is complex. Often, we rely on complicated jargon to feel one step ahead and impress those around us.

But once you understand that everything—and I do mean everything—in life can be reduced to a few basic principles, you begin to see the world differently.

Before diving into the financial world, let me show you a couple of memes based on the one above that I found interesting:

As an engineer, I couldn’t resist adding this one:

I hope you don’t think I’ve lost my mind. A few more examples that came to me:

• Nutrition:

  • Jedi: "Eat food that doesn’t come in plastic."

  • Midcurve: "You need to count macros, determine if you’re bulking or cutting, and adjust your protein intake based on a logarithmic formula tied to your weight."

• Exercise:

  • Jedi: "Do 30 minutes of any exercise each morning until you sweat."

  • Midcurve: "You need a 90-minute program targeting five antagonist muscle groups."

Now, let’s apply this idea to finance. It’s the simplest thing in the world. That’s why I sometimes worry I’ll lose all my subscribers (note to self: not sure why I’m writing this). Still, I believe becoming wealthy is incredibly simple.