It’s not personal, it’s business –

  
What a day yesterday!  With the swooning of the global markets, the world was given a wake up call. The day started with a 1,000 point drop at the open and ended down 500 points from Friday’s close. That’s a 714 billion dollar loss in value. Is this the end of the blood-letting or just the start?

Whether you’re an investor or not, chances are you’ve heard about the falling stock market. But, most of the world doesn’t really understand the markets or care to learn about them. They just buy the doom and gloom headlines along with their morning coffee. “I’ll have an extra wet skinny latte with a little armageddon, thank you.”

Let this be a reminder, that the world is not coming to an end. Nothing has changed except our perception. Stock prices are perceived value anyway. How else could we justify paying over a hundred dollars for a pair of Lululemon leggings when the cost of the raw materials is under $10. Perception! Add some supply and demand into the mix and you’ve got the jist of how the stock market works. 

But, let me remind you of a sage piece of advice my grandfather gave me when I was a small boy – mind your own business. It doesn’t matter what’s happening to others. Successful people never worry about what other people are doing. They stay focussed on their own goals. As the wizard said in The Wizard of Oz, “Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”

The most important thing an investor can do right now is to stay focussed and look at all the opportunities.  Everything is on sale and even better prices are coming soon. 

Mind your own business. Take the next two weeks off and enjoy the end of summer. The stock market will still be there after labor day.