My Worst Investment Ever Podcast

After 10 years in investment banking, Scott Eddy moved overseas and lived in Europe and Asia for 17 years. While living in Bangkok, he started the first digital agency in Southeast Asia, and it remained the biggest in the region for five years.After selling the agency and spending some time in Europe while building his personal brand, he now travels full-time while building social media strategies, speaking at conferences, creating video marketing packages, and consulting for the world of luxury travel. He is also the TV host for the new travel series on Lifetime Television called Video Globetrotter. “The one skill that you need no matter what industry you’re in is sales.”Scott Eddy Worst investment everScott comes from a police background. His father was a Fort Lauderdale cop. Just like everybody on his dad’s side, Scott’s plan in life was to graduate high school, join the police academy, become a cop, get married, have kids, retire, and die.Getting ready to be a copScott spent every day after school in the police department, where he learned everything about being a cop. He watched an autopsy when he was 13, saw interrogations, and went on ride alongs. That was Scott’s whole life.The dream turns to dustThree weeks before Scott graduated high school, and just a few months before he joined the police, his father was killed in a plane crash in the line of duty. This turned Scott’s whole world upside down and killed his dream to become a police officer.Lessons learnedFace tragedy head-onWhen tragedy strikes, you could stick your head in the sand, pity yourself, allow yourself to get crushed every time you think about it, and prevent you from moving forward. Or you could stare it in the face and move on with your life.Choose your friends wiselyContinually reevaluate and look at who you surround yourself with. If it’s the wrong people block them, unfollow them and just immediately cut them out of your life. Always have people that uplift you. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re in.Manage your time wellTime management is your best friend or your worst enemy. You have to be religiously strict with your time.Andrew’s takeawaysPut your life into perspectiveOne of the tools to put your life into perspective is to look at it from the outside in. Talk to people and get other views. Use this tool to move through tragedy.Tragedies are not always mistakesSometimes a tragedy can be a mistake; sometimes, it’s just a simple tragedy. How we handle the bad things that come into our life is what matters. Take tragedies head-on and allow yourself to grow from that experience.Actionable adviceBefore you make any big decision, take a step back, take an extra day, and look at it from the outside looking in. If you have people you trust in your inner circle, ask for their opinion. By looking at things from the outside in, you’re always going to have a clearer mind.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsScott’s goal is to make his personal brand continue to grow.Parting words “Stay positive, go big, or go home.”Scott Eddy [spp-transcript] Connect with Scott EddyLinkedInTwitterFacebookInstagramWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

James Mulvany is a successful entrepreneur, and over the past 10 years, has built multiple internet companies (including Podcast.co & Radio.co) plus a property portfolio and has made a range of angel investments in startups! Having actually never had a job in his life, he started his first business when leaving school. “Business is never plain sailing. You have your ups and downs, you have good years and bad years, just like any job.”James Mulvany Worst investment everAbout a year after launching Radio.co and experiencing a great first year, James started thinking of ways to invest the profit he made.James had been very much engaged with the local area’s startup scene, and he figured he could invest in one. So he started going to various angel pitching events.Joining an angel investors syndicateThe more James attended the pitching events, the more his angel investment network expanded. One of the things that were quite common in the angel circus was the idea of having a syndicate. A syndicate is made of five or six investors who invest together.James found himself involved in a syndicate with some top-notch guys interested in making a few investments. The other members of the syndicate saw James as the lead to any IT related investment. They looked up to him to decide whether to invest in IT-related companies or not.Picking a startupThey found a few good pitches, and one concept for an augmented reality computer game stood out. At the time, there was so much hype around these gaming goggles. James’ syndicate saw this as an opportunity to make massive returns on their angel investment at that early stage. The team invested around £25,000 each. James was 29 years old at the time, so this was a considerable investment for him.The problems start trickling inThe concept James and his team invested in was good, but a couple of months into it, the startup realized that augmented reality wasn’t necessarily going to work out. They wanted to pivot to a regular computer game.As if that was not enough, one of the startup guys fell out with the other two guys. He moved to another country, and no one could get in touch with him. The two other partners tried to get him to resign as a director of the company and forfeit his shareholding, but he just went off the radar.Unfortunately, the main director became quite ill and at this point, the problems were just too many to handle. The startup ran out of money, and they had very little to show for the money the investors had put in. James was left with a loss of £25,000.Lessons learnedInvest in an industry you understandIf you’re going to make an angel investment, it needs to be in an industry where you’re entirely convinced that your money is in good hands. Be sure that the business owners do not need any mentoring or hand-holding from you. So it’s very much, just like a hands-off investment. If you’re going to make a hands-on investment, it needs to be something that you understand for sure.Be careful of investing in new shiny thingsMost novel ideas tend to be volatile. If you are going to invest in new cutting-edge ideas, be prepared to lose.Stay togetherIf you want to be successful, you need to stay together. You don’t need to be amazing because the amazing guys crash and burn, and they quit. So keep the team together and treat each other well, and you will succeed.Andrew’s takeawaysIf the company starts to pivot, stop the businessIf you end up chasing the revenue, you’ve lost what you originally planned to do, and you are likely going to let your investors down.There’s a difference between starting a new business and a never before seen businessInvesting in completely new things brings on a considerable level of risk. It will occasionally be successful, but it brings in a lot more risk.Actionable adviceDon’t go into something you don’t understand. If you go into something you’re not 100% sure about, make sure you’re prepared for the possibility of losing.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsJames just launched a platform called Matchmaker.fm a matchmaking service for podcasters and guests. The platform recently hit 13,000 users. James’ number one goal, therefore, is to get 100,000 users over the next year.Parting words “Just go out there and succeed.”James Mulvany [spp-transcript] Connect with James MulvanyLinkedInTwitterYouTubeWebsiteBlogAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Jim O’Shaughnessy is the Chairman and Co-Chief Investment Officer of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management (OSAM). He is the author of four books on investing, and his book What Works on Wall Street is a BusinessWeek and New York Times Business bestseller.Jim is the former Chairman of the Board of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and currently serves as the Chairman of the Capital Campaign for CMS. Jim is married with three children and two grandchildren and lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. “You got to have the ability to stick with the process. Trust the process.”Jim O’Shaughnessy Worst investment everJim started investing when he was 20. Back then, he was doing a lot of mathematical modeling. Jim concentrated on the Black Scholes option pricing model that was a pretty good investing model with about 70% accuracy. The downside of the model was that it was about singles and doubles. There were no home runs. Jim craved for home runs.Experimenting with other investment modelsJim was having a lot of fun with his model of choice, and his investments were doing well. Then he started experimenting with another model that was more focused on the market and not individual companies. The model would look at whether the market was fairly priced, overpriced, or underpriced.Riding on a highFor a moment, the model worked pretty well. According to this model, the market was very overpriced, and so Jim started accumulating put options. By early October of 1987, Jim had acquired the largest put position in his life.Selling it allIn 1987 the market experienced the biggest, on a percentage basis, crash ever. Though, Jim had ignored his model and sold all his puts the day before the crash! He made a small amount of money because the markets were gyrating all over the place. Jim would have made so much more money after the crash had he stuck with his model and held onto his investment.Lessons learnedAnyone can make a poor investment decision. You are not an exceptionWe all think we are exceptions, that because we study a lot, do a lot of research, and we are smart, we cannot make poor investment decisions. The truth is that if you are smart, you are probably more likely to fail because you create narratives about how good you are that you believe them, and then you convince other people of them. In the process, you let your guard down and end up making the wrong choice.For your investment model to work, you must be consistently consistentYou may have this great model that you believe will help you soar as an investor, but it does not work. And not because you are not smart enough to figure it out, but because you are incredibly consistently inconsistent. To make a model work, you must have the discipline to use it consistently.You must trust your investment processThe vast majority of successful investors who beat the market over time have rigorously researched investment processes they religiously adhere to. Their secret lies in trusting their processes. Sometimes they win, sometimes they lose, but they stick with the process regardless.Andrew’s takeawaysDon’t sell everything, size yourself insteadOne of the biggest mistakes people make is to jump into something 100% instead of sizing themselves into that position. If you want to get out of an investment, the best way to prevent yourself from overreacting is to sell X amount, not everything.No investment model will work all the timeThe whole concept of an investment model is that no model will work every year. But what keeps you winning is your discipline to stick to your model even when it does not work.Actionable adviceFind an investment process that works for you. It might not work for other people, but if it works for you and feels right to you, stick with it and let it work.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsJim’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to help with a couple of exciting projects that OSAM has. One of the projects is called Canvas, an operating system for investment advisors. The second project to start in 2021 is the fifth edition of What Works on Wall Street.Parting words “Good investing is simple. It’s not easy.”Jim O’Shaughnessy [spp-transcript] Connect with Jim O’ShaughnessyLinkedInTwitterWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever PodcastFurther reading mentionedRobyn Dawes (1996) House of CardsJason Zweig (2007), Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You RichBob Seidensticker (2006), Future Hype: The Myths of Technology Change

John North is a Seven-Time #1 International Selling Author about business strategy and internet marketing and his passion for squash. John is CEO of Evolve Systems Group and has created many products and services designed to empower business owners, including Evolvepreneur.app, Evolvepreneur.club, and Evolve Global Publishing.John’s passion is to help business owners become more strategic and smarter about their marketing efforts. He continually pushes the envelope of what’s possible in this modern era and is widely regarded among his peers as very innovative and highly creative in his approach. “Own your brand, own your customers.”John North Worst investment everJohn had a software distribution company on one side of Australia, and his competitor had a similar company on the other side. The two had healthy competition, each with their customers.The mergerJohn and his competitor decided that it was a good idea for the two businesses to merge and distribute their products together. So they did a 50/50 partner split. The merger seemed good and legit to John.Jumping the gunThe two soon-to-be partners set a date to sign the merger documents in Sydney. Even before the ink could dry on the signed papers, his former competitor had announced the merger to everyone without John’s consent. This move severed relationships with some of their customers. John had to do a lot of damage control.The competition withinWithin six months, John found out that his new business partner had set up another business inside their business. He was trading with this other company. He also put all the good employees and programs in his side of the business, instead of the partnership.Parting waysThe partnership was quickly going south. John decided to buy out his business partner. He offered him $500,000, which he promptly accepted.The supplier from hellJohn’s supplier decided to bring someone else into the country to distribute the same stuff and steal all his customers. John and his supplier had a war over customers for a whole year. John’s business was losing money due to this trade war.John’s last option was to sell the company and start something different. He found a buyer, but he never recovered the money he lost in the merger.Lessons learnedNever trust your supplierSuppliers are smarter than you think. So be careful not to let them outsmart you.Own your stuffBe careful about being the distributor because it is easy to get screwed when you are the middleman.Andrew’s takeawaysBusinesses are about trust and personalitiesYour product is a secondary item. The people that you work with and the trust that you have are what make your business. A lot of young people overlook the trust element.Don’t let fear blind youTake a step back from the deals you’re doing right now and assess whether you are doing them because of fear. Sometimes fear is very healthy, but other times it drives us to consider doing something that may not make sense. It drives us to do things too quickly and not pay attention to the details.Actionable adviceDon’t make business decisions out of fear. Step back and think things through.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsJohn’s number one goal is to get his software off the ground, particularly in the area of podcasting.Parting words “Own your stuff. And always be looking at the big picture.”John NorthConnect with John NorthLinkedInTwitterFacebookWebsiteBlogAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Frank Agin works to empower small businesses to achieve more by helping them create dynamic professional relationships. He does this by operating a membership-based referral program called AmSpirit Business Connection and shares insightful content via his Networking RX podcast, articles, and books. Learn all about Frank here. “Everybody I know can benefit from somebody else I know.”Frank Agin Worst investment everFrank worked for a while as a tax consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the most prestigious public accounting firms. He left the job and got paid his pension. Frank decided to invest that pension and 401k.Working with the familiarFrank approached a financial advisor he had met at PricewaterhouseCoopers. The man was on the board of some of the clients Frank had worked with. Frank, therefore, trusted him and chose him to be his financial advisor. Frank didn’t bother to find out more about him. Working for his former firm was enough credibility for Frank to trust him with his money.The advisor with no adviceThis was Frank’s first investment, and he didn’t know much about investing. He thus just went with the flow. The financial advisor would call Frank once every six months with a few updates on how the stocks were performing. He never gave Frank advice on how to improve his portfolio.Whenever Frank would make suggestions, the financial advisor would brush them off. Frank ended up missing out on so many investment opportunities. The financial advisor didn’t seem to have time for Frank and wasn’t too bothered about getting to know him and what he truly needed as an investor.Going for some who truly caredWhen he left his previous job, Frank ended up in a smaller investment firm where he occasionally engaged with one of the financial advisors. This advisor would randomly offer Frank advice on how to best invest his money even though he was still working with his old financial advisor.Frank grew to like the new financial advisor as he seemed to care more about his financial well being. Eventually, Frank decided to drop his old financial advisor and started working with the new one, who continues to be his advisor to date.Lessons learnedKnow your customers by building relationships with themYou need to know your customers and have a relationship with them and your vendors. We do business with those we know, like, and trust.Andrew’s takeawaysCheap is expensiveGoing with the lowest cost supplier is probably the most expensive thing you can do. You may think you’re cutting corners, and you’re getting something cheap, but chances are, you’re getting it super expensive.Actionable adviceYou need to get to know whoever is in your world. Engage with people whenever you have the opportunity. When you’re vetting vendors or looking to hire somebody, make sure you engage with them to know them better.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsFrank’s number one goal is to keep meeting people and grow his networks.Parting words “Find something you’re passionate about and volunteer. It’s a wonderful thing that will make you feel good and connect you to people that you didn’t even know existed.”Frank Agin [spp-transcript] Connect with Frank AginLinkedInTwitterFacebookWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Hala Taha is the host of Young and Profiting Podcast, a top 10 Self-Improvement podcast on Apple with over 1 million downloads. She recently launched YAP Media, a full-service podcast production and marketing agency for top podcasters, celebrities and CEOs projected to generate over $2M in revenue in its first year. Hala is also known for her engaged following and influence on LinkedIn. “It’s always great to evolve your dream.”Hala Taha Worst investment everHala is a natural-born leader. So it was no surprise that when she joined Hewlett-Packard (HP) as an intern, she was burning to take on some leadership role. Previous to joining HP, Hala was the CEO of a company of 50 girls. She also was the President of her Alumni Association.Jumping heart in into a leadership opportunityHala saw an opportunity to start the young employee network chapter in New Jersey, where she was stationed. She went around the office, got signatures, and started the network from scratch.At the time, Hala’s company office had no culture. She went in there and infused everything with culture. She started the company holiday party and did a fantastic company summer picnic every year, which the company still does.Putting her soul into itHala put a lot of time into the young employee network. She would work full time during the day, and then at night, she would be working on the young employee network. She was so passionate about it and loved being a leader.Getting the recognitionHala quickly became the face of the young employee network. She was the President of her chapter for two years. Her hard work at the network got her great visibility with the CEO.Going higherHala wanted to keep growing and take her leadership skills to the next level. The next logical phase for her was the global young employee network. Here, the leaders from all the chapters around the world run all of the young employee networks and set the global strategy.Hala had her foot in the door as the recruitment director for the young employee network globally. She took advantage of this role and started a global event for Hewlett-Packard called HP Spirit Week. This is a week-long themed event. It became a huge event that they still do.The letdownStarting this event made Hala stand out in the entire company. All her peers agreed she was doing the President’s job. In her fourth year in the young employee network, she vied to be President. She had earned it. Hala had done everything right. She was President of her chapter for two years; she did the HP Spirit Week and knocked that out of the park. She had like 50 people that wanted her to be president record video nominations. Her board wanted her to be President.But the ultimate decision-maker was this lady who was the HR director, and she didn’t like Hala. When it was time for Hala to become President, she gave it to somebody else who had zero experience. Hala was crushed. She was so confused. She had put in almost four years, that she could have worked on a side hustle, into this young employee network thing.Hala felt so devastated to have made her worst investment ever by investing all her time into something she was never rewarded for. She left HP and went to Disney after that because she felt burned.Lessons learnedInvest your time in an asset that you ownInvest your time in something that you can take with you wherever you go, no matter what job you’re in and where you are in life. Do this instead of investing in a company that you will leave behind.You’ll always have your brandYour brand never leaves you, your network never leaves you, but your job can leave you at any time. Job security is no security, so invest in your brand.Andrew’s takeawaysWhat is your differentiating point?To be successful in anything you’re doing, you’ve got to figure out your differentiating point. A lot of young people getting into the workforce come with nothing that differentiates themselves. You’ve got to stand out to succeed.The best people don’t always rise to the topSuccess is not all about hard work. You can prepare, work hard, study, and bring that value to your company. But, success is 50% hard work and 50% relationships.You can edge out the big guysAs a small and medium-sized business, attack the weakness of your big giant competitors. Figure out that one thing that they do not do well, and do it amazingly.Invest in life skillsInvest in personal development skills such as writing, leadership, presenting, public speaking, etc. Life skills will add value to your company. But most importantly, they are transferable skills that you can take with you wherever you go.Actionable adviceWhen you’re in the moment, and you want something really bad, think to yourself: “Is this something I could do on my own? Do I need a gatekeeper to tell me “yes”? Is this something that I can start on my own, and I could own whatever I’m working on?”If the answers are “yes,” and you feel like you can do it on your own, don’t go work for another person. Don’t go intern for that person. Don’t go volunteer for that person; go do it on your own. Start your own thing.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsHala’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to see the Young and Profiting podcast become a top 10 education podcast on Apple. [spp-transcript] Connect with Hala TahaLinkedInTwitterInstagramWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Rune Sovndahl is the co-founder of Fantastic Services – an international brand with 10+ years of experience that combines technological innovations with bespoke customer care to deliver services for the home, office, and garden.Rune is Danish but moved to London 20 years ago to study for a BA (Hons) in Business Information Systems Design at South Bank University. Following the completion of his degree, he was accepted into a graduate program with British Telecom.In 2003 he also established the European Young Professionals committee in London and was involved in its website’s creation and the recruitment of more than 200 new members. Most recently, he worked for lastminute.com as Head of SEO. “For any investment that you get into, be prepared to lose it all.”Rune Sovndahl Worst investment everRune was running a successful business, and he had managed to put aside some good savings for 12 years. He decided that he wanted to invest this money in something that would make him a good return. So he started researching possible investment ideas.Getting some of the Amazon pieRune came across Fulfillment by Amazon, something he found quite fascinating, and after he did his math, he saw that he could make some pretty good money. So he got into this.Mixing business with friendshipAt the time, Rune had a friend he had worked with for a couple of years on many other things. Rune spoke to his friend about his new investment, and they agreed to run it together. They signed a contract, got the paperwork in order, and the partnership was good on paper.Return on investmentThe business picked up, and Rune started getting good returns. It grew into something useful, and there was money continually going into their Amazon account.Though Rune was busy with his other businesses, he would occasionally check on the account and confirm that everything was ok.Getting blockedRune’s account got blocked at some point, so they had to set up another one with a different company name and details. In the process, the money in the previous account was moved to the new one.Suddenly, Rune’s login details would not work for the new account. But since he still had access to the spreadsheet with the money details, he didn’t pay much attention to the logins.Bleeding dryMoney over time stopped going into the Amazon account, and when it came back, it was transferred to another account, which wasn’t Rune’s bank account. Suddenly there was no more money in the Amazon account.Rune was notified that the account was shut down. He found this strange because, as far as he knew, they were still in business. He tried to log in, but it said the account was shut down. That’s when Rune found out that all the money they had made was gone. His trusted friend had siphoned all of it.Lessons learnedPartner with people who have something of vested interestWhen partnering with people, even if you have the correct paperwork in place, these people should have assets or anything else that is of value. This makes it easy for you to recover your investment should the deal go sour.Don’t let past success blind youMost investors think that because they’re successful and what they want to invest in somehow seems easy, they can do it. You realize later that that’s not true.Be careful who you trustWhen getting into partnerships, most people trust blindly. They believe their partners have the same integrity as them and, therefore, expect them to deliver the end of their bargain faithfully.Be prepared for lossesFor any investment that you go into, be prepared to lose it all. Have a stop loss for all your investments to protect your downside.Andrew’s takeawaysThere’s a difference between a business operator and an investorThere are so many people who are very confident and very successful as business operators, but when they take their money and invest in something, it doesn’t go the same way. Be careful because this kind of overconfidence can spill over and ruin your investment portfolio.Prepare for lossThink about the investments you have and the ones you’re considering making and ask yourself how you can lose on them. Don’t get stuck with telling yourself that you are not going to lose. Always ask yourself how can you lose in this situation and come up with ways to protect yourself from losses.Be careful when granting people access to your accountsPut securities in place before you share access to your accounts with anyone, including your managers.Actionable adviceManage your accounts, no matter how busy you are. Do not give complete access to other people.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsRune’s goal for the next 12 months is to attract the right people for his next challenge to create 1,000 millionaires.Parting words “We have to remind ourselves of some of our losses and some of our failures in order to get stronger.”Rune Sovndahl [spp-transcript] Connect with Rune SovndahlLinkedInInstagramTwitterWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

A recovering, hard-driving leader with over 35 years of sales, marketing, educational and entrepreneurial experience, Professor Pete Alexander successfully battled the negative effects of stress head-on and developed the LIGHTEN™ stress management model that will motivate you and your team to take action in only a few minutes per day.After learning the stress management techniques, participants can better become leaders teams want to follow rather than hide from.Professor Pete has an Amazon best-selling book titled LIGHTEN Your Day and hosts a popular 7-minute podcast on LinkedIn titled Winning at Business and Life. “Not all stress is bad. There’s good stress, and there is negative stress.”Pete Alexander Worst investment everPete was interested in investing in real estate and happened to have a friend living in California who knew a real estate agent who could help him find a property to invest in. Pete’s friend made arrangements for the agent to come from Arizona and talk to Pete and other friends interested in real estate investing.Cheap government housesThe agent told them that the federal government was offering houses for 1% down because these houses were mortgaged to military personnel who got moved, and now they were open and vacant, and they had to get rid of them.The agent gave them brochures on the different houses and information about how much cash they stood to make. There was also the added benefit of, besides being a real estate agent, the gentleman was also a property manager, and his company would be able to get renters for the investors.Additionally, Pete and his friends would not have to put a lot of money down, and the renters would pay the mortgage for them. The deal was a no brainer. They were sold on the idea.Real estate investment deal too good to say no toPete and his wife went ahead and took a second mortgage out on their house and invested $100,000 into this opportunity. Lo and behold, they ended up with three houses in Phoenix and two houses in Las Vegas because there was a mixup in what the agent said they thought Pete wanted and what they bid on for him. So now he had five houses. Interestingly, Pete and his wife only physically saw one of those five houses, and that one house was the only one that they didn’t lose money on. The other four were an absolute disaster.The property manager who couldn’t do his jobThree of the four houses were almost impossible to rent because the property manager’s office was so far away that people who wanted to look at the houses couldn’t manage to drive to him and then go to the house. So logistically, it didn’t work. The property manager would also not respond to renters who were having issues with the homes. So people would get fed up and leave the houses in a mess.Cash flow nightmareSo here was Pete with five full-price mortgages that had turned into a cash flow nightmare. It took him years to recover from that disaster.Lessons learnedIf it sounds too good to be true, it isFor any kind of investing, if it seems too good to be true, it is.Hire the right property managerIf you’re planning to have investment properties where people lease your houses, make sure you hire a property manager that has excellent reviews, is proactive, and operates close to your property.Research the markets you’re investing inBefore you invest in any market, find out what it is all about. What are the trends? What is the situation in terms of landlord versus renters?Consider all the costs incurredWhen you calculate how much you’re going to get in rent versus the mortgage cost and taxes, factor in a higher cost for maintenance because there will always be unexpected things happening.Andrew’s takeawaysReal estate investment needs workPeople say that real estate brings passive income, but real estate’s not really passive; there’s a lot of work involved.Your property manager mattersGet the right property manager and keep them close by. Property managers do a lot of work, so you better find the right one.Consider liquidity and legalityThe advantage of investing in the stock market, unlike other investments, is that there’s ample liquidity. If you want to get out of something, you can do it. Also, the legal structure is generally in your favor.Actionable adviceDo your homework, if you have money to invest, consider real estate, consider stocks, whatever it is, but remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it absolutely is.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsPete’s number one goal for the next 12 months is to launch a 30-day stress-buster challenge starting next month. He plans to offer it every couple of months. [spp-transcript] Connect with Pete AlexanderLinkedInTwitterFacebookInstagramWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Marcia Daszko is one of the world’s leading business strategists and catalysts for leadership and organizational transformation. She believes and teaches innovation in leadership thinking. She has 25 years of proven success as a Founder and CEO of a consulting firm, Marcia Daszko & Associates, and is an executive team workshop facilitator.She is also a researcher and graduate-level teacher, a keynote speaker, an award-winning writer and communicator, and an executive advisor to Fortune 500 corporations, private companies, government agencies; educational institutions; and global non-profit organizations. She is most recently the author of Pivot, Disrupt, Transform: How Leaders Beat the Odds and Survive. “Break down the barriers, silos, and hierarchies. Get out of the traditional mindsets that you have created, and instead ask yourself if you’re getting the results that you want.”Marcia Daszko Worst investment everMarcia was a stickler to societal norms. She went to school, got good grades, made it to the dean’s list, and went on to get a good job.Never questioning the systemThroughout her career, Marcia’s goal was to do the right thing and be the best employee possible. She concentrated on performing well in her performance appraisals, so she followed the rules. She was ok with the way her life was going and never questioned the system.Forming her way of thinkingOne day, Marcia’s boss sent her to attend Dr. Edward Deming’s four-day seminar in San Diego. She got to interact with Dr. Deming even after the workshop. Dr. Deming became Marcia’s mentor and taught her his concepts.Over time, Marcia started questioning the status quo and what society had taught her was the way to build her life and be successful. She started questioning things and thinking more about what success truly meant to her.Lessons learnedIt’s not all about good grades and being the best employeeLet go of things like grades and performance appraisals. But more importantly, think about what you are trying to accomplish before you let all of those things get in your way.Andrew’s takeawaysBe wary of internal competitionInternal competition is one of the things that we think is good but takes away the joy of learning. This kills the massive potential we have because you just concentrate on hitting targets and numbers, not on self-improvement.Be an independent thinkerTrue independence is the independence of thinking. It doesn’t mean you have to oppose every idea, just form your independent way of thinking. Allow yourself to think and question things.Actionable adviceIt’s essential to question. But use strategic thinking and questioning. Don’t just go out and question everything for the heck of it; understand where you’re coming from and where you want to go.Parting words “Reach out, ask questions.”Marcia Daszko [spp-transcript] Connect with Marcia DaszkoLinkedInTwitterFacebookWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever Podcast

Dr. Julian Hosp is the largest crypto influencer in the German-speaking world, with over 90,000 followers on YouTube. He has written many articles and spoken at many blockchain conferences.He is a medical doctor and ex-professional athlete, and CEO co-founder of Cake, and chairman of DeFiChain Foundation.His vision is to bring blockchain awareness and understanding to a billion more people by 2025.You can find a large collection of his articles on his blog. “It’s way easier to invest by trying not to be wrong, rather than by trying to be right.”Julian Hosp Worst investment everAt 22, Julian was a successful professional athlete living his best life. He had about $100,000 in savings that was just sitting in the bank. Julian had no intention of investing the money as he knew nothing about investing.Pressured into his first investmentJulian happened to go to Brazil for training, where he met a fellow Austrian named Ralph. Ralph was a super friendly dude, and Julian got along with him just fine.Ralph told Julian about this fantastic investment opportunity that he wanted him to invest in. It was a new lot right at the beach that would get converted into actual construction land. He was looking for people to buy parcels of this land because he could split this up, and it would be easier to develop. Ralph made the investment look super exclusive and such a no brainer deal that was going to make Julian a millionaire.Putting in his entire savingsEven though Julian had no clue about real estate investing, Ralph was compelling and made him feel like he had to move fast else he’d miss out on the deal of a lifetime. Julian decided to invest and handed Ralph $80,000.Here come the cricketsJulian left Brazil a month later, and that was the last he heard of Ralph and his investment. After weeks of trying to reach Ralph endlessly without any success, it dawned on Julian that he had been duped into making his worst investment ever.Lessons learnedTake your time to recover an investment lossWhen you lose money, don’t try to get it back straight away. You might end up retaking the same stupid risks. Take some time to let the emotions cool down before you try something else.Learn to win by knowing when to exitIf you want to learn to win in investing, you must know when to quit. Have an exit plan, and make sure you understand how it works. You need to have a plan for when things are not working out. This prevents emotions from getting in the way of deciding to exit an investment.Don’t be pressured into investingWhenever you feel pressured by someone to make an investment, step away immediately and take time to think about it on your own.Become a strong diversifierFocus on diversification because out of 10 to 15 investments, probably just a couple will fail, and the rest will cover the loss.Andrew’s takeawaysTake your emotions out of investingLosing is two and a half times more emotionally painful than the joy of winning. You must take emotion out of investing.Build trust firstBuild trust with the people you want to make a financial investment with before you seal the deal.Actionable adviceLimit your access or the speed of access to making investment decisions. If possible, have strategies and tools in place that slow you down from buying and selling something to give you time to think about it.No. 1 goal for the next 12 monthsJulian just became a father and so his number one goal for the next 12 months is to spend more time with his son and provide him with a successful first year.Parting words “Try not to be wrong instead of trying to be right. It’s hard trying to be right all the time.”Julian Hosp [spp-transcript] Connect with Julian HospLinkedInTwitterWebsiteAndrew’s booksHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketMy Worst Investment Ever9 Valuation Mistakes and How to Avoid ThemTransform Your Business with Dr.Deming’s 14 PointsAndrew’s online programsValuation Master ClassHow to Start Building Your Wealth Investing in the Stock MarketFinance Made Ridiculously SimpleBecome a Great Presenter and Increase Your InfluenceTransform Your Business with Dr. Deming’s 14 PointsConnect with Andrew Stotz:astotz.comLinkedInFacebookInstagramTwitterYouTubeMy Worst Investment Ever PodcastFurther reading mentionedJason Zweig (2007), Your Money and Your Brain: How the New Science of Neuroeconomics Can Help Make You Rich