The Downside of Success

When I was a kid, one of my goals was to be a businessman and enjoy abundant wealth. I grew up middle class; my parents both had good, stable jobs - my dad was in the union and my mom was a nurse - and we had pretty nice things. New cars, summer camp, piano lessons, a pool table in the basement. But my parents still stressed about money. There never seemed to be enough.

A seven figure portfolio was supposed to eliminate all that stress. For years, my stress was caused by concerns that I wouldn't earn enough money, or save enough, or invest enough. But even now, I still feel stressed.

Warren Buffett says there are 2 rules to achieving wealth: 1) never lose money and 2) never forget rule number 1.

When you're starting out, you tend to focus on making and saving and investing money.

But once you have money, you focus on how not to lose it.

​Money-related stress may be inevitable after all.