When it comes to learning the stock market, or anything for that matter, you may encounter some negative people. But it is important that you have The Four Pillars in your life to make it to your mastery.
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I was recently invited to speak to a company about investing. As we got about half-way through the presentation, one of the employees said “I call bull-s*** on what you are teaching”. And I was shocked at this of course, but it made me think about how we need pillars in our life when we are learning. I am going to break down the four types of learning and the four types of people you need in those quadrants. Try and identify yourself and see who you are in this process. You can graduate from each step… BUT there are a couple of places that you do not want to stay in for long, otherwise you will become Negative Nancy and end up skeptical. Also think about your friends and co-workers and see where they all fit…
Four Pillars of Learning:
1. Unconscious Incompetence
This first stage is when you don’t even know when something exists. Some people don’t even understand that a stock market is out there, and that you can own part of a company.
2. Conscious Incompetence
The second stage means that you know that there is something that you do not know. “I know that it exists – I just don’t know how it works”.
3. Conscious Competence
The third stage means you know that you know. You have to think about it, it isn’t second nature yet. You are still learning the game.
4. Unconscious Competence
The fourth level is where you want to be. Like Michael Jordan with basketball – he does what he does, skills kick in. It is second nature and he doesn’t have to think about it.
So let’s break every pillar down:
Pillar One: Unconscious Incompetence
This is where the young man from the seminar was at. Characteristics of people in this pillar can be scary. They are unaware and do not know what is possible in the stock market (or any other industry), so typically their nature is skeptical. I was invited to speak at this seminar, yet this young gentlemen was skeptical and caused him to cuss at the stock market idea. I could get offended, or take a step back and ask where this is really coming from. He was saying he was skeptical and also cynical because if this really were that easy, wouldn’t everyone be doing it? In his mind.
People say stuff to me like, “If you are making so much money in the market, why do you teach it?” To me that is one of the most ignorant questions you could ask. Who do you want up here teaching it, someone not making money? Like if I were so good, why would I bother teaching it? Well, what if I brought up someone up here that was horrible at trading to teach it?
I bring this up because you have to analyze where people like this are coming from. And they are just skeptical! They’re cynical, and they doubt.
And they also have friends who don’t believe.
They do not want you to leave the group, to break away and try something different. When you do, it puts a spotlight on the fact that they are not doing something new. This is with anything in life. They are unaware and they doubt and try to make you second guess if this is something you really want to go after
These people are sometimes in your life as coworkers, friends, maybe even your spouse.
You have a choice when you encounter them – do I go back and do what I have always done, or push through and prove them wrong and prove to myself I can go in a different direction?
If you are this person in this stage right now, I want you to ask yourself: Do I have a reason to be cynical, to doubt? Or should I be opening my mind and listening, perhaps someone else knows something I do not know?
Only you can make that decision if you are in this phase.
Typically when its new and money is involved, we have always been taught if it’s too good to be true than it is. And that is true about a lot of things. But we make the mistake of automatically shutting the door instead of investigating for ourselves whether it is or not.
Pillar Two: Conscious Incompetence
This person is aware that there is something they do not know – but they are aware it is possible. Maybe a friend of theirs is starting to make money in the stock market. At this phase, you know that it is possible – but you do not know how to make it work for you at this moment.
This is when you begin your search.
Maybe you YouTube one of my free videos or someone else’s to get started, or listening to investing podcasts *ahem* like the one above ^. Maybe you start with something small, like learning how to get out of debt, because you have seen it been done and you now want to know how you can make it work for you.
In this stage, this is one of the best, because you are not just unaware, you are now aware of what is financially available to you, you just are incompetent to how it works.
This means you are open to learning.
You start to discover the different types of trading out there – “Hmm, do I day trade? Do I invest some of my 401K? Do I trade options?”
You are aware that people invest. You just don’t have the nuts and bolts to make it work for you YET.
This is when you can consume the free content! Take it all in. In fact I have a free online webinar where I break down how the stock market works and how to use call and put options to super charge your trades in good markets and protect your account in bad markets. You can register for one of the upcoming sessions here.
This is what will start to satisfy your curiosity. You will get familiar with terms and basic strategy. BUT if you dive in to the deep in of the pool, you may make some mistakes because at this level you are not an expert yet.
Sometimes at this level, you could get caught up in: “I knew this wouldn’t work” when you make an initial mistake.
But remember: You are still only at the free information! You are only at phase 2! It can be confusing with all of the ideas out there.
Be aware of negative voices – whether it’s of others’ or your own. And be aware that this is the level where you will make mistakes because you are determining different styles and different opinions.
What’s important at this step is to understand what YOUR goals are and start to which training and methodology align with your goals.
For example, when I first started in this industry, I used to be a day trader. But as I matured in this industry I realized that sitting in front of the computer every day for 8 hours didn’t allow me the freedom that I wanted to have and that this industry does offer. It would be like another job. That wasn’t the long-term lifestyle I wanted – I want to be with my family, have the freedom to travel, and so on.
So you may hear someone say that day trading is the best and the way to go, and then my opinion where I prefer option trading because it fits my goals better. So I choose to invest this way, but someone who is 70 or 80 years of age may only invest in dividends because they can’t take the highs and lows of tech stocks.
The point? You have to first determine what your goals are.
Then as you sift through the free content, you can determine which methods fit YOUR goals personally. See who’s thinking and goals align with yours. Not just from a money perspective, but from a lifestyle and mindset perspective too.
It’s not good enough for you to say – “I want to make some extra money in the stock market”, but HOW? Do you want to day trade and make a little money every day? Do you want to do what we do with option trading and get high returns where we don’t have to check it everyday? Do you want to trade dividends which takes awhile but is consistent?
There is no right or wrong, there is only having a game plan or not having a game plan.
Pillar Three: Conscious Competence
At this level you are willing to try and are actively looking for solutions. You tried it – maybe have had some success. Now you are ready for the premium courses or software. You look to someone else who has lived through this game for awhile and now has the short cuts and tried and true strategies to learn from.
You do not have to make the same mistakes, hook your caboose up to someone else’s train and get COACHED.
This is the level where you are willing to pay for information.
It is now not a matter of “Does this work?” It’s: “How do I make it work BETTER and FASTER?”
When you are open to additional training, that is what you are looking for – how to do it better and faster.
But at this level, impatience may kick in. It’s working – but maybe not as fast as you want. The problem with that is you start at the bottom of the ladder again – to stage 1. If you start thinking, “Maybe I should learn something new – maybe now it’s real estate”. Now you are back to the free info, and you have to make your way alllll the way back to stage 3 (which is where you already were at!)
Every time you switch – you typically go back to the bottom of the ladder.
Pillar 3 is NOT about giving up or getting impatient when it doesn’t work out like you thought. Typically businesses see success after 5 years of business or 10,000 hours to become an expert at a craft.
This is where you need to hunker down and say “I am close!”
Even if you only have 1,000 hours in six months in, you’re that much closer! You only got 9,000 hours left to go, and that is better than 10,000.
Seek out people and methods who are doing it BETTER and FASTER than you are at this stage and LEARN from them. Stick to your plan – do not let impatience draw you away from your game plan.
You already set your goals and find out the way that you want to trade to align with them, and then someone can come along, tap you on the shoulder and say, “You should trade Forex”. So then you switch. Then it’s penny stocks. Then its crypto currency. So now you are switching all the time.
There is a difference between seeking other methods and coaching that support what you are already doing and an unhealthy balance of switching industries and styles.
The healthy version is saying how do I make THIS work better and faster?
Pillar Four: Unconscious Competence
This is the level of MASTERY. At this level, you have had success and are confident. This is where it becomes second nature to you.
One day my account is down 100K next day it’s up 100K. This is not me bragging – it is just routine and second nature where you do not become emotional about it. You know the stock market.
For Warren Buffet, he is probably down 1 million and up 1 million in the same day. He doesn’t panic or get nervous – he has done it again over and over again. The market goes up – it goes down.
You are not as emotional as you were – this is apart of the game. You win some, you lose some. You just want to make sure you are NET positive! If you lose a couple hundred, you know you’ll gain a couple thousand.
The issue is – most people do not allow enough time to let themselves get to this level. Some do not have the patience to attain it BUT we all want the RESULTS of mastery level.
Most people want a 4-yr degree in the first year. That makes no sense. You would never go into college and say, “If I can’t get this degree in year one – this doesn’t work and I want my money back.” If you flunk 1 or 2 courses you do NOT drop out and give up. You hire a tutor, you study and put more into it, and dissect the problem and how to get over it to get the degree.
The Stock Market is no different: You need to move up all four pillars to get really confident and gain mastery level.
You cannot substitute time for this. You only become a master over time – and from doing something over and over again. And most people don’t stick with it to get their 10,000 so that they can get so good they don’t need to think about it.
Where are YOU at in these pillars?
Go back through all 4 stages… and see where you are currently at. If you are at stage 1 or 2, then I would encourage you to SIGN UP for my free online training webinar
For those who are at pillar 3, get serious about your trading. Consider joining a coaching program or get a higher course.
Or if you aspire to be at 4, you only get there by putting in the time and honing in your skill. Even at this level, you NEED to have a coach and community to stay accountable, to tell you when you are getting cocky.
I would LOVE to know:
- Where you are at in these pillars of learning?
- What are you going to do to move yourself up through the ranks?
Tag me on instagram @brownreport or send us an email info@thebrownreport.com and let me know.