Around 3000 years ago Homer wrote his epic poem the Odyssey about the ten year homeward journey of Ulysses (Odysseus) after the Trojan War. It seems like it’s an epic poem, but it’s really a handbook for modern investing.
Consider, Ulysses was sailing past the isle of the Sirens, whose song was so sweet it would lead men to sail to the deaths. He actually used two methods to deal with the problem. He had his ship’s crew plug their ears with wax, and then had them tie him to the mast of his ship so he couldn’t do anything stupid. Doing that saved Ulysses ship.
Today, you hear the call of the financial Sirens all the time, on CNBC, from the stock broker who calls you up about that great new stock, or from the private real estate trust company with a ’guaranteed’ 7% return. And just like Ulysses you can deal with it one of two ways. You can either put wax in your ears and never listen, or you can have your ’crew’ (family and friends) tie you to the mast so you don’t do something stupid. Ulysses stayed the course, and eventually found his way home. For you to eventually find your way to financial security, it will probably pay for you too to ignore the Sirens, one way or another.