Best of 2022
The year that was and my plans for 2023
Happy New Year everyone!
I want to take a moment to thank all of you for your continued support and encouragement throughout the past year. I can’t believe that more than 29,000 people are reading my thoughts every week! I truly cherish your support. Here's to a successful and prosperous 2023.
2022 was a really tough year to be an investor. And no, this is not that situation where the market drops 10% and spooks the new investors. The S&P 500 is down 20%, bonds have had their worst year since the 18th century and the “safe” 60/40 stock bond portfolio had its worst year since the Great Depression!
Even though most of you are bearish based on the poll that I conducted last week, we might have already seen the worst as inflation seems to be slowing down and the Fed is rethinking the pace at which they are hiking rates.
I am planning to share my detailed investing plan for 2023 in my next deep dive on Wednesday. Meanwhile, here are some of the best videos I have created last year!
How Much Money MrBeast Makes | The Full Story
In September, I was lucky enough to get behind-the-scenes insight into how one of the most successful creators of all time manages his business. In a candid interview, MrBeast takes me through his journey from humble beginnings to becoming the highest-paid creator on YouTube.
There are a few specific things that I have noticed in folks who are incredibly successful: a tremendous passion for what they are doing, a near obsession with producing the highest quality work, and an ability to put in ungodly hours no matter how well they are doing. MrBeast describes himself as working pretty much every waking hour since he was 11 years old and tells me about how the walls in his studio are whiteboards to chart out thoughts any time inspiration strikes.
In this video, he gives me a tour of his studio, plans for future videos, and his latest venture: Feastable snacks and burgers. Most importantly, MrBeast talks about his work philosophy and why he puts in 12-hour days despite having an estimated $50 Million net worth, so make sure you watch this one!
How To Use The 2023 Recession To Get Rich
There is a popular saying that ‘Riches are made in recessions’ and a casual look at the headlines suggests that we might be on the cusp of another recession. 9 out of 10 CEOs are bracing for a recession, CFOs are cutting costs and we’re seeing an increasing number of instances containing the ominous keyword, ‘since 2008’.
Now, in almost all recessions, we see a significant rise in unemployment, a drop in wages and earnings, and an overall loss of consumer confidence. However, crucially, we also see a drop in the price of major investment vehicles like stocks and real estate.
A key path towards taking advantage of a recession is by taking advantage of the low competition and purchasing assets that go on sale. In this video, I explain how the major investment vehicles are affected during a recession, the importance of holding cash as an asset, and why it is important to act quickly before the opportunity goes away.
Dave Ramsey Reacts To My 25 Million Dollar Investment
Dave Ramsey is a household name for most Americans, however, even some of my viewers might not know about all his endeavors. Dave is most popular for his nationally syndicated radio program, ‘The Ramsey Show’, where he mainly provides personal finance advice to live callers. He is also a prolific real estate investor, who, like me, got his real estate license right out of high school. After going through bankruptcy in the late 80s, he turned his life around and has now amassed a real estate portfolio of nearly $600 Million.
I met Dave Ramsey and discussed a bunch of topics including his lifestyle, disdain for credit cards, reaching a milestone of $1 Million in donations, dealing with guilty expenditures, and how he built one of the most successful personal finance businesses in the world. In a fascinating conversation, he reveals the lessons he learned from interacting with Billionaires and how almost all of them found their success by growing a business and taking it public. Dave cautions how the climb towards building a successful business is always going to be difficult, but in the end, it will turn out to be a gratifying journey.
However, the biggest takeaway from the meeting was his advice on ‘Failing Forward’. He emphasizes that pretty much every successful person stands on a pile of failures, and how 90% of his ideas didn’t pan out, but the 10% that worked out made him who he is today. Dave also describes how the digital world has provided so many new opportunities for our generation and gives personal insights on how to start a successful business, so make sure you watch this one!
Inside The Millionaire Empire Of Doug DeMuro
This is Doug Demuro and he is not like any other businessman that I have ever seen. He hasn’t changed his style in 7 years, still films his videos with an iPhone, and doesn’t have a team or fancy equipment. In spite of all this, he has managed to create one of the largest automotive channels in the world!
In this video, we sit down with Doug and pull back the curtains on his business, finances, and much more…
The Auto Bubble
Just when you thought 2022 couldn’t possibly get any worse, it was found that car repossessions had exploded. Since 2020, the price of automobiles had been skyrocketing from a combination of excess demand, a shortage of parts, and loose lending requirements. I am particularly proud to have caught the signs so early… and we are now starting to see a new wave of repossessions!
So that’s it for my Sunday round-up. For the new folks here, in this newsletter, I give a quick recap of whatever you may have missed over the week on Sunday, and on Wednesday, I will be doing my deep-dive article on one of these topics.
See you next week with another bunch of exciting videos!
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Once again wish you all a Happy New Year :)
As always, an excellent read. Happy New Year Graham!
Graham you are working hard!