It's Not Easy . . .

I've always enjoyed the following quote:

It's not easy to get rich in Las Vegas, at Churchill Downs or at the local Merrill Lynch office.

- Paul A. Samuelson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Economist, Nobel Laureate in Economics

So, where can one get rich? 

And is it easy?

I think, among other means, the path to wealth lies in a well-diversified, low-cost portfolio of asset class funds that cover all types of companies and asset classes in all types of markets all across the globe. 

And I'm not alone in this opinion. 

There are tons of data and research that support this approach and its success over various market environments and long periods of time.

But, is it easy?

I would have to say "No", it's not easy. 

Simple? Yep.

Easy? Nope.

If it were, then everyone would be wealthy.

I think it's very simple to build wealth, but, based on the public record, it's obviously not "easy".

If it were easy, you wouldn't be tempted to sell when instead you should be investing more of your capital at lower market prices. 

You wouldn't have to fight the urge to speculate instead of being a patient investor. 

You wouldn't be moving money to bonds when you should be adding to your stock allocation or vice versa.

Can you see where I'm going with this?

The difficulty is not with the market or investments or even the "local Merrill Lynch office". 

The difficulty is the manifestation of our own emotions -- primarily driven by fear or greed -- that lead us to make decisions that can have a negative impact our wealth building ambitions.

Think about that, and please post any thoughts to the comments section below.