Investing and Work Culture Aren't Playgrounds: Get Real or Get Out
If you’re not ready to take full responsibility, both the stock market and your job will chew you up and spit you out.
A warm hello to all new readers! I’m glad you are on board.
New here? I’m Michael and the founder of TheValueVantage.com and on a mission to make beating the stock market as easy for you as choosing your favorite ice cream.
How it all started.
It’s time to drop the fluff, own your role, and stop pretending everyone can be a leader. Investing isn’t a fantasy movie with a guaranteed happy end,
and neither is your job—wake up and deliver.
Everybody wants to make big bucks in the stock market, but most people are terrified of losing any. It’s like trying to take a shower without getting wet. You can’t have one without the other. And if you don’t understand that, well ...
Too many people go into “investing” with a consumer mindset. They’re looking for the incentives, but they’re unwilling to take on the responsibilities. If you’re serious about making money in the stock market, it’s time to understand the difference between two types of investors—and only one will get you ahead.
The Core
An investor is someone who understands risk, accepts it, and prepares for it. Investors know that things aren’t always going to go their way. They enter the market with open eyes, ready for the good and the ugly.
A consumer, on the other hand, wants to cherry-pick the benefits. They want the upside—the big returns and winning stocks—but they don’t want the risk. They think they can buy into the stock market the way they’d buy a new gadget with a 30-day-money-back guarantee. But it doesn’t work that way.
The market is not a customer service center, and it doesn’t care about your expectations or feelings.
Investors don’t just nod along with the idea of “taking responsibility”—they live it. And many consumer investors understand the words, but have no clue what they really mean.
The Difference
A consumer? The moment things get rough, they start looking for someone to blame. “It’s the market’s fault.” “It’s the broker’s fault.” “It’s bad luck.” Before that, they talk a big game about responsibility—until it’s time to actually shoulder and feel its weight. This is exactly the opposite of what you need to survive in this game.
If you’re in the market, you have to own every decision. You chose the investment; you chose the risk. If it doesn’t pan out, that’s on you. Period. Because, no one forced you to hit the “buy” button.
The Key
One of the biggest reasons people struggle to adopt an investor mindset is that they’ve never had to think nor live like a business owner. Most people approach the stock market with a consumer mindset because that’s what they know and are. They think about what they want to get out of an investment, but they don’t think about the work, strategy, and risk that go into making money. They can’t attach their mind to the process because they’ve never owned a business, so they have no real understanding of what it feels like to access an investment and take complete responsibility for outcomes.
Owning a business is messy with many ups and downs. You can’t just pick and choose the parts you like. Every decision, every win, every failure—all lands on you.
When you invest in a stock, you’re essentially buying a piece of a business. Many understand that. If you want to succeed, you need to think and act like an owner. This means understanding that setbacks are more likely than wins. You’ll have losing days, weeks, months—heck, sometimes even years. But instead of panicking or looking for someone to blame, you need to step back and ask yourself,
What’s my plan? How do I handle this?
That’s the mindset of a businessman.
People who lack real-life business experience might grasp this in theory, but they don’t really understand what it means to take full ownership because they’ve never had to.
So, if you want to be a better investor, first start thinking like a business owner.
Tough Love
If you feel a bit offended now – you don’t have an investor mindset. It’s as a simple as that. The best you should do? Buy a market index ETF and call it a day. You’ll capture average market returns, still get some sugar-coated “investor” feelings that pat your ego, but with a lot fewer decisions to agonize over.
The sooner you accept this, the better off you’ll be.
Let’s Finish This
Investing is responsibility — not in theory but in practice. Accept it, or you’re wasting your time and your money. Maybe that sounds harsh, but think of it as a reality check from someone who doesn’t want to see you self-destruct.
So, before you put a single cent into the market, ask yourself:
Am I really ready to take full responsibility for the outcome, whatever it may be?
If the answer is yes, then welcome to the casino. If it’s no, then it might be time to look elsewhere – and that’s ok.
The Mindset Shift
This isn’t about being pessimistic or cynical. It’s about understanding that true investors aren’t just optimists—they’re realists.
They know the market isn’t a one-way street and understand that there are no guarantees, and okay with it.
It’s simple—and difficult—at the same time.
As I said at the beginning.
You either take a shower and get wet, or you don’t. Otherwise, you’re just playing around with fiction & fantasies.
Closing Thought
Many talk about responsibility. They nod and say they understand the risks, but when push comes to shove, they switch colors like a chameleon. Stop talking about responsibility - live it.
This whole conversation about responsibility and owning your decisions? It’s something I take seriously too.
Last week, I launched TheValueVantage.com. Out of 432 subscribers and over 1,000 followers, not a single person bought a report.
And you know what? That’s okay. That’s feedback I can handle, and there’s nothing to complain about—I’m happy to learn from it.
I was transparent about everything I did, so I don’t think the issue was a lack of trust. Many questions ran through my mind. One overtaking the other.
Was it the price? Are my subscribers real people or just bots? Is there something I’m missing in how I’m presenting the value? I genuinely want to understand. The market speaks even if he’s silent, and my job is to listen and adapt.
For me, the program is already a success. I created it for myself first. So, mission accomplished. Check.
And of course, I’d love for it to reach others, and I’m open to any feedback that could help me bridge that gap.
I’m asking, “What is it? What can I improve?”
Write it in the comments, or reply to this email.
Not because I need validation, but because I’m committed to getting better. And at the end of the day, that’s what an investor—or business owner—does. We take in feedback, think, adjust, and keep moving forward.
What’s on my mind
Enough with the “Leaders” and “Visionaries”—Where Are the Results?
In the last couple of weeks, I’ve had many conversations with friends who work in agile environments. They all complain about the same things: no ownership, no real responsibility aka colleagues are slippery like a wet fish in your hands, no or bad leadership. Too many people talking, too many meetings, and not enough people actually doing the work. No visionaries—just the same empty fluff as always.
Everybody wants to be a “leader” or build a “personal brand”, but no one’s willing to roll up their sleeves, get their hands dirty and do what actually moves the company forward.
Why is that?
From my perspective, we’ve lost the ability to have tough conversations.
People are afraid to say what they think and what actually needs to be said. Company culture has turned into a giant cocktail party where everyone wears a smiling mask and sugarcoats things to each other’s smiling faces (or on Linked-In), then turns around and complains behind closed doors.
The focus is wrong—everyone’s more worried about their career, rather than what’s good for the business.
People have lost connection to the work and directness that got the company where it is in the first place.
Let’s be clear: if we spend all our time obsessing over “side topics” and forget about the core business that actually earns the money, we’re walking straight to the cliff.
No business, no money, no paycheck—simple as that.
What do I mean with “side topics“?
As someone with a lean mindset, I always see three types of work:
Waste
Necessary Waste
Value-Added Work
Most of what we’re doing? It’s either waste or necessary waste.
Writing emails? Usually, just waste.
Meetings? Often a waste, especially when they’re dragged out to fill an hour instead of wrapping up in 10 minutes.
Real value-added work is rare (typically 20-25%), and it’s what we should be focused on to increase as much as possible. Instead, we’re drowning in unnecessary tasks and empty chatter.
Why has this kind of work culture gotten so out of control?
It’s simple: most employees don’t have an investor mindset. They act like kids playing dress-up in the world of business. They’re too busy building personal brands or covering their asses to actually think about the company’s future.
Here’s a reality check
Put your ego aside and ask yourself one question:
How does what I’m doing right now help my company?
Because that’s what you’re paid to do. Work isn’t supposed to be “fun” all the time. You’re getting a paycheck to get things done, not to sit around talking about it.
The economy is in a unique place right now. This crisis is different from past ones because it impacts almost every sector. Many companies have already cut the low-hanging fruits, but now it’s getting serious. If we don’t start focusing on what really matters, you’re soon in trouble.
So wake the fuck up.
Do the job you’re paid to do. And if your role includes work that doesn’t directly contribute to the core business, adopt a service mindset. Get out of your own way, mute your ego, and help others get their jobs done as efficiently as possible. Ask yourself how you can make things easier for your colleagues. And no, sending them a link to the documentation isn’t “helping”—that’s just pretending to help. And btw. Doing is the best way in building your personal brand, and way more effective than talking about bs no one cares about or commenting on Linked-In.
Understand your role in the bigger picture. Accept it, and stop acting like you’re above it. Help where you can and get out of the way if you’re not adding value. Ego is a bitch—don’t let it drive you and your work.
No, things won’t change overnight.
The mess you’re in took time to build, and it’ll take time to fix. But it all starts with us—with you. Be the change you want to see in the world. And when things go sideways, have the tough conversations.
Every time I’ve had one in my life, things improved—my work, my relationships, my team got stronger because I laid out expectations and explained why they mattered in the bigger picture.
Here’s the hard truth: your job, your career, even your quality of life depends on this. So stop dodging, stop sugarcoating, and start pushing for what actually matters.
Be nice to people, but tough on the subject.
Value doesn’t come from endless talks, presentation, or finger-pointing. It comes from owning your role, less talking and more doing.
Let’s get back to it.
Take care,
Michael
Hit the heart if you are a doer!
Disclaimer:
The information in this article is my personal opinion. I’m not a certified investment professional. It is not consulting, nor does it constitute investment recommendations.
I do my research carefully and follow my personal investment strategy.
The stock market is a complex building with its own rules. There are no rules set in stone, like the rules of physics.
Therefore, use the contents of this newsletter at your own risk and do your own research as well. Investing in the stock market can lead to a total loss of the capital invested.