Learning from 'Panic in the Markets'
On Market Crashes and the Path to Wealth Stewardship and Inner Trust
Financial crashes are more and more common these days - whether in the stock market, or crypto space, the housing market or the latest bank that failed.
Recent panic for some has been around FTX.
For those unfamiliar, FTX, is the second largest crypto exchange which, after its spectacular tumble has taken much down with it.
Headlines do funny things when they both normalize crashes like this, and yet also report on the waves of shock, fear, panic.
I find this most curious.
I hold crypto, and have certainly seen the free-fall in my own portfolio value. And, I imagine before long some other part of this mechanism will crash as well.
For me, this isn’t panic inducing.
The people I know who hold crypto, like myself, took little journeys in their own ways to learn, explore and figure themselves and their wealth programs out before getting into this new, unregulated and volatile area.
There are big and deeply personal and collective shifts happening here, and none of us want to take the baggage, problems and patterns of the old world system into the new one.
A lot of people who really like crypto, often see it as an alternative to centralized and controlled financial systems. We are the folks who like the idea of being stewards of our money as much as possible. As such, we have to become self-accountable in ways we didn’t have to be before.
This calls for changes in how we perceive security or barter-ability. We also have to look at our behaviours, insecurities and habits, along with the things we take for granted and figure out what our values and dreams are, since this is new space for everyone.
I heard that people left money sitting on the FTX exchange. It crashed and they obviously lost their all funds.
To me, this is a bit like paying your bill at a busy restaurant, and leaving your cash laden wallet on the table, returning days if not weeks later and then panicking that your wallet was stolen.
The thing with crypto is that there is no broker to call and complain to.
This isn’t like your Visa being compromised, where you are credited the funds after an investigation.
You are your own bank and vault and accountable to your own Self, fully.
And so there is a real danger in embarking into something new and different in the world, and the assuming it will follow the same pathway that you’ve always known. This can be hard as it isn’t always a conscious decision.
It’s like when we end a relationship with someone because after months and years we finalize realized that we weren’t happy. We do all this work to get to the place of leaving the relationship which has come to its natural end.
But if we don’t give ourselves time for our own reflections and figure out what exactly we want moving forward, where we are going and what’s truly important to us then we risk attracting the same old patterns in our new relationships.
The call now to become a steward of your own wealth is loud.
This means learning from the past, staying attuned to the inner and outer emotion, currents and realities of the present, while also aligning to future goals. As well, it requires an unplugging from the games that the false ‘powers that be’ play, as we own and upgrade our financial literacy for ourselves.
The present should not cost us the future, nor the other way around.
If you lost your money in the FTX crash, or any other crash, that is truly awful.
And yet, the ability to generate wealth lies with you and within you.
That is Soul Truth manifesting in the physical world.
This is our power and if we continue to give it away like we have been trained to, we will find ourselves being pulled down and by every wind of change that blows.
We use exchanges, banks and investments certainly to grow our wealth, but the choices are all ours, and activating that within is a quiet yet profound area of work.
On Trust
Who do you trust with your money?
With your children? With your health? Or your security?
What is the nature of that trust?
Was it built on a shiny pamphlet?
An impressive conversation with a sales rep?
Because someone in a while coat or uniform told you so?
Because, everyone else is doing it?
Because you want to make a million in the quickest way?
Because you don’t trust yourself, so you’d rather someone else do it?
We are taught to trust based on external factors for the most part. As well, we are often encouraged not to ask too many questions.
Perhaps we just don’t want to appear miserly or money-minded.
Because we don’t know and we don’t ask, we are easily seduced into things that promise us quick wealth without engaging in our own research.
With FTX, if you’re still following the saga, a lot of weird, creepy, questionable activities are being revealed in these days; more to come I’m certain.
The crash turned the lights on, and now things hidden and neatly tucked away are bursting through the seams.
This is also a call to re-evaluate how and why we trust other people and organization.
Again, what is your trust based on?
What is its nature?
Most people who have felt betrayed by a business partner, family member or, by their bank or employer often comment on how they ignored all the little red flags. Whatever the reason, the purpose isn’t judgement, but rather, a call to get really comfortable within ourselves to face our gut feelings, our instincts and to ask questions regardless of how they appear to someone else.
This is because we are the only part of the trust equation that we can influence.
And, we have to trust ourselves to make the right calls, own up and learn from mistakes, do better next time and command that level of integrity with anyone we choose to play with.
These are the questions and conversations I think are so important to have within ourselves, and also with our families, business partners and maybe even our brokers and bankers.
It gets us on our path to true wealth and prosperity in our lives and in our world - that which serves dreams and allows our hearts and souls, our rivers and forests, our freedom and sovereignty, our economy and exchanges to thrive together.
Note: If you are interested in more learning and resources that helped me, please comment and I will share them. These are a few videos I did on aspects of wealth as I was walking through them.
- On Asking the Right Questions (CBDCs)