Only once we can operate without fear, can we truly
be invincible investors!
2
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History Tells The Future?
I run the risk of being labeled as a pessimist and be a doctor doom by talking so much about all this. But the truth of the matter,
I am not. In fact, I tend to think of myself as the opposite, an optimist. The only reason why I am so driven in the pursuit to learn
about the booms and the bust of the property market is because an economist once told me that you need to learn history to
predict the future. That was another one that I never really got? How can we predict the future by learning history? I finally got it.
Human beings are so predictable as they are creatures of emotions. And bubbles happens time and time again in the history of
mankind. It happens with every asset class imaginable; in equity, in property, in businesses and even for the silliest things; tulips
and roses!
Was the American housing bubble that imploded in 2006/2007 the first that the country has seen? What happened to the
California housing market in the 1970’s? It has happened before but perhaps in a smaller scale. Then in the 1980’s the boom
happened in Japan and then the stock and property bubble burst in the 1990’s, followed by the lost decade of the Japanese
economy; which seems more like it is reaching it’s third decade, never really being able to pull itself out even until today. And then
the great bubble burst in the late 2000’s, which hit too many countries all at once; some worse than others. Spain and Ireland saw
their property bubble burst more dramatically than perhaps Italy and Portugal and some others.
Do we have to let it happen to us to finally learn? Can’t we learn from others to save ourselves from destruction? It is almost a
common sense that is perhaps uncommon amongst investors. I urge you, if you are serious about being great investors, make
sure that you will spend equal amounts of time learning about history, as you so passionately learn about strategies to make
more money in property investment. As avoiding losses and understanding risks is of fundamental importance in your pursuit to
creating immense and sustainable wealth!
3
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Only Great Investors Survive and Thrive
Early in my investment journey, a property sifu told me, “Ahyat, you don’t just want to be a good investor, you need to be a great
investor”. I often dwell deep into these words of wisdom by these great gurus that god has given me the privilege to learn from,
but only to find myself more confused. I never understood what he meant, and why he used the word ‘need’ when he asked me to
choose to be a ‘great’ investor.
Coming back from this property exploration, I finally got it. As I was able to personally meet and shake the hands of great investors,
chat with them over coffee in Spanish cafes and listening to their stories. Mediocre investors had been flushed out of the system.
Many have ceased to exist from the face of the Spanish and Portuguese investment landscape. But many great investors like them
survived through the irrational boom and the destructive crash. But it would be wrong for me to use the word ‘survive’, because
some truly thrived through the gr fRF