et of winners is that failure inspires winning； thus； they're not afraid of losing。 Repeating Fran Tarkenton's quote； 〃Winning means being unafraid to lose。〃 People like Fran Tarkenton are not afraid of losing because they know who they are。 They hate losing； so they know that losing will only inspire them to bee better。 There is a big difference between hating losing and being afraid to lose。 Most people are so afraid of losing money that they lose。 They go broke over a duplex。 Financially they play life too safe and too small。 They buy big houses and big cars； but not big investments。 The main reason that over 90 percent of the American public struggles financially is because they play not to lose。 They don't play to win。
They go to their financial planners or accountants or stockbrokers and buy a balanced portfolio。 Most have lots of cash in CDs； low…yield bonds； mutual funds that can be traded within a mutual…fund family； and a few individual stocks。 It is a safe and sensible portfolio。 But it is not a winning portfolio。 It is a portfolio of someone playing not to lose。
Don't get me wrong。 It's probably a better portfolio than more than 70 percent of the population； and that's frightening。 Because a safe portfolio is a lot better than no portfolio。 It's a great portfolio for someone who loves safely。 But playing it safe and going 〃balanced〃 on your investment portfolio is not the way successful investors play the game。 If you have little money and you want to be rich； you must first be 〃focused；〃 not 〃balanced。〃 If you look at anyone successful； at the start they were not balanced。 Balanced people go nowhere。 They stay in one spot。 To make progress； you must first go unbalanced。 Just look at how you make progress walking。
Thomas Edison was not