Canadian comedian and actor Jim Carrey gave a moving commencement address to a class of 2014 last month. In his speech he describes how people often make seemingly practical choices that are actually based on fear, and how this can turn into a costly mistake. It’s true for many aspects of life, including personal finance. What I want is to become financially independent. But what I fear is making the wrong decision and losing all my money. So I have to let my love of financial freedom overcome my fear of failure. Opportunities are often disguised as hard work or risky. But that’s why success is worth it. Being able to retire in my 30s is worth the effort and struggle for me. Take it away Jim Carrey.
Jim Carrey’s Commencement Address at the 2014 MUM Graduation
Jim encourages us to ask the universe for things that seem out of reach. It’s amazing what we can receive if we simply ask for it. Last year I hoped my investments would perform well. The universe granted my wish and the stock markets returned over 20% in 2013. I also wished to receive more dividends and boom! Many companies I own have increased their dividend distributions over the last year, including Apple, Target, Enbridge, Disney, McDonalds, Chevron, and Scotia Bank. The universe rewards those who are proactive and optimistic 😀
This is why I buy stocks despite their volatility. Why I buy real estate and land despite pundits saying the property bubble will burst at any moment. Why I invest in gold and silver even though many would argue precious metals are not even real investments. I will gladly face all the risks because I’m not afraid to ask the universe for what I really want 😉
Jim’s dad taught us that even if we make conservative financial choices, we can still fail. So we might as well take a chance on our dreams, even if it means exposing ourselves to more risk. I think this is great advice for many people who are too conservative with their financial decisions. We only live once after all. We can’t let fear paralyze and prevent us from turning our goals into realities. And for dads all around the world, happy Father’s Day 🙂
A longer version of Jim’s speech can be found here.
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Random Useless Fact:
Nice post Liquid, Thank you for sharing.
His speech reminds a book called ‘Secret’. I guess you might have read that book too. Universe has everything you need, just ask it.
Hi Readers, “When you move away from this post, you have only ever two choices, love or fear. Choose love, don’t let the fear overcome your love”
Cheers,
Thanks for the recommendation. I hadn’t heard about that book yet. Too many people go through life without experiencing all that it has to offer.
You should have been asking the universe for great returns prior to 2008 and let us know what happened.
Too bad I didn’t start investing until 2009 lol. I wish I could change the past but we can only move forward. This year I’m asking the universe to give me a great investment opportunity that will out perform the corresponding asset classes, and further farmland appreciation, and continuous low interest rates from the Central Bank – at least no increases for the rest of this year. Hmm, maybe this is too much to ask? We’ll see I guess.
Reminds me of the rice experiment. Two jars of cooked rice. Talk nice to one for a month and mean and nasty to the other one for a month. See what they look like at the end of the month or look here thepursuitofriches.com/2014/06/12/day-242-its-all-in-the-water/
I’m gonna start talking nice to the universe.
That’s a crazy experiment. I need to try it out for myself some time. Our intentions have a big impact on the world around us so we should use that to our advantage whenever we can.
That’s pretty much why i went full time on my business, if you don’t try you’ll never know what could have happened. It turns out i am pretty happy of the results 🙂
You have a great success story my friend. Still updating your net worth every month? You must be well into the six figures by now lol.
Thanks for posting – an interesting video and speech. I also fear losing money, but know that I’ll have to take risks eventually, otherwise I won’t make my aims!
Especially for younger people like us, we can assume a higher level of risk because we have a lot of time to ride out the ups and downs in the market. Good luck. May the law of attraction treat you well.
Great post! I was just talking with friends last night about investing and their fear for losing money almost convinces me not to invest either, their argument is hard to counter. The video reinstills what I feel, I rather take the risks and fail than make conservative decisions and end up no further ahead.
Thanks Michelle. When my friends tell me investing is too risky I reply that they actually can’t afford not to invest. Everything we spend money on is getting more expensive. The only way to keep our purchasing power over time is to grow our money 🙂 or invest it in companies or other assets that produce real goods because every dollar that consumers have to pay will eventually go into the pockets of owners and shareholders of businesses that provides a product or service. We don’t notice inflation over one or two years, but 20 years ago many things were half the price as they are today. Working people who don’t invest today will be kicking themselves in retirement.
Nice post. I think I’ve learned from my Dad the opposite what Jim Carrey’s Dad taught him. I’m fairly conservative with my money because my Dad was a financial risk taker. He had several properties at one point and always had marketing and “get rich schemes”. None of which came to fruition. And during the recession, we had to sell the properties at a loss. So now I’m very conservative financially which is silly really… I am still young and can actually take a bit of risk but my investing style is still like 64 year old woman who’s about to retire. O_O;;
I like the way your dad invests 🙂 Didn’t know your family had multiple properties before. That’s pretty impressive, especially in Canada where the average price of a home is over $400K. If only we could know the best times to get in and out of the markets.
Definitely some good food for thought. I’m going to watch the extended speech tomorrow.
And the Maharishi University sounds really interesting. I will have to read more about their program.
BTW, Jim Carrey is actually from the same part of Toronto that I grew up in 🙂
Thanks for coming by again. That’s really cool two share the same home town 🙂 I’ve only been to Toronto once. Great city, but it gets too hot in the summer for me lol.
While I love the positivity, I’d take the whole “ask the universe” with a huge grain of salt – very pseudoscience-sounding.
Yes imagine and dream, but don’t think for a second merely imagining/dreaming/asking-the-universe-for-it will get you there.
To whoever mentioned the book “The Secret” – complete baloney! Along with the jars of rice – complete baloney!
You know how many times I asked for sunshine in the winter in Vancouver and never get it? Damn universe…
But the rice experiment is on the internet, so it must be true right? 😛
[…] So far it looks like I am on track to reach that goal thanks to my positive thinking. Ask and the universe will deliver. A little perspective goes a long way. […]