In Greek mythology, there is the story of Odysseus and his encounter with Sirens.

The Sirens were creatures that are half woman half bird that possessed voices so enchanting that any sailor who heard them would be lured into trance, steering their ship into reefs and meeting their doom.

People who lured you to invest in the stock market without telling you the danger is like the Sirens.

You see, the stock market is like the Greek sea with its many perils.

The moment you bought a stock, there are many daemons you would encounter.

If the stock price goes up, you would be happy, and thought you are the master of the universe and can do no wrong. That is usually the beginning of the down fall. Or the stock price can go down, in which case, you would despair and vow never to set foot again.

Either way is stil ajaran sesat. You won’t get anywhere.

Or you can be like Odysseus, who made sure his men plugged their ears with beeswax so they would be deaf to the Sirens’ songs, while he was tied up to the mast of the ship. He gave strict orders that no matter how much he begged, screamed or struggled to be set free, the crew must only tie the ropes tighter and kept the ship in its correct path. By doing so Odysseus got to hear the Sirens’ songs and lived to tell the tale.

You can learn about the companies you want to invest in, make sure you saved enough for emergency and the capital you used to invest are not needed till many years later. Then and only then, you could survive the rough waters of the stock market and reap the benefits of modern capitalism.

You see when you see your uncle sold Atok’s house for a profit of 1 million, you might be tempted to think uncle is onto something. But how will he use that money? After all, if he use it to expand the durian plantation, there will be more profit to come. But if he use it to buy that new Benz.

Hmmm…