I get it.
You hear about someone who bought Amazon years ago, and now they’re set for life.
Or a colleague who jumped on the AI bandwagon early and is suddenly “semi-retired”.
It’s hard not to feel like you’ve missed something.
That you’re somehow behind.
But for every story like this, there are a hundred you’ll never hear.
The ones where people went all in on the next big thing… and lost a fortune.
Hype turned into silence. Big hopes turned into smaller bank balances.
It happens more than you think.
That’s why I believe every wise investor needs something most people don’t talk about.
The courage to feel left out.
“Am I missing something?”
Probably not.
You may already own shares in those so-called exciting companies.
Amazon? It’s in your global equity portfolio.
Those buzzy AI stocks? If they’re in the major indexes, you probably own a slice of them too.
But here’s the catch.
When you buy a company directly, it feels different. You follow the story. Check the price daily. It becomes personal.
You feel clever when it goes up.
You feel anxious when it drops.
There’s no story in owning a fund.
No cocktail party brag.
Just silent, steady growth. And weirdly, that can feel... boring.
Mature investors know this. They understand that just because it doesn’t feel exciting, doesn’t mean it isn’t working.
They’re not missing out... they’re just not addicted to the noise.
What actually works
Every investor hits this fork in the road at some point.
Do I stick with what’s always worked?
Or chase what’s working right now?
The answer, if you're building serious wealth, is usually the first one.
The history is pretty clear.
Global equities - spread across countries, sectors and companies - have done the job through every era.
Steam engines, electricity, the internet, smartphones, AI… the great businesses adapt.
The rest fade.
You don’t need to pick the next Amazon.
You just need to own the market that includes the next Amazon.
That’s how you get the upside... without betting the house.
The problem?
It won’t always feel that exciting.
Especially when someone else is showing you screenshots of their 300% return on a lucky punt.
But this isn’t a game of who shouts loudest.
It’s a game of who ends up where they wanted to be.
If you’re 40 to 55…
You’re in a powerful position.
You’ve probably got 15+ years until retirement.
That’s still enough time for compound growth to work its quiet magic.
You’ve seen hype cycles come and go.
Dotcom booms.
Crypto surges.
Meme stocks.
Property bubbles.
You’ve also likely hit your peak earning years. That gives you the ability to save consistently. You don’t need to gamble to make progress.
And most importantly - you’ve lived through enough market noise to recognise it for what it is: noise.
You don’t need to beat the market.
You just need to ride it.
Choose less excitement. Choose better outcomes.
There’s nothing wrong with having a small portion of your portfolio in speculative stuff (a play pen), if that’s what you find interesting.
But the bulk?
That should be aligned with your real goals.
Financial independence.
Optionality.
Peace of mind.
Not the dopamine hit of watching a single stock double overnight.
You won’t read headlines about people who stayed invested in a diversified portfolio for 30 years.
No one tells that story down the pub.
But they’re the ones who retire with freedom, dignity, and choices.
That’s who you want to be.
And sometimes, the most courageous thing you can do… is nothing.
Just keep going.
