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Posted on August 31st, 2022

How to stay calm in world of chaos

A message from our CEO & Founder, Joseph Chou

With all that’s going on in the world, If you’re tuned to the news or social media channels, you could be forgiven for believing the world is in complete chaos. We’re being fed a diet of negativity everything from possible new Covid strains, inflation, interest rates, construction and supply chain interruptions, the stock market to the crisis in the Taiwan Straight and Russia/Ukraine.

The minefield of negative headlines surrounding the economy in general, and the property market in particular has given many of us cause for concern and worry, so I’d like to share the mindset that I live by every day, which is to never let your dreams or goals be derailed every time you hear something bad.

In Chinese philosophy, we learn that when the world around you is in chaos, you should remain calm, reject negativity and focus only on your dreams and what genuinely matters to you.

It may be easier said than done, but I speak from experience when I say that finding solutions to any challenging situation is so much easier when you’re in a calm head space.

In Daoism philosophy, there is a well-known practice called “wu wei” which translates to non-doing or doing nothing. Paradoxically, this doesn’t mean not acting, but rather, adopting effortless action, being at peace even while engaged in the most frenetic tasks.

If you’ve ever experienced the feeling of being ‘in the zone’, where everything feels easy and effortless, that is the spirit of wu wei.

Now is the perfect time to exercise your version of wu wei, to remain calm, reject negativity and focus only on your dreams and what genuinely matters to you.

“Disruptive events have the power to alter even the most basic assumptions we have about our lives and profoundly change the way we live them. To many, such dramatic and sudden shifts can create chaos, confusion, and fear. To others, it can also be a time rife with opportunity for incredible growth and transformation.”

— Garrett Gunderson, US based financial disruptor

The single-most important lesson we learned from the pandemic

Think back to when the outbreak of Covid first began in early 2020. We were all in a state of uncertainty, confusion and anxiety because something was happening that we as individuals had absolutely no control over.

When the world went into lockdown, all outside influences were taken away from us and we were literally forced inside. To live and look within. Suddenly our own world began to look and feel very different and after the initial chaos, we gradually began to see the beauty in our situation as we learned to bake bread, play the piano, grow vegetables, have more meaningful conversations with people that mattered and spend more time with our children.

Yes, Covid gave us some terrible moments, but it also taught us how to realign what’s important in life. And that’s what I’m asking you to do if you’re caught up in a state of panic and uncertainty.

4 stress-free tips to calm your concerns

Stop trying to control what is out of your control

You can’t control the market. You can’t control inflation. And you certainly can’t control what the Reserve Bank is or isn’t going to do next. But you can control what you do next.

You can control how you react to these circumstances. And you can retrain your mind to be in a place of peace rather than a state of panic.

Keep calm and:

Stop listening to the news cycles 24/7 – filling your mind with an avalanche of conflicting messages only serves to confuse you and distract you from your real purpose.
Spend quiet time with yourself. For the past 12 months I have been engaging in meditation, which for me is a conscious effort to spend time with myself, internally relax and seek clarity of thought.
Stop thinking so much and work on being fulfilled. Stop basing how you feel on how others feel. Remember, comparison is the thief of joy.
Step away from screens and find one thing that genuinely brings you joy. Read a book, ground yourself in nature, learn an instrument, listen to music and spend happy times with family and friends.

Work harder on yourself in a meaningful way

Whilst I have achieved some incredibly satisfying results in business, what has given me the most satisfaction over the years is my own personal development, sharpening my mind and skills in new ways. Learning, reading and experiencing breakthrough moments has inspired deep and rich personal growth and great happiness.

I have worked diligently on myself to make sure that I have a progressive way of looking at things, to the point where I work to genuinely understand where a person comes from – be it in life, business experience, expertise or perspective. With a better understanding of who they are, where they come from, and what makes them happy, I can communicate with them better and add meaningful value where I can.

Do what billionaires do

Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and the 2^nd richest man in the world believes a lot of his competitors fail because they focus on the wrong things. They look at what their competitors are doing, what the market is doing and what the next quarter or the next 12 months look like. This lack of big picture, short-term thinking means they’re forced to make quick, often uninformed decisions when things don’t go to plan.

He has become successful because he plays the long game, and no matter what is happening in the world outside, within the business he remains steadfastly focused on doing things that deliver a unique value proposition to his customers and continue to enhance their experience. By sticking to his values and not following the herd, he has little to no competition, especially in times of chaos when customers are looking for certainty.

Set peace of mind as your highest goal and organise your life around it

As human beings, we are born with 2 inalienable freedoms…the ability to choose, and the ability to dream.

I believe that true success is measured by personal happiness. I realised very early on in my career what was important to me: family, friendship, health and career. Friends that are willing to help you when in need, and family who support you through the ups and downs.

It might sound too simplistic, but if you go back to basics, you might find what truly makes you happy. By re-focussing your efforts on seeking a calm mind and understanding what makes you happy – you’ll know where you want to go and the path to your dream life will be clearer. The result is clarity, less anxiety, empowerment and a happier, healthier you.

“Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.”

— Leo Tolstoy

Calmness and Property Investment

Yes, these two can happily co-exist!

In terms of the property context, this is the time we need to exercise calm minds, simply because even though the media continues to catastrophise the situation, the fact remains that property is, always was and always will be a long-term game. As I have seen before, in 10, 15, 20 years’ time, the market will look very different than it does today.

4 Strategies to (calmly) achieve long-term wealth

Find the ‘hidden’ (off market) opportunities. Or better yet, ask Ironfish where they are. A lot of experienced investors now coming into the market are actually repeat purchasers. They’ve been through fluctuations before even though they’re more cautious, so they know that with significant undersupply of accommodation still a factor, the market fundamentals for investment are incredibly strong.
Leverage ‘off–the-plan’ plans If you can’t borrow money at this stage, consider off-the-plan purchases whereby you pay 10% deposit and the balance upon settlement – often 2-3 years down the track. Interest rates won’t you affect during this time. And there have been talks of interest rate coming down at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.
Become more valuable or ‘bankable’ in the market place If you work harder on yourself, improve your career prospects and earning capacity, you’ll develop the cashflow to protect yourself for future uncertainty. Increasing your earning capacity assists you to live better and buy more property…property that produces income and grows in value.
Change your bad money habits. I agree with the teachings of Garrett Gunderson, a US based financial disruptor who calls himself the “long-haired bearded money guy”. He talks about how some people think that in order to solve money woes they just have to keep making more money. But if these same people have bad money habits and their money leaks everywhere, this philosophy flies out the window (along with your income). A better approach is to become really smart about your money, read books, invest in education, talk to an Ironfish consultant. When you know how to allocate your income for today’s pleasures and tomorrow’s dreams, you can build your future and enjoy the journey along the way. After all, what’s the point of waiting 30 years to be happy and wealthy while being broke along the way? It is still way better than not being happy and wealthy after 30 years, and yet there is a better way.

I think you’ll truly be amazed by how calming your mind will allow space for so much more happiness, growth and fulfilment.

The property market good news

Ironfish is renowned for our ability to find opportunities where others may not. We rely on insightful, real-time data to look beyond clickbait and analyse the real facts around the property market. And here’s what we know for sure:

Historical data shows that Australia has one of the world’s best housing markets in terms of its resilience and robust performance
In 2019, one notorious prediction was that house prices would fall by up to 40%. The exact opposite happened. And many such predictions had been proven wrong again and again.
Many experts are now predicting that Australia’s inflation rate will not go as high as expected and will start to ease sooner than predicted
In the last 12 months, the buyers of more than 90% of all of the investment properties were experienced investors who are using this time to boost their property portfolios.

Now is the perfect time to remain calm, reject negativity and focus only on your dreams and what genuinely matters to you. Don’t take advice from those who are not getting the results you want to achieve.

At Ironfish, our mission is to help more Australians build wealth for the future by investing in property. In our experience, most people already believe property is a great way to invest their money. They also wish they’d bought property years ago, but found it too difficult to know where to begin or what to buy.

Watch our recent webinar Behind the Headlines

Watch our recent webinar Behind the Headlines to find out what’s really happening in the property market and Learn why 2022 is a property investors dream.

Join our webinar now where host, Grant Ryan, Ironfish’s Director of Property & Insights, talks to Dr Andrew Wilson, leading independent property expert on the state of the property market around Australia.

Book your seat today

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