Two real stories taught me everything I know about investing, not from books but from people.

2006: The Market That Made Everyone Feel Smart

India was booming. Infrastructure was the new obsession.
Every chai stall and every stock forum repeated the same line: “Infra is the future. Do not miss it.”

People wanted performance instead of portfolios, excitement instead of discipline.
I was working as a mutual fund distributor then and I saw the frenzy up close. The market was preparing its lessons quietly.

Story 1: The Man Who Said “No” When Everyone Else Said “Yes”

I met an investor who was calm and analytical. I showed him the hottest NFOs of the season. Infra, power and oil. Funds that had given 80 to 100 percent in a single year.

He listened carefully and replied, “Not now. When everything looks perfect, it is time to be cautious.”
I left thinking he was too conservative for the times.

Then January 2008 arrived. Oil prices collapsed from 140 dollars to below 40., the Sensex fell 60 percent and Infra funds fell 70 to 80 percent.

A year later his diversified portfolio had recovered much faster than any of the thematic funds.

When we met again, he smiled and said, “Now you know why I waited.”

That moment stayed with me. It is not about how much you make when everything rises but, how little you lose when everything falls.

Story 2: The Auto Driver Who Never Missed a Single SIP

In 2016 an auto driver entered our office in frustration.

“I invested one thousand rupees every month like an RD. Where is my fixed amount” he asked.

He did not know he had actually started a mutual fund SIP and when I showed him that his sixty thousand rupees had grown to about one lakh twenty four thousand, he fell silent.

The next day he returned with his wife and their young child.

After I explained compounding the wife asked him, “Should we withdraw now?”.
Before I could speak, he answered her, “No. It is not easy for me to save. I will work extra and start one more SIP for my child.”

A man with limited income but unlimited discipline. He had never missed a single SIP instalment.
He taught me something powerful.

Wealth is created by intent, not by income.

What These Two People Taught Me: One avoided greed with patience and the other embraced discipline with courage. Both succeeded because behaviour matters more than knowledge.

Markets reward consistency, not brilliance.

Lessons That Always Hold True

• Avoid the crowd. When everyone is chasing the same idea, pause.
• Stay diversified. Fads fade; portfolios should not.
• Allow SIPs to run through all market moods. Volatility becomes your partner when you stay invested.
• Measure progress by your goals, not by someone else’s returns.
• Discipline outperforms prediction every single time.

The Power of Patience

Markets keep moving between excitement and fear.
People react, panic and overthink. But the ones who remain steady build extraordinary wealth over time.

I often remind investors, in the short-term markets test your patience and in the long term they reward your persistence.
The greatest investing lessons do not come from charts, they come from ordinary people who simply keep going.