Over the years, I have realized that the best way to create wealth and invest smartly is to not listen to what people around you are saying. It goes all the way back to even before I started investing. I was told not to invest in the stock markets because it is gambling and almost everybody loses money. It is gambling only for those who invest without knowledge, guidance and based on hot tips and such people do end up losing money. For me it has been one of the best blessings in life.

When I started investing, I was told by brokers and other players to indulge in day trading and futures and options trading. I did try it and ended up losing money. Thankfully, I could afford the losses I made. It taught me a lesson never to listen and follow random people. Following Dhirubhai Ambani, Sunil Mittal or Laxmi Mittal make sense – but following your orthodontist when it comes to investing or business is a bit silly.

Later, when I started picking up value based assets a lot of people, including relatives ridiculed me. I remember long back I picked up Bank of India and how an uncle of mine made fun of me and told me I was too young to understand anything. He told me Bank of India would not be able to survive when big International banks came in India. He was working with an international bank which recently went bankrupt. Bank of India went up all the way from Rs. 10 to Rs. 410. An investment of Rs. 10 lakhs would be worth Rs. 4.10 crores. My uncle instead had spent that Rs. 10 lakhs in buying some Japanese car. I luckily have always believed that we Indians can do anything we want to and we have the power to form the world’s best companies

At the peak of the recent stock market crash, I bought while some of the largest Mutual Fund Managers and TV analysts were selling and talking about doom. We all know what happened. It was the same story with Gold. Of course gold has rewarded investors more in dollar terms than rupee terms, but the main spurt in gold is yet to come. Everybody will be surprised by it. RBI has done the right thing by picking it up – they will earn in excess of 200% on their investment in the coming two years.

Throughout life, I have realized that whenever I asked someone for advice they usually told me not to do it. It is too risky. Steel, cement, autos, power all were sectors which I invested in even though people told me not to invest in them. I have realized that the best way to invest most of the times is when everybody else discourages you from investing.

This means that most others have still not realized the potential and the opportunity available. How many people were buying companies like LIC Housing Finance or Jindal Steel and Power barely ten months ago? Today Jindal Steel and Power has rewarded investors over 700% while LIC Housing Finance has rewarded investors over 370%.