If you want to become rich then I think it's necessary to ignore any doom predictions.
I'm not suggesting you should become reckless, but you could be harming your future wealth if you take an overly cautious approach.
Think about all of the negatives that have happened over the past few years: Australia's falling house prices, the trade war between the US and China, Brexit and so on. Yet here we are with the S&P 500 and the ASX All Ordinaries at close to all-time highs.
If you avoided the share market every time there was a bad global event over the decades and sat in cash it would be an enormous mistake. The cold war, the huge interest rates in the 1980s, the tech crash in 1999, the GFC, Greece's troubles etc. The world managed to get through all of that and now we're close to all-time highs.
There's no doubt that there can be enormous volatility. The share market is always made up of different buyers and sellers so prices are constantly changing. Just look at how much the share price of Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) changes each month. Being able to buy or sell shares whenever you want is an excellent feature, but it can also scare people with how prices move down (though the rises aren't scary for some reason..).
But, the point is that we need to remain invested throughout the cycles and the worries. Investment managers might be able to attract more funds if people believe they can protect against negative events. Newspapers might get more readers if they include a sensationalist headline or quote an 'expert' that thinks the financial world is doomed.
It might be best just to invest in a passive exchange-traded fund (ETF) like iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) and achieve the market average returns.
Foolish takeaway
Shares aren't for everyone. Just stay invested for the long-term and ride the highs & lows.
