Let me bring you back to 2001, during the dot-com bubble. That’s when I lost $50,000.

At its peak, the S&P 500 index hit 1527.46 in March 2000. Then — boom! — the bubble burst. The index crashed.

It dropped nearly 47% — let’s round that up to 50%.

So let me ask you:
What dropped — the price or the value?

The price. That’s why I said:

Most people know the price of everything… but the value of nothing.

Now remember this:
When there’s a bull market, there will be a bear market.
And when there’s a bear market, a bull market will come again.

Look here — once the S&P 500 recovered, how much did it go up? Close to 100%!

So, during a crisis, if the index fund drops by 50% and then recovers, you could potentially double your money — 100% upside.

Even if you don’t get it perfectly, and only catch half of that, you’re still making a solid 50% return in just 1–2 years.

Not bad, right?

Now let’s look at 2008, the Global Financial Crisis.

Same thing — the index dropped almost 50%, and then — up again.

And in 2016, Donald Trump became President.
And honestly, I thought the market would crash. But it didn’t — it went up!
So it went against my prediction.

That’s why I always say — never guess stock prices.
Sometimes we think it’ll drop, but it goes up.
Sometimes we think it’ll go up, but it drops.

Nobody can accurately predict the market — not even me.
So what do we do instead?

Just focus on buying good companies at a cheap price. That’s it.

Now let’s zoom out and look at the long-term trend of the S&P 500.

Yes, there are ups and downs, but overall — over the long horizon — what’s the trend?

Bullish.

The general direction is up!

But… that’s based on assumptions.

Based on what are we assuming?

1. That no matter who becomes president — even the worst possible one — America will still find a way to survive and prosper.
2. That the U.S. will bounce back, even after war, crisis, or disaster.
3. That you invest consistently — and this is important — you live long enough to see that growth!
   
   

Yes! Live long enough!

Because if you're 90 years old and just getting into the S&P 500, you might not live long enough to enjoy the full recovery.

Now take a look at this — here are the major events in U.S. history that impacted the market:

• Great Depression (1929)
• Black Monday
• Dot-com crash
• 9/11
• And many more...
  
  

Despite all that, what’s the long-term direction of the S&P 500?

UP!

That’s the confidence people like Warren Buffett have.

He once said:

“There’s no way you can bet against America and win.”

Because America always finds a way.
They’ve survived World War I, World War II… what could be worse?

This is why we say — in the long run, if you believe in America’s resilience, the market is not something to fear.

It’s something to understand — and use to your advantage.

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