“I’m too old to start”
“I don’t have enough time.”
“I’ve been burnt before.”
“I’m not smart enough.”
“Isn’t trading basically gambling?”

If any of those sound familiar, this conversation was made for you.

I’ve been teaching investing and trading for more than 30 years. And in that time, the biggest thing I’ve seen hold people back financially is rarely intelligence. Most of the time, it’s not opportunity either.

It’s the story people quietly repeat to themselves.I recently joined Louise Bedford on the Talking Trading Podcast to unpack these exact myths/beliefs and where they actually come from. And honestly, it became one of the more personal conversations I’ve had in a long time. Louise and I share more than most people would expect – including what it feels like to grow up without money, and how that shapes the way you think about risk for the rest of your life.

Coming to Australia as a refugee, I watched my mother work two jobs every single day just to survive while also supporting family back in Vietnam. Money was never something we took for granted. Security was never guaranteed. And growing up in that environment shapes the way you think about risk, work, and what’s possible financially.

For a long time, I believed working harder was the answer. Study harder. Push harder. Sacrifice more.

But eventually I learned something completely different:
financial freedom doesn’t come from endlessly working harder without a system behind it.

That’s what this conversation with Louise is really about. Not hype. Not shortcuts. But understanding how the beliefs we carry quietly influence our financial future and how education, structure, and emotional control can completely change someone’s life.

Why Most People Feel Intimidated by Investing

One of the biggest ideas we unpacked in this episode is that many people avoid investing because they feel overwhelmed before they even begin.

They hear stories about people losing money. They see volatility in the news. They assume successful investors are somehow naturally smarter than everyone else.

And over time, that fear becomes hesitation.

But one thing I explained during the conversation is this: The market only feels like gambling when people invest without a structured process.

When people rely on tips, emotion, hype, or blind speculation, investing becomes dangerous very quickly. But once someone learns how to assess risk properly, follow a checklist, and understand what they’re buying, everything changes.

Investing becomes calmer.
More structured.
Less emotional.

And for many people, that shift alone removes years of fear.

In fact, the investors who struggle most are often not the ones who lack intelligence. They’re the ones who can’t control their emotions. I’ve seen highly educated, analytically gifted people fall apart in the markets because they can’t separate what they feel from what the data is telling them. Emotional control, it turns out, matters far more than raw intelligence.

If these ideas feel familiar, it’s because they’re the same beliefs that hold thousands of Australians back from ever getting started. We’ve gone deeper on each one on our Share Trading Myths Busted page – if any resonate, it’s worth a read.

The Mistake That Changed My Entire Investing Philosophy

One of the most important parts of this conversation was sharing the painful lesson that completely changed the way I invest today.

In my early years, I made strong money very quickly trading leveraged products. Like many young traders, I thought success would continue forever. But eventually the market humbled me hard.

Almost overnight, years of gains disappeared. Because of leverage, I lost close to $190,000 – money I’d built over two years, gone in a single margin call.

That experience taught me something I never forgot:
Surviving in the market matters more than looking clever in the short term.

Louise and I unpacked why emotional control matters far more than intelligence, why protecting capital must always come first, and why long-term investing should feel boring rather than exciting.

Because real wealth is rarely built through adrenaline. It’s built through discipline, patience, and consistency.

There’s also a moment in this conversation where Louise and I openly disagree – and neither of us backs down. It’s about stop losses. When to use them, how to set them, and whether a long-term investor needs them at all. Two experienced traders, completely opposite views. I’ll let you decide whose thinking makes more sense for your situation.

Who This Podcast Is For

This episode will resonate if:

• You’ve worked hard for years, but still feel unsure whether your money is truly building long-term security in the background
• You want to invest, but fear making a costly mistake or losing money keeps holding you back
• You’ve been burnt financially before and now hesitate every time a new opportunity appears
• You feel overwhelmed by all the noise around investing and don’t know who or what to trust anymore
• You keep telling yourself you’ll start “one day,” but deep down know time keeps moving and compounding only works when you begin

What You’ll Walk Away With

By the end of this conversation, you’ll understand why the beliefs quietly running in the background matter more than most people realise, and what it actually takes to move from hesitation to confident, structured investing.

Louise and I unpack the hidden beliefs that quietly hold people back financially and explain why long-term success has far more to do with mindset, structure, and emotional control than natural talent.

Because the truth is this:
Most people don’t fail because they’re incapable.
They fail because fear, self-doubt, and lack of education stop them from ever properly starting.

And once those beliefs change, everything else can change too.

To your success,
Terry

Topics Discussed In This Episode…

• Why so many people believe investing is “too risky” and what actually creates danger in markets
• The hidden money beliefs formed during childhood that shape financial decisions later in life
• Why emotional control matters more than intelligence when investing
• The painful mistake that wiped out my early gains and changed my investing philosophy forever
• Why successful investing should feel boring, not exciting
• The 10-criteria checklist I use to eliminate poor-quality investments before risking money
• How busy people can invest successfully without staring at screens all day
• Why starting late is still far better than never starting at all
• The key mindset shift that turns investing from gambling into long-term wealth creation
• Stop losses – two experienced traders, one significant disagreement. Hear both sides

Quotes From The Conversation Worth Writing Down

• “Money doesn’t come easily, and therefore you’ve got to work hard for it and put in the effort.”  – Terry Tran

• “We need to make sure that we have that desire to become an exceptional trader, base it on education, and then back it with action.”  – Louise Bedford

• “The market only feels like gambling when people invest without a process.”  – Terry Tran

• “A lot of these experiences become pre-written in our mind, and it’s almost like we develop myths around our thoughts and experiences.”   – Louise Bedford

Relevant Links

Companies / Stocks that were mentioned:

• Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A / BRK.B)
• Chicago Board Options Exchange / CBOE (CBOE)
• The VIX Index (Yahoo Finance)

For Everyday Investors and Traders

• The Talking Trading Podcast with Louise Bedford
• 🎙️ScaleHQ Podcast Episode 130: Why Experienced Investors Are Moving to Cash Right Now – And What They’re Waiting for
• 🧠 Share Trading Myths Busted – Explore the most common beliefs holding Australians back from investing, and what students discovered when they looked closer [Learn more here]

Ready to Take the Next Step?

If this conversation resonated, here are two good places to start:

• 📘 Download my free Stock Investing Checklist – the exact 10 criteria I walk through before entering any position. It’s free and you can start using it straight away. [Download here]
• 🎓 Join my free Online MasterClass – discover how to identify quality stocks, know when to enter and exit the market, and position your portfolio so you’re prepared rather than reactive. [Register here]