I used to hate speculation.
Thought it was small-time thinking.
Chasing trends for pennies.
I was a good student.
The kind who actually paid attention in class.
Who believed that understanding how things work was the path to success.
My whole life I believed: work hard, study hard, play by the rules.
Speculation? That was for people who couldn't build real businesses.
Then I studied at business schools in America and Germany.
And everything I believed shattered.
In class we studied Buffett.
The textbooks said: "Long-term investing. Don't speculate."
But when we analyzed the actual case studies, I saw something different.
Buffett's real move wasn't avoiding speculation.
It was this: "Be greedy when others are fearful."
That's not long-term thinking.
That's leverage thinking.
That's seeing what everyone else misses and moving fast.
Then I looked at Gates. Jobs. Every successful person we studied.
Rich. Poor. Professors. Entrepreneurs.
Every single one was doing the same thing.
Later, when I started my own business, I met people from every level of society.
Street vendors. Corporate executives. Old money. Self-made millionaires.
And I realized something:
Speculation has nothing to do with your class.
Because the smart people at EVERY level are thinking about how to speculate.
They weren't just working hard.
They were finding the angle nobody else saw.
I felt stupid.
All those years looking down on "speculators" and I didn't even understand what speculation actually was.
So I tested it.
My country announced new garbage sorting policies.
Most people complained about the new rules.
I called manufacturers and designed custom bins that fit the exact specifications.
$10,000 in 30 days.
First year doing business.
Knew nothing about business.
Then COVID hit. Lockdowns everywhere.
Everyone was panicking.
I sold tents. Lots of them.
That's when I understood:
Speculation isn't gambling.
It's not shortcuts.
It's not cheating.
Speculation is seeing the opportunity while everyone else is busy complaining.
Let me tell you something that will piss you off:
If you're not making money, it's because you still think speculation is dirty.
You think it's "taking advantage."
You think it's "unfair."
So when someone else wins, you say: "They got lucky. They have no morals."
You judge them instead of learning from them.
Here's the truth about making money:
There are only two ways normal people can do it.
First: Use speculative thinking to do non-speculative work.
What does this mean?
The work itself is long-term. Solid. Not a quick flip.
But your APPROACH is strategic.
Example: You're building your business.
That's long-term work, not speculation.
But you refuse to promote yourself on social media because you look down on that trend.
You just want to "do honest work."
That's stupid.
Using the media trend to amplify your honest work?
That's speculative thinking.
That's leverage.
That's finding the angle.
Most people just work hard and hope someone notices.
You? You make sure the right people see your work.
Same effort. 10x results.
Second: Use non-speculative thinking to do speculative work.
This means: pick the explosive opportunity, but execute it methodically.
Before you jump into any business, you analyze.
You look at competitors.
You study the market.
You find the gap.
I've met so many young entrepreneurs who want to start "lifestyle brands" selling clothes.
They use daddy's money.
They fail.
Every single time.
You know why?
Because they never analyzed the market.
They never asked: "Is this even a good opportunity?"
If they spent three days doing actual research, they'd realize selling garbage bins makes more money than selling hoodies.
And if they spent three MORE days, they'd find out that commercial bins for streets are the best opportunity in that category.
Same time. Same effort. Same money invested.
But one path leads to profit.
The other leads to excuses.
Since I changed my thinking, I've seen it everywhere.
The people who win across multiple platforms for years? They chase trends but execute perfectly.
They look unstable. But every step is calculated.
There are four types of people in this world:
Type 1: Non-speculative thinking doing non-speculative work.
No hope. You'll never break through.
Type 2: Speculative thinking doing non-speculative work.
Half the effort, double the results.
Type 3: Non-speculative thinking doing speculative work.
Sifting through sand for gold. You find it, but slowly.
Type 4: Speculative thinking doing speculative work.
You tell me what happens to these people in the comments.
Look around you.
The successful people at every level aren't just working harder.
They're thinking differently.
They see the garbage sorting policy and think: "opportunity."
You see it and think: "annoying new rules."
They see COVID lockdowns and think: "what do people need right now?"
You see it and think: "this is terrible."
Stop judging people who win.
Start learning how they think.
Because speculation isn't about being unethical.
It's about seeing what's actually there while everyone else is blind.