After a week in Nashville surrounded by hundreds of smart, motivated investors, one thing became very clear to me.

Paradigm subscribers aren’t just optimistic about the future. They’re thriving right now.

During one of the early sessions, Paradigm Publisher Matt Insley asked the crowd a simple question:

“How many people in this room of 700 are currently richer than they’ve ever been?”

About 80% of the room raised their hands.

That moment hit me.

It’s incredible to see how far our readers have come.

Your patience, discipline, and curiosity have paid off.

Many of you rode the AI boom. Some caught the early waves in energy or crypto. A few of you have been quietly compounding wealth for decades.

No matter how you got here you deserve to enjoy it.

But you also need to protect it.

Because here’s the truth: stocks don’t just go up.

For the last six months it has felt like they do.

Every speculative name that barely earns a profit seems to rally 10%, 20%, even 30% in a single day.

We’ve seen tiny miners, quantum stocks, and speculative energy plays soar to unbelievable valuations in a matter of weeks.

I own some of these stocks myself.

In The Million Mission, I’ve taken big swings on companies like NAK and FNMA.

These are high-risk, high-reward trades and I’m transparent about that.

But here’s the difference: this is a fraction of my overall portfolio.

If every one of those trades went to zero tomorrow, I’d be fine.

I wouldn’t have to sell my house, take out a loan, and I certainly wouldn’t miss a meal.

Because the core of my wealth is protected in diversified, durable assets.

That’s not luck or caution. That’s discipline.

And it’s the discipline that keeps you in the game when markets turn.

I spoke with dozens of readers in Nashville – retirees, engineers, small business owners, and young professionals just starting their investing journeys.

No matter how different their backgrounds were they all had one thing in common: they were excited. Genuinely excited about the future.

That excitement is contagious. But it can also be dangerous.

When the market feels unstoppable it’s easy to forget how volatile it can be.

It’s easy to assume that the good times will last forever.

But as Enrique Abetya said best:

“Investing isn’t just about making money. It’s about keeping it.”

So if you’re up big this year, take a breath and ask yourself a few questions:

• If one of my stocks dropped 30% overnight… would I panic?

• Am I investing in speculative stocks with money I can’t afford to lose?

• Are feelings of FOMO or excitement starting to influence my investment decisions?

If these questions make you uncomfortable, it’s a sign you’re overexposed.

There’s nothing wrong with holding speculative positions. They can be exciting, and they can produce incredible returns when the timing is right.

But they should never define your entire portfolio.

Because in the end, wealth isn’t just about how much you make when things are good.

It’s about how much you keep when things turn bad.

That means holding cash, owning quality companies, and staying disciplined when everyone else is chasing the next hot trade.

You’ve done the hard work to get here.

Don’t let greed, fear, or overconfidence take it away.