Andy Gupta defines financial freedom as time with family and supporting orphaned children, a cause rooted in childhood fear in Mumbai. He dismisses stock tips in favor of portfolio-level thinking, wears a necklace his six-year-old made to stay present, and argues that self-compassion leads to authentic kindness.
Chapters
My definition of financial freedom is for me to be able to have the freedom to be able to choose that I can drop my kids off to school every day and having that freedom that I can pick them up every day, that my mornings are interrupted, that I am not having to answer to a phone call or a meeting or look at what's happening in the markets, but actually focus on my wife and my kids and enjoy their morning coffee. So that freedom and being able to do that is how I define financial freedom. And second is an ability to make a difference to something that's very dear to me. And look, I grew up with a lot of fear of something happening to my parents and my sister and I being thrown out in the streets of Mumbai, which is a pretty scary thought. And this fear of being orphaned as a child was very vivid and very alive every day. It still lives within me, and it's scary, and it's odd. We talked about childhood fears and triggers, so that fear was very vivid. And what's deeply meaningful for me is to be able to help children, help children who have been orphaned. I want to do more around supporting good orphanages that are doing wonderful work for the children. And being able to do that is also how I define my financial freedom— enjoying time with my family but being able to contribute to a cause that's very personal and very dear to me. There are two joys in life for me, and they're simple. I like keeping things simple. It's making my morning coffee with my wife and enjoying that morning time with my kids, with my wife, enjoying that morning coffee with her, and then taking one of my kids— depends which one on the day— to school. And the drop-off time— drop-off and pickups, I like to do both— are one of my most cherished times in the day. And I really, really enjoy it, holding their little hands, walking with them, hearing whatever's on their mind. And quite often it's hilarious, or them practicing the words to a Peppa Pig song or Sophia the First song. And I love it. And when I start into my goofy dance along with them, sometimes they'll encourage it. Sometimes they'll shush me and ask me to be quiet. But those are my favorite morning routines. In spite of the challenges that we had growing up as kids, in spite of the challenges that they had between them, I think as parents, whatever their maturity levels were at that time, I think as parents, they really did their— sorry, I get emotional. I think they did their best. And while there were consequences, not all of them positive, I can appreciate the challenges that they both faced emotionally with each other and in life. But they did their best to raise me and my sister. It may not be the traditional success that people from the outside view, but I would like to call them successful for what they did, given what they faced. Asking a friend who seems so knowledgeable about what they're doing is, hey, can you give me your 5 best ideas to invest in the market right now? I've done this before, way back, way back when. I get asked this all the time. And let me just bust the disbelief and that'll become very evident for people why. Like right now, it's like, "Eddie, why should I ask you for your 5 best ideas right now?" Here is why. One is my investment goals, my risk, my values are different from yours, are different from the third person. So what I might suggest today is based on my personal blueprint, which could be completely different from yours, right? So that's number one. And that in itself should be like, okay, well, I shouldn't be asking Andy unless I ask him what all his risk goals are. Do they align with me? That's number one. But number two is these might be my five best ideas today. A month from now, what if I change one of those ideas? Or what if I made a mistake? I'm not God, right? Out of those five, I actually realized, oh my God, I wake up tomorrow and said that analysis that I did was just completely busted and I did it wrong. And that's actually something I should sell. That's not one of my best ideas. Oh, shoot, I made a mistake. Am I going to start calling all my friends who I recommended my 5 best ideas to? Now fast forward 2 months, 6 months, a year, I'm not going to be calling people saying, hey, I changed my mind and these are my latest 5 ideas. It's a collection of stocks, right? So the S&P 500, in the US. That's the 500 biggest companies. You can get exposure to that with a single stock. And that's a way to perhaps understand asset classes versus digging so deep in individual companies like Tesla or pick your stock. So it becomes more manageable to understand what's going on and to do what's so-called diligence, which is doing your research and understanding, it becomes a lot more manageable for the everyday investor who's busy and doesn't want to spend all day reading or looking at the stock market. Let's spend the upfront time and let's understand how we invested at a little bigger picture level and then put our money to work. Very good. Andy, what has been the most exciting purchase you've made in the last 6 months? Oh, I have to say my blue t-shirts, but I know that will not be a very satisfying answer to you for sure. Look, I don't buy a lot of things. I'm very boring that way. It's this necklace, which I'm most excited about. And it says Y-O-U, you. My 6-year-old daughter made this for me. Nice. And she made this for me 2 months ago and I can't remove it. I can't get myself to do it because one, it's a rubber band. So every now and then it twangs me and it hurts me, but it's okay. But the words are very meaningful to me. And she made it, of course, and I was thinking for a child, a parent is everything. The "you" is so powerful and she gifted it to me. There's a great symbology in that. And it deeply resonated for me is reminding myself every time I get distracted and even when I'm with my daughter and I'm thinking about my course or investing, I'm not with her. So this necklace is now a reminder that that I am a huge part of her life and I can shape how she thinks and what she does. So it's a reminder. So this is very important. It's not a purchase, but for me, it's one of the most treasured items that I own. But it also is a reminder to focus on ourselves. You here in this case is me, right? Is what are the actions we can take to be in a better place? To live that joyous life that all of us are meant to live? What are the actions I can take today to cut out the noise, to cut out the need for external validation, to really dig down and deep? Is what is it that's most important to me, and that what helps me live a joyous life? And when I get a little off track I can feel the beads on my chest, and it's a very deep reminder. That's so beautiful. I think one of my favorite quotes is, "If not now, then when?" And I think that resonates across so many aspects of life. When we're feeling fearful, when we're feeling self-doubt, back then in Washington, D.C., when I'm faced with that choice, do I do this or not? If not now, then when? Given the fear, given the anxiety that I grew up with, watching everything around me, my message would be, how can we practice kindness for ourselves first? Because I think if we are kind to ourselves first, we will naturally be kind to others. How can we truly come from a place of authenticity and genuine kindness for ourselves and look for the best in the other person who's across from us, as annoying as they might be? How can we find the best in that person? And I think it starts with one person at a time. Let's not think about my community or my country, but I truly think if we start with one person and train our mindset to truly look for the best in whoever I come across in the next 10 minutes, and then in the next 10 minutes, I think that incremental change will not only make us happier, but I think will make the community in general, one by one, I think a lot kinder and a lot happier place to be.
