Take a look at the stock market returns for the last 5, 10, 20 years. At pretty much any point you could have invested and had handsome returns by today.
I also know people who abandoned the market at the bottom of one of the various dips. They're all bitter about the recoveries since. Taking a longer view, the various machinations of the market that seemed so important at the time are lost in the width of the line on the graph.
Yes, your choices are by far the #1 factor in any success, or lack of, that you have. Telling your children anything less is a disservice.
I also know people who abandoned the market at the bottom of one of the various dips. They're all bitter about the recoveries since. Taking a longer view, the various machinations of the market that seemed so important at the time are lost in the width of the line on the graph.
Yes, your choices are by far the #1 factor in any success, or lack of, that you have. Telling your children anything less is a disservice.