Cognition and decision-making indeed determine the direction of wealth.

I saw a classic case: an asset had the opportunity to be sold in 2018, but it took years of persuasion before the owner finally sold. At its peak, the valuation was in the millions, but it later shrank significantly to less than half of that. Originally, a three-part asset portfolio was close to ten million, but now it has been halved to just over four million. Over a few years, more than half a lifetime’s savings were lost—those carefully saved and frugally accumulated funds were wiped out by market cycles in an instant.

This is a typical example of decision delay costs. Hesitating at a high point, by the time you react, it’s already too late. This applies to any asset class—stocks, real estate, cryptocurrencies—the logic is the same. Markets have cycles, and opportunity windows are limited. Cognition determines whether you can seize that window; execution ability determines whether you can cut losses in time.