THE AUTHOR
Derek Moneyberg
I'm an investor, entrepreneur, wealth coach, and podcast host. These articles draw on my YouTube videos and podcast conversations.
More about Derek
Is AI a Bubble? Look Beyond the Market’s Biggest Names
A crowded market does not prove an AI bubble. Derek Moneyberg asks whether leading AI companies have durable businesses, real demand, and room to compete.
What an Inverted Yield Curve Can—and Can’t—Tell You
Derek Moneyberg explains what an inverted yield curve compares, why it draws attention, and why it cannot promise a recession or a personal borrowing rate.
Why I Left Walmart at 19
Derek Moneyberg recalls leaving Walmart after rapid promotions and a fixed three-year wait, and explains how he thinks about growth and useful relationships.
Does This Still Matter in a Week?
Derek Moneyberg explains his seven-day question for sorting genuine urgency from interruptions that do not deserve immediate attention.
Train the Weak Spot Before It Becomes a Crisis
Derek Moneyberg describes how difficult training positions revealed weaknesses he could study, practice and address before they mattered in competition.
Why Simple Fundamentals Still Win
Henri Hooft explains why fighters return to balance, distance and simple techniques, then repeat the basics until they can use them under pressure.
How I Learn From a Coach: Clarify the Goal, Then Follow the Details
Derek Moneyberg explains how he learns from coaches: clarify the objective, ask about unfamiliar details, and put the instruction into practice.
Learn From a Mentor’s Experience: Ask Better Questions
Derek Moneyberg discusses what a coach’s experience can teach, asking better questions, and doing the practice needed to turn instruction into progress.
Define the Skill Before You Chase the Milestone
Derek Moneyberg explains why he asks for measurable skill requirements instead of relying on a timeline to define progress.
Build a Focus Bubble After a Setback
Valentina Shevchenko describes how a clear goal, a trusted team and attention to preparation can help keep outside noise from taking over after a setback.
Frank Mir’s Grappling Strategy: Evaluate the Position You’ll Reach
Frank Mir explains how he evaluates grappling techniques by their likely result, the risk of failure, and whether the position can be improved.
Durable Work Takes Time
Durable skills and lasting projects require time for foundations, practice, and steady improvement. Derek Moneyberg explains why pace should fit the result he wants.
Build a Rule That Helps You Return to Work
Derek Moneyberg describes the 25-push-up rule he used while studying and how a planned response to distraction can support a useful habit.
Do What Pays Off Whatever the Future Looks Like
Derek Moneyberg explains how to prepare during uncertainty by building judgment, knowledge, fitness, and relationships before a decision becomes clear.
What to Do When You Feel Unappreciated at Work
Assess your contribution honestly, discuss a gap in expectations privately, and decide what to do from the conversation that follows.
Volatility Is Not the Same as Risk
Derek Moneyberg explains why he does not treat volatility as risk, how uncertainty moves prices, and why he looks at downside instead. From a June 2025 Q&A.
Ask for the Feedback People Hesitate to Give
Derek Moneyberg explains why he asks coaches for specific corrections, how small mistakes can cause delayed problems, and why comfort is no substitute for accurate feedback.
Challenge Your Ego So You Can Keep Learning
Learn from people with relevant experience, test your assumptions against the outcome you want, and keep ego from closing you off to better ideas.
Why I Stay Away From Short-Term Rentals
Derek Moneyberg explains why changing local rules and guest management keep him away from short-term rentals.
Selling Puts on a Stock You Already Want to Own
How Derek Moneyberg uses put options on stocks he already likes, what a put seller is committed to, and why perfect market timing is never available.
Choose an Optimistic View That Fits the Facts
Derek Moneyberg explains how he approaches difficult work with a constructive outlook while refusing to ignore facts or build a plan on false assumptions.
Managing Yourself Is the First Step Toward Autonomy
Autonomy starts with self-management: find a work rhythm that sustains progress, keep commitments, and cooperate with people you trust.
Why I Focus on One or Two Things at a Time
Focus on a few skills, delegate what you can, and do the practice yourself. Derek Moneyberg explains why excellence requires choosing what to leave out.
Keep Your Real Estate Where You Can Watch It
Derek Moneyberg compares managing nearby property with owning shares of a public real-estate business.
How I Size a Stock Position as I Learn More
Derek Moneyberg explains why he may start with a smaller stock position and add as his understanding and confidence grow.
Dividends, Buybacks or Reinvestment: How I Think About Getting Paid
Why I look past the form of a shareholder payout and ask what the business can do with its earnings.
Advertising Amplifies What You Have Already Built
Derek Moneyberg explains the difference between marketing and advertising, and why product quality and reputation should come before ad spend.
Let Your Price and Your Message Filter Who Shows Up
Derek Moneyberg explains how price and message can help screen for the right customers, and why that choice may cost clicks and reach.
Learn Business Through Neighborhood Work
Derek Moneyberg recalls neighborhood jobs and four paper routes as examples of starting small and organizing work before a university student's first contracting business.
Working Hard on the Right Things
Derek Moneyberg explains why effort matters most when it is directed at the right work, with feedback to help choose where to focus.
Why Reading Financial Statements Comes First
Derek Moneyberg explains why financial statements matter before investing, and shares his 2023 views on small-business buyouts and REITs.
How I Got a Hotel Room After Being Told It Was Sold Out
Derek Moneyberg recounts asking for the right person, owning his mistake, and calmly seeking a room when the hotel said it was full.
What to Say and What to Keep Back When You Negotiate
Derek Moneyberg explains how open a buyer should be about needs, why to keep a price ceiling private, and how a house-offer example plays out.
What I Look For Before I Buy, and What Waiting Costs
How I think about understandable businesses, uncertainty and the cost of waiting for a perfect entry.
Why I Don't Day Trade
Derek Moneyberg explains why he doesn't day trade, how he handles the rare trade he makes, and why he sees margin trading as gambling.
Entrepreneurship, Stocks and Real Estate Work Together
Derek Moneyberg explains why he treats entrepreneurship, stocks, real estate and interest rates as one connected subject, in a 2022 Q&A.
When a Big Client Keeps Pushing Your Price Down
Derek Moneyberg answers a supplier facing a large buyer's repeated demands for lower prices by asking what service is worth, drawing on a past outsourcing deal.
Find High-Quality Vendors Through the Work
Derek Moneyberg explains how a future contractor can notice capable tradespeople on current jobs and build relationships before needing a project team.
If Social Media Is Not Helping, Take It Off Your Phone
Derek Moneyberg shares the question he used to decide whether a social media app deserved a place on his phone and in his day.
What I'd Do With $100,000: Invest in Education First
Derek Moneyberg answers a viewer's $100,000 investing question by explaining why he would put the money into education first.
How Much Research Is Enough Before You Invest?
Why research cannot remove uncertainty, and how I weigh an investment against other uses of my money.
Handle Vendors Who Don’t Keep Their Word
Derek Moneyberg recounts missed appointments and an inferior materials order, showing how he addressed broken commitments and asked for a clear resolution.
Why I Pay Attention When Other Investors Panic
Why preparation matters when fear drives investors to sell and prices move sharply.
How I Negotiate Price as an Informed Buyer
Derek Moneyberg describes how preparation, decisiveness and understanding the other side shaped his negotiation of a large stone purchase.
Make the Decision. Own the Mistake.
Derek Moneyberg recounts a lesson from his Walmart mentor about making decisions, accepting mistakes, and learning from them.
Negotiate for the Outcome, Not Just the Price
Derek Moneyberg explains why he paid a carpenter's asking price in exchange for a return visit, and how he weighs small concessions like restaurant water.
Build a Better Network by Contributing Value
Derek Moneyberg explains why he built his mastermind group, his approach to lasting relationships, and why serving the right people starts with good work.
Why Employees Should Learn Entrepreneurship
Derek Moneyberg says employees need to understand entrepreneurship, citing a viewer's revenue goal and explaining why raise advice depends on details.
Show Leadership Before You Ask for the Promotion
Derek Moneyberg answers a viewer who wants his own team, using a construction-site story and habits that make managers see leadership.
How to Earn a Raise by Thinking Like an Entrepreneur
Derek Moneyberg explains why a job can be a good choice, how to look for pay tied to performance, and why to ask for more work before more pay.
Work Hard Young, but Skip the Extra Pressure
Derek Moneyberg tells a high-achieving 23-year-old to work hard while young but not to add pressure that won't improve his results.
When a Seller Will Not Move on Price
Derek Moneyberg discusses how buyers and sellers can compare a real-estate offer with their alternatives, consider other terms, and decide when to move on.
Spend Your Limited Hours on People Who Want to Win
Derek Moneyberg counts his remaining hours, explains why he won't spend them on people not committed to their own success, and encourages sharing who you are.
Build Relationships Across Your Company to Move Up Faster
Derek Moneyberg passes along a sociologist's idea about rotating through teams, becoming an insider, and why an insider's vouching matters.
Staying Calm, Skipping Excuses, and Keeping Your Word
Derek Moneyberg on calm under pressure, dropping excuses, keeping your word, and the abnormal effort he says abnormal results require.
Work Backward From the Goal You Want
Derek Moneyberg explains how to work backward from a goal, identify the steps before it, and learn from someone who has already made the journey you want.
Define the Scope Before You Negotiate a Renovation
Derek Moneyberg uses a renovation to show why he defines plumbing, electrical and cabinet scope before comparing bids or negotiating with contractors.
Set Goals Too Big to Reach Alone
Derek Moneyberg explains why he wants people with big goals, what changed after a rough childhood, and why high-quality people and work ethic go together.
Set Clear Expectations Before You Work Together
Set clear expectations before working together. Derek Moneyberg explains why he discusses standards early and turns down relationships that are a poor fit.
Know What You Own: REITs and Tech Startups
What I want to understand about the real estate beneath a REIT and the odds of an early-stage company.
Surround Yourself With Long-Term Thinkers
Derek Moneyberg explains why he moved from doing everything himself to trusting smarter, cooperative, long-term thinkers, and avoids get-rich-quick company.
Why I Describe the Hard Parts of a Role Before Anyone Joins
Derek Moneyberg describes how he screens people for a demanding assistant role by explaining the hardest parts first and checking that goals line up.
Build a Small Core Team You Can Count On
Derek Moneyberg describes why he values loyalty and kept promises, and how he aligns incentives with the few people closest to his work.
Own Your Results, Not Your Title
Derek Moneyberg explains why he cares more about results than titles, how he expects people to work with him, and why he keeps working when others rest.
Keep Learning Through Direct Questions
Derek Moneyberg explains why he keeps learning through direct conversations with people who understand a subject better than he does.
Build Useful Skills Through Education and Mentorship
Derek Moneyberg answers a question about college and mentors, covering financial literacy, learning from experience, and the work students do post-lesson.
Business Is a Team Sport: Choose Your People Carefully
Build your network around your goals, protect good relationships, and learn from people who have done the work. Derek Moneyberg shares his approach.
Build a Peer Group That Helps You Succeed
Derek Moneyberg explains why he chose his peer group deliberately, how he offers value to busy successful people, and why he pays to keep the wrong people out.
Professionals Work Whatever Their Mood
Derek Moneyberg explains why professional results come from preparation, good coaches and deciding to act regardless of mood, plus his focus on fundamentals.
You Don't Need a Turning Point to Start
Derek Moneyberg answers a question about his turning point in Athens and explains why he thinks you can skip the catalyst and just start each day.
Why Your Ego Says You're Already Good Enough
Derek Moneyberg explains the ego as a coping mechanism, how short-term bias distorts decisions, and why he stopped trying to be valuable to everyone.