I read a laugable comment directing at me again by a persistent critic as below,
Posted by stockmanmy > Apr 30, 2017 12:35 AM | Report Abuse
Kyy is a tycoon, a maverick investor. They dare to sailang.KC, if you do not dare to sailang, you should be more comfortable with CFA rules aka as diversification rules.
If you cannot see KYY as maverick investor, you cannot see me as maverick investor. But both of us are The Mavericks.
The Mavericks? A "Sailang" Maverick?
Here I would liketo share an article by Fools, a very good article for everyone to ponder, "The Forgotten Tycoons"
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We all have role models. Mentors. Heroes. We find those we want to emulate and learn all we can from them, following in their footsteps.
Sometimes that's a dangerous path.
I was reminded of the potential perils of becoming, in today's language, a fan-boy of the rich and famous by, of all people, my role model.
"Thanks for everything you've helped me with," I told an investment writer I've long admired over a recent lunch. "You've been a great mentor."
After all, he's spent years dispensing valuable advice to me on investing, business, and life.
But he was quick to deflect the praise.
"Careful there," he laughed in response.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Edgewater, come on. We've talked about this before. Don't jinx me."
Ah, he was right.
"Edgewater" is code for a story that illuminates how careful you have to be when selecting and admiring role models and mentors in the business world.
It goes like this.
Ninety-two years ago, a group of nine of the world's most successful and powerful businessmen met at the Edgewater Beach Hotel in Chicago. Adjusted for inflation, some were billionaires. What others lacked in wealth they made up for in influence.
They were there to celebrate their power, share stories, and team up to dominate the booming U.S. economy.
If there was a roomful of men capable of ruling the world, there it was.
But within 25 years, those nine men ruled nothing:
- Charles Schwab, the president of Bethlehem Steel, died bankrupt.
- Samuel Insull, a utility tycoon, died penniless after his empire collapsed under phony accounting.
- Howard Hopson, the president of a gas company, had a mental breakdown and lived in an insane asylum after being convicted of securities fraud.
- Richard Whitney, president of the New York Stock Exchange, was in prison for embezzlement.
- Leon Fraser, a banker and lawyer, committed suicide.
- Arthur Cutten, a commodities investor, died of a heart attacked.
- Ivar Kruger, who once dominated the match industry, killed himself after going broke.
- Albert Fall, President Harding's Secretary of the Interior, died shortly after being convicted of bribery.
- Jesse Livermore, an investor, was nearly broke and killed himself, writing to his wife: "I am a failure. I am truly sorry, but this is the only way out for me."
The takeaway is something we take seriously at The Motley Fool:
Choose your role models carefully. Extreme success is often due to luck, not skill or character. Never underestimate the power of one-hit wonders, especially in a field like investing. Personally, I'm interested in people whose success spans a lifetime, across multiple ventures. People like Warren Buffett, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk. And yes (potentially brown-nosing but honest), Fool co-founders Tom and David Gardner.
Avoid leverage. It doomed many of the nine tycoons. In investing, this means avoiding margin debt when buying stocks. I don't know anyone who has consistently used margin debt and not regretted it in hindsight. I'm actually shocked it's still legal.
Think long term. Gunning for short-term results and the constant desire for more money now took down many of these nine men's fortunes. Markets reward patience more than any other skill.
Reputation, honesty, and accountability matter more than anything. Especially in business. As Warren Buffett once said when a company he ran came under scrutiny: "Lose money and I will forgive you. But lose even a shred of reputation and I will be ruthless."
Have a great weekend,
http://klse.i3investor.com/blogs/kcchongnz/121724.jsp
