How my investment journey started and grew into what it is today.
It all began shortly before the 2000 Dot Com bubble. My dad created an investment company that tried to use news to prevent price action. Like 99% of the Dot Com's of the era it was not meant to be. But it gave me my first taste of what it was like to make money by predicting the future. And I didn't know it yet, but I was hooked.
After that experience, I wouldn't really get interested in investing again until early 2008. I know, right? I was one of those people who kept getting drawn in to the markets near the highs. So embarrassing. :P
Anyway, this time I found options and I was hooked. The only problem? I didn't take time to understand how they really worked and I went 100% long with short dated calls. Ouch... Yep, I know. No, actual research into the stocks and NO risk mitigation plans whatsoever. Oh and I borrowed from credit cards to acquire greater leverage in order to be able to invest.
Needless to say, I lost it all. And the pain I felt when I lost $51,000 in one day and knew it was never coming back, was just incredible. I was dripping in sweat thinking I'd ruined my life and that of my future wife. Within a year, I ended up having to file bankruptcy because of these horrible decisions.
But it wasn't a complete loss. I didn't know it at the time, but I had learned some of the most valuable lessons of my life and I wasn't done with investing yet, even though at the time, I told myself I would never do it again.
Fast forward to early 2017, and my dad was trying to tell me about Bitcoin. Originally, I was dismissive and didn't want to become a 3 time loser. But the more I learned the more excited I became. I started running Ethereum on my home computer and saw money coming in. It was more than I was paying for electricity!!! I was HOOKED YET AGAIN. At the time I didn't know it, but I would NEVER LET GO AGAIN. This was my time!!!!
Anyway, back to the story. I bought A LOT of video cards. A lot! Probably over 100 that year. Eventually, I had to move into a warehouse because my house was 100 degrees with the windows open in the winter. :P I learned the hard way, that this was NOT an easy game, but the important thing was that I took the time to rollover a 401k into an IRA, and I wasn't going to make the same mistakes again with the money I was investing. So, I diversified into
$TSLA and
$GBTC, and a few other investments. I also told myself I WOULD NOT use options this time!!! Because I could see that things were toppy and I wasn't going to make that mistake again. Instead, I learned TA (Technical Analysis), and despite the downfall in late 2017, I was able to ride out the storm.
Fast forward to 2019, after thousands of hours of education research, I could see with a clarity I had NEVER HAD BEFORE that Bitcoin and Tesla were at their bottoms. So, I doubled down during the depths of the bear market in 2019. And this time I understood options, so I gave it another go on the way down and used LEAPS this time in order to time the Bitcoin markets with the halving.
Over the course of the next few years, I would make a small fortune off of Tesla and Bitcoin.
I knew I was good with TA, but I was missing the big picture most of the time and was dependent on others, which I didn't want to be. I knew I was only going to get better if I started to devote myself full time to this craft. So, I took a 40% pay cut at work in order to devote almost all of my time to investing. <-- To most and even my former self, I would have thought this was crazy. But I knew I would succeed with a clarity I had NEVER had in my life. So, I had to take it. I had to take one my shot to know that I had at least given it my all before I would give up. Because I couldn't live out the rest of my life without knowing I had at least tried to hone my craft. Also, I had just got done reading "The Art of Not Giving a Fxck", and The 4 Hour Work Week". And I was psyched!
For the next year, I delved into more TA and researching broader markets. I watched
@HolySmokas and started to learn what to look at to determine what a business was actually worth. I was hooked and it added a whole new element to my investing strategy, because I was less dependent on others now.
The pandemic came shortly afterwards. Instead of looking at this as the end of the world, I used it to delve into geopolitics so that I could understand the risk of China taking over the world. I started watching people like
@LynAldenContact,
@RayDalio, and many, many others, in order to determine what path the world would take in the years ahead. I was devoting 12-15 hours a day to do this. ALL of MY TIME. This would prove invaluable in the quarters ahead.
It was the final piece of the puzzle. I now had the ability to understand price action through the charts, and could apply company/investment fundamentals, while at the same time understanding the macro events occurring in the world. I wasn't perfect but it WAS a GAME CHANGING moment for me.
Anyway, back to the real story here. My inspiration and the person who helped introduce me to this world, while keeping me excited about it despite my numerous failures. He would play the contrarian or get me thinking about new topics I had not thought about before. I'm 99.9% sure that without my dad beside me along the way I would NOT be where I am today. I would have already given up, and I would have missed the opportunity that would change my life and hopefully the lives of MANY other people, over time. At every key point in my career, he was there and supported me more than anyone. Sometimes through some VERY DARK TIMES.
I'm forever indebted to you dad. :') And I want you to know that you didn't just help me, you're now helping other people too that you may never even meet.
Love you VERY MUCH and can't wait to enjoy the day with you.
Happy Fathers Day!!!