Larry--'The Zen of Shorting' may have a passage that applies to you.
The great master short Chu Mei Ash was observed to be talking for sometime with another investor. The student waited until the investor left and then approached the Master with this question.
"Master, may I ask why you spend so much time speaking with that man? He never goes short and his record of investing is most terrible."
"I fear little mold spot, that you are thinking too much like the white barbarians now visiting our shores. They have the most wonderous needle that always points in one direction. They, in their ignorance, always say it points north. Of what value is that? There is nothing north of Japan except storms, icy seas, and barbarian warriors. We Japanese understand that the needle actually points south, where the lands are rich with spices, gold, and other wealth.
You see while that trader is most atrocious he is invaluable to point the way south. The way to great profits and riches."
"I see Master, but why is he so bad at investing? And how can you be sure he will continue so."
"You are of course aware of the calendar the Chinese use, with the years of the various animals; the dog, the monkey, the tiger and so forth. It has been my observation that there is one other birth sign the Chinese are unaware of. In any year there may be born a person whose Karma is such that he has a great curse upon him. This person is born under the sign of the dung beetle. When he invests stupidly or with ignorance as he does most often, the market will punish him severely. When he shows shrewdness, cunning, or wisdom his luck will be bad and the market will again punish him."
"When your Karma has delivered such a prize to you, you must treat it with great care and caution. Listen carefully and do not attempt to give him knowledge or information as he is best when left pure. I simply tell him I seek his wisdom and that I feel he is a wise investor in a bad luck. Surely the market will turn in his favor soon. And they will always return to the market to lose more money. For the dung beetle is truly their life's sign and such is their Karma and who can avoid their fate.
Larry--I thought this was an interesting passage. Personally though I think you are just having a run of bad luck. You have been investing shrewdly, just the cards against you. You will turn it around. What are you getting into next? |
