What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
My first foray into the world of investing was the result of my dad’s 30% gain on his YUM! Brands stock. It was not so much the money that attracted me, but rather this concept of an invisible, almost magical marketplace that facilitated millions of split second trades. Before then, I never imagined that an ordinary person, let alone a kid, could become an owner of Apple, the company that shaped my generation, or of Disney, the company that nurtured my childhood dreams.
School had taught me how to write well and solve integral equations, but investing was my path to learning more, my conduit for satisfying the desire to discover. Each stock article I read sparked a new interest in another sector, and I eagerly devoured Peter Lynch’s One Up on Wall Street and Burton Malkiel’s A Random Walk Down Wall Street. I became a jack of all trades, exploring hydraulic fracking techniques while researching orphan drugs, investigating international patent law while analyzing correlations between shipping spot rates and oil prices. Underneath the thousands of analyst ratings and millions of minor market fluctuations, there was a certain logic in the massive jigsaw puzzle of the stock market that I yearned to understand.
Sure, I bought the big names: Apple, Intel, Tesla. But I soon found far more potential in companies that nobody wanted. In essence, I am a contrarian, seeing value where others do not. More importantly, I buy shares in companies not focused solely on pleasing shareholders but instead aiming to change the world. Some of my best investments are in companies with bright, game-changing ideas, beaten down because traders saw them as hopeless long shots. Contrary to conventional wisdom, I am emotionally invested in all my stocks, a strategy I have found to be both financially successful and personally satisfying.
Most think of investing as a way to make money. I think of it as my defining characteristic. It is a passion, an opportunity, and a lifestyle, all rolled into one. What more could I ask for?
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