I’ve always had a decent nose for investments. It’s not like I only pick winners, but I pick enough of them to do well—in theory. In practice, I can relate a little too much to Carter Thomas:
“I’ve always bought the right stuff at the right time — I’ve just never held it long enough.”
When I heard it five years ago, Carter’s story about selling his Apple stock too early left me with a big lesson: You don’t get rich by taking profits. I also kept a clip from the show on my desktop to rewatch it every few months.
Half a decade later, I’ve done okay overall, I think, but I’ve still lost more money from selling too soon than I’ve gained by getting rid of stuff that ended up only declining. It makes sense if you’re picking enough winners: Just let the losers go to zero! The home runs will more than make up for it. Maybe, I, too, should adopt the motto Carter wishes he had espoused: “Never sell.”
It’s not like I haven’t been trying. For my cryptocurrencies, for example, I set email alerts a few months ago. If one of my major positions hits a big target, I’ll automatically get an email. No portfolio-checking needed.
Until recently, however, I still had the app on my phone. The reason was purely logistical: I hadn’t tied my portfolio tracker to an email address. If I don’t have an account, I can’t get hacked, and no one would even be able to find out how much I own of what. But without an account, deleting the app would mean I might lose my data altogether. So I spent months stewing in the question. Setting up an account would mean added risk. Keeping the app around would mean I’d keep checking more than I’d like.
A few days ago, I finally bit the bullet. Getting hacked has a lot of ifs attached to it. And besides, there are far more valuable targets in the world of crypto than me—and many of them voluntarily post their numbers online. I connected my tracker and deleted the app. Ahhh, quiet bliss!
When I recap the whole scenario now, it seems obvious: Nik is good at picking and holding assets. He’s patient and has conviction. But the more news he reads, prices he checks, and pretends to want to stay up to date, the more great returns he fumbles. If he would just throw money at assets, then leave them alone, he’d be just fine. Clearly, he should delete all of his trackers and investing apps from his phone.
Are you really struggling with a decision? Or are you just postponing the necessary? Every now and then, the only path to right leads through wrong. Just make sure you walk faster once you can see the light—and try not to sell your winners along the way.
