So, Do You Think You Want to be an Investor?

     So, do you think you want to be an investor?  It is a question I asked myself many times when I was younger and yesterday it was fresh in my mind again.  I dodged a real investment bullet!  I had been contemplating buying a few shares of Luckin Coffee.  It fell almost 70% before I could pull the trigger.  I was really Luckin, I mean, Lucky! It reminded me of all the bullets I was not successful dodging, including:

 *Evicting tenants

 *Loan modifications and foreclosures

 *Fielding a surprise phone call from a neighbor of a tenant.  Her cat was killed by three little dogs owned by my tenant.  My client was not supposed to even have one dog.  

 *Investing in the stock market just before the crash of 1987 and every single crash since then, including the most recent crash.

*Investing into an oil well that struck oil!  The oil was quickly replaced with salt water.  Ha! People buy oil.  You have to pay people to take salt water. I did not even know that could happen.  

 *Investing in a guaranteed ATM business that went to zero.  A tax loss!  It also caused me to pass on a recent ATM investment.  My friend invested and gets a check from every, single month.  A big opportunity loss for me.  

 *Investing in a new drug stock.  Held it for years.  Their drug was approved and....I LOST MONEY!

 *Investing in a private restaurant chain called Papashon.  The District Attorney told me the ring leader had run off to the Philippines.  Another tax loss and nice dinner.  If I ever get to the Philippines, I may have to look that guy up. 

* Investing in a new real estate brokerage.  The stock went to zero.  The broker made the stock holders whole again.  It is nice to know there are still good people in the world.

     There have been other hard lessons along the way.  Lots more!  Has it been worth it?  Yes!  Do I wish I was smart enough not to not lose?  Of Course, but that is just not realistic.  If you invest, there will be good days and bad days.  Notice, I only mentioned my bad days.  The good days have definitely outnumbered the bad days.  I wish I had started younger, but fear paralyzed me. It turns out the imagined fear was worse than reality. The real risk is doing nothing at all.  

Luckin coffee fell even more today.  Maybe it is time for a very small portion.  What could go wrong?  ;o) 

So, Do you think you want to be an investor?