| Many people invest in the stock market
hoping to find the next Microsoft and Dell. However, I know{{U}} (21)
{{/U}}personal experience how difficult this really is. For more than a
year, I was{{U}} (22) {{/U}}hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars
a day investing in the market. It seemed so easy. I dreamed of{{U}} (23)
{{/U}}my job at the end of the year, of buying a small apartment in Paris,
of traveling around the world. But these dreams{{U}} (24) {{/U}}to a
sudden and dramatic end when a stock I{{U}} (25) {{/U}}, Texas cellular
phone wholesaler, fell by more than 75 percent{{U}} (26) {{/U}}a one
year period. On the{{U}} (27) {{/U}}day, it plunged by more than $15 a
share. There was a rumor the company was{{U}} (28) {{/U}}sales
figures. That was when I learned how quickly Wall Street{{U}} (29)
{{/U}}companies that misrepresent the{{U}} (30) {{/U}}. In a{{U}} (31) {{/U}}, I sold all my stock in the company, paying{{U}} (32) {{/U}}margin debt with cash advances from my{{U}} (33) {{/U}}card. Because I owned so many shares, I{{U}} (34) {{/U}}a small fortune, half of it from money I borrowed from the brokerage company. One month, I am a{{U}} (35) {{/U}}, the next, a loser. This one big loss was my first lesson in the market. My father was a stockbroker, as was my grandfather{{U}} (36) {{/U}}him. (In fact, he founded one of Chicago's earliest brokerage firms.) But like so many thing in life, we don't learn anything until we{{U}} (37) {{/U}}it for ourselves. The only way to really understand the inner{{U}} (38) {{/U}}of the stock market is to invest your own hard-earned money. When all your stocks are doing{{U}} (39) {{/U}}and you feel like a winner, you learn very little. It's when all your stocks are losing and everyone is questioning your stock-picking{{U}} (40) {{/U}}that you find out if you have what it takes to invest in the market. |