"You must have the mental awareness to change your point of view if things change...and they can change quite rapidly. "
Very true - and have the guts to cut a loss at any point.
"HC is literally riddled with examples of people who have fallen in love with a company and completely and utterly lost everything because they failed to change their viewpoint with a change in fundamentals of that company."
Changes in fundamentals are often not clear cut - that is one problem. You can have something that happens that is the result of 'just timing' - which can be overlooked if that is what it is.
If you get it wrong - it's a real problem though -------- ?? was it Jamie Packer or Lachlan Murdock and One Tel ---------- something like 'it's just a timing thing'.
"To be a successful investor, especially in the specs and emerging company space, you've gottamaintain a healthy dose of skepticism."
Whilst that is also true - the biggest problem I see in investing in a business is that people run it.
Above all the risks that we look at - this risk is the least looked at - but, is in fact the biggest risk of all.
Being skeptical is very much a double edged sword.
I used to be very skeptical. In fact, I used to start people off at zero and hope that they impressed me. I took everything they said with a very large dose of salt.
In short - I was a glass half empty person - for a long time.
The results were - that I found what I was looking for and expected - and, had the returns to match.
After many years and meeting a lot of people at many levels in society ------ I stepped aside from that viewpoint and decided to look at it differently.
One experience above all else sticks in my memory - and, it came from a Yank mate of mine who I loved and respected a great deal.
Although he didn't say it because he was very well mannered - he knew that I had skills that he admired greatly - my networking amazed him and what information I could get in minutes that he was unable to get in years --------------- but, as far as my attitude went - I think he thought that I was stuffed in the head.
And, I now believe - he was right.
He taught me this ------
"Trust everyone, but, cut the deck"
It took a long time for that to get through my thick skull - but, eventually, it got in.
I changed and I then met everyone and took it on face value that they were good people with honorable interests.
If things went south after that - fine, cut and run.
The point is - that if we have 'expectations' - then, in general - we get them. If we search for something - then, we will find it.
Someone bought up fml the other day in regard to my belief in it ----------- well, with FML, it is shaping up as the best deal I have ever done.
I lost almost a mil. on FML - and, of course I wasn't thrilled to bits about it - nor was Parsifal.
However - that was the greatest gift - proving that one should never judge the race until it is finished.
I had been a pretty good stockpicker for quite a while - I had a lot of really good picks and several not so good.
FML and NEA really cemented that I had something that was working really really well - and something that was working really badly - the trick was - how the hell did I sort out what was what.
Luckily I had had the purrs idea for many years - and, it was just by sheer coincidence that we found someone who I trusted at that very moment in history who had the skills and the time opportunity etc. to build it.
What happened was that Purrs showed me exactly and precisely where I had got it wrong - and where I had got it right.
If I hadn't have had the loss on fml - and or the timing of relationships were different - it more than likely would not have happened. And, most certainly - if FML had been a win for me - I know it wouldn't have happened at all.
Being skeptical is a very powerful thing - and, sometimes it is a very good thing - but, it is also a very dangerous thing - and can bring you into a mental state that is most definitely NOT conducive to building great wealth.
What I find is a big problem is when one has large positions in a company - by large, I mean a relative thing - so, if you want to exit your whole position - you can't just push the button - or you would devastate the price.
The problem is when you 'sense' that something is wrong - first thing you do is to try and nut out what exactly is wrong - and, it is probably easy if you can see it - but, it becomes harder if you can't - or even if you can - but, you think you have some leeway timewise and think you can get out at such and such - the lesson I have learned is really to get out straight away.
The other lesson I have learnt is to look back --------- don't just dump a stock and write it off.
Why?
Because if your research showed you that the stock is good and you were in - but, something went wrong and you got out ---------------- someone might fix what was wrong - and the stock recovers.
If you have turned away - you lose interest and you lose your contact with what is going on - often at great potential loss.
So far - AJX has only given me one heart attack - and, that was cleared up quickly - (that was when there was talk of Nick devoting time to another company).
Hopefully the wheels keep turning. And, hopefully all our problems (which are always present) - are to do with the rate of growth.
2016 is really going to test how AJX is set up but, I expect the team will be able to manage all of those problems that one gets in a rapid growth company.
have a great day.
Pinto
AJX Price at posting:
91.5¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
(20min delay)