Things I've Learned

Todd Harrison  Dec 31, 2008 7:30 am

Things I've Learned
 
Life is made up of important lessons.
 

 

The carnage of 2008 forever changed the socioeconomic landscape and seismically shifted the collective perception of what we do, how we do it and who we do it with.

As we look back at the year that was and cast an eye towards what will be, a little perspective will most certainly go a long way. Herewith are some personal lessons learned, some of which relate to the market but most of which apply to life.
 



  • Opportunities are made up easier than losses.

  • The purpose of the journey is the journey itself.

  • What goes around comes around.

  • The greatest wisdom is bred as a function of pain.

  • Bad times define good friends just as bad seasons define good fans.

  • There is a massive difference between having fun and being happy.

  • Be good to others and better to yourself.

  • Work to live. Don’t live to work.

  • Profitability begins within.

  • Gratitude is latitude.

  • Seeing old friends is good for the soul.

  • When in doubt, sit it out.

  • Time is the arbiter of all fate.

  • The air of integrity gets thinner with age.
9 of 9 (100%) found this helpful
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Comments (6) See All Comments »
12-31-2008, 11:30 am
A great koan indeed.

Meditation is needed.

Makes a gut level sense, reminds me of climbing mountains years ago.
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01-01-2009, 9:22 pm
The only omission that I noticed was Frank Zappa's timeless advice regarding liquidity, secondary/tertiary markets and third party checks.
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01-02-2009, 11:16 pm
I liked these comments very much, and so I dug through my investing notes and mind and added my own here:

1.    Newton's 4th law—just because something goes down, don't mean it will go back up
2.
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01-03-2009, 7:12 pm
Great observations: One more,
When everyone is getting in, it is time to get out.
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01-05-2009, 12:22 pm
Does it prove I read MV too much that I recognized almost all of them?

Let me add one of my own:

Don't confuse joy and fun. And, if you must choose, always choose joy.
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Todd Harrison is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Minyanville. Prior to his current role, Mr. Harrison was President and head trader at a $400 million dollar New York-based hedge fund. Todd welcomes your comments and/or feedback at todd@minyanville.com.

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.

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