Emotional Intelligence - Avoid Neural Hijacking!

Emotional Intelligence, by Daniel Goleman, is an insightful book on the emotional aspect of life. It is all the more relevant in today’s time when depression is a identified & acknowledged as a problem across the globe. It gives the ‘What’ & the ‘Why’ of our internal wiring leading to the way we, as human race, react. The detailing of the brain wiring is impressive. Impact of childhood & evolutionary memory helps in cognizance of the root cause & a conscious effort can help us grow for the better. This is an amazing account for managing our personal relations & must read for parenting! Below is my interpretation of the book –

1.    Our emotions guide us in facing predicaments and tasks too important to leave to intellect alone: danger, painful loss, persisting towards a goal despite frustration, bonding with a mate, building a family. If it were not for our evolutionary memory, many species would not have survived!

2.    The 2 minds - Rational (mode of comprehension we are typically conscious of) and Emotional (impulsive and powerful even though sometimes illogical). Ordinarily, the emotional mind feeds and informs the operations of the rational mind. The rational mind then refines and sometimes vetoes inputs. Honestly, I am surprised how many “2 minds” we have (every psychology book has its own pair J). But the most convincing ones for me have been from Emotional Intelligence & Thinking Fast and Slow!

3.    The brain stem surrounding the top of the spinal cord is the most primitive part of the brain, available with all species that have more than a minimal nervous system. It is responsible for breathing and other vital processes required for survival. Then with evolution grew the Neocortex (the thinking brain) which evolved from the basic olfactory lobe leading to limbic system that sharpened learning and memory

4.    The emotional explosions (sudden fit of rage, sudden outburst of laughter) are basically neural hijackings where the limbic brain calls for an emergency and puts all resources to work on its agenda in an instant before the neocortex has had a chance to get a glimpse of what is happening, let alone decide if it is a good idea. Eg. Blood runs cold in fear making us ‘immobile’ so as to not invite the danger further, Rage gives an adrenaline pump in danger to fight!

5.    The amygdala is the specialist for emotional matters. All passion depends on it. The emergency route from eye to ear to thalamus (stores pictures) to amygdala (stores emotional content) is twice as fast as thalamus to neocortex to amygdala. This is what enables the neural hijackings

6.    IQ contributes to 20% success*. Rest 80% is a combination of other factors ranging from social class to luck. A lot of this 80% is dependent on emotional brain

7.    Personal intelligences in 5 emotional domains –

1. Knowing ones emotions
2. Managing emotions
3. Motivating oneself
4. Recognising emotions in others
5. Handling relationships

8.    Distinctive styles of knowing our emotions (Which one are you? I feel I am the Self-Aware kind):

1. Self-aware - they are aware and don’t obsess about their emotions and hence are able to get out of them easily
2. Engulfed - lost in emotions rather than having perspectives.
3. Accepting - if good thoughts occur, they don’t want to change, if bad thoughts occur they are susceptible and accept it with laissez faire attitude

9.    Self-awareness has a more powerful effect on strong, aversive feelings: the realization. This offers a greater degree of freedom - not just the option not to act on it, but the added option to try to let go of it! I heard in a podcast that Freedom has to move from “Freedom FROM …” to “Freedom TO …” and firmly believe that this is the necessary parameter to measure growth!

10. A sense of self mastery, being able to withstand emotional storms rather than being passion’s slave, has been praised as a virtue since the time of Plato. But the goal is balance, not emotional suppression. While strong feelings can create havoc in reasoning, the lack of awareness of feeling can also be ruinous

11. When the body is already in a state of edginess (emotional hijacking), the subsequent emotion, whether anger or anxiety, is of especially great intensity. Anger builds on anger. The balm for anger is challenging the thoughts/reasoning before anger has turned into rage. Distractions/active exercise/pleasant environment also helps the body cool down. But the cooling of period will not work if you engage in anger inducing thoughts. The ventilation fallacy - it is said that if you vent out, it’ll be better. But this works only if you vent out directly to the person involved, restores the control or rights a wrong. Or in some cases, causes appropriate harm to the opposite party. Easier said than done!

12. Worry is, in a sense, a rehearsal of what might go wrong and how to deal with it. It becomes a problem only when it is repetitive. Worry is almost always expressed in the mind’s ears (words) and not eyes (images). How to curb?

1. Step 1: be aware. Catch the worry symptoms early
2. Step 2: practice a relaxation method
3. Step 3: challenge the assumption. Does it really help to run the same thoughts again and again?

13. Bereavement is useful; full blown depression is not. The idea that a good cry is misleading; crying that reinforces rumination only prolongs misery. Distractions are the way out : Workout, Binge watching, shopping, eating favourite food, alcohol. But these can backfire too. A small win/success such as a pending household chore lifts self-image. Helping others or even comparing yourself to others who are worse off

14. The mental resources expended on one cognitive task - the worrying - simply detract the resources available for processing other information. Similarly, hope and optimism help in formulating a plan of action despite setbacks

15. Just as the mode of rational mind is words, the mode of emotions is non-verbal. Cultures vary tremendously in this regard - Japanese minimise their expressions when a figure of authority is present. Indians don’t say a clear no as a mark of respect!

16. We transmit and catch moods from each other in what amounts to a subterranean economy of the psyche in which some encounters are toxic, some nourishing. This contagion in typically subtle. We tend to unconsciously mirror the emotions of people we interact with. A social artist can have this impact on an audience of thousands

17. 4 components of interpersonal intelligence-

1. Organising groups
2. Negotiating solutions
3. Personal connection
4. Social analysis

18. A complaint in a relationship (esp marriage) often becomes a character assassination. A critique of the person and not the deed. This will lead to a defensive response rather than steps to improve stuff. Just as men are far more likely to be stonewallers, so the women are more likely to criticise their husbands. All this is a crazy limbic tango! Our efforts should be targeted to improving our way of complaining for a better resolution

19. Leadership is not about domination, but the art of persuading people to work toward a common goal. 3 applications of EI in workplace –

1. Being able to air grievances as helpful critiques
2. Creating an environment where diversity is valued rather than a source of friction
3. Networking effectively

20. The art of critique - it has to give the beginning of the plan to course correct rather than a personal attack. Be specific (incident, event). Offer a solution. Be present (face to face). Be sensitive (empathy)

21. In the land of the sick, emotions reign supreme, fear is a thought away. Even the immune system adapts basis experience

22. Babies who have gotten a goodly dose of approval and encouragement from the adults in their live; they expect to succeed in life’s little challenges. By contrast, babies who come from homes too bleak, chaotic, or neglectful go about the same small task in a way that signals they already expect to fail. Key characteristics that depend on initial interaction are –

1. Confidence
2. Curiosity
3. Intentionality
4. Self-Control
5. Relatedness
6. Capacity to communicate
7. Cooperativeness

23. Violent acts are more pernicious than natural catastrophes such as hurricane because, unlike victims of natural disaster, victims of violence feel themselves to have been intentionally selected as the target of malevolence. That fact shatters the trustworthiness and safety of an interpersonal world. The imprint of a horror in memory - and the resulting hyper vigilance - can last a lifetime!

24. 4 temperamental types –

1. Timid (more right brain activity)
2. Bold
3. Upbeat (more left brain activity)
4. Melancholy.

But temperament is not destiny. It can be tamed

25. The massive sculpting and pruning of neural circuits in childhood may be an underlying reason why early emotional hardships and trauma have such enduring and pervasive effects in adulthood

Do share your views/feedback in the comments section

Why I Stopped Wearing my Socks - Dhandhe ki Baat!

Why I Stopped Wearing my Socks, by Alok Kejriwal, founder of Contests2win.com (Disney bought one of his companies), is a memoir that is very easy to traverse. His life journey, business insights & lessons are put across astutely. I have been following him on LinkedIn for his #DhandheKiBaat and this book does complete justice to any reader looking for insights into the journey of an entrepreneur. Below is my interpretation of the book –

PS – A great first book for anyone who wants to start reading/reading nonfiction!

1. I grew up with the feeling that we didn’t have enough money. I believe that my drive, restlessness and ambition spring from this fear. This paranoia made me constantly compete with myself, even when not needed – This paranoia of money can act as a huge boost if channeled correctly. This exact feeling makes a lot of kids being derailed in their purpose & outlook towards life. Channelization is the key here!
2. How dare you call me ‘Yaar’!? There’s a story in which ONGC inspector who didn’t like Alok calling him ‘yaar’ and started taking his case (bullying) till Mr Shashi Ruia (Essar family fame) stepped in for help – Yes, it is important for the elder to forgive and mentor the junior (always ask for help. Ask!). But it is as important that the young learn the basics of business, language and present-ability unless they’re pretty sure they’re the next Steve Jobs. (Disclaimer - even Steve Jobs did perhaps the best work of his life in Pixar and then at Apple in all humility. The egotistical Steve only got fired from his own company)
3. Try your hands at basic and simple businesses to get a real world feel of ‘Dhandha’. Business is just connecting dots between opportunities and people. Like Alok trying his hands on banking, leak proof drums for Henkel. The idea is to just do & gain experience which can be life changing!
4. If you get used to cheating and manipulating people and businesses for quick, selfish gains, it quickly becomes your nature. If you pursue pure unadulterated businesses, the goal of the enterprise then becomes excellence, not the management of lies
5. Costing is the lifeline of a business and must be appropriated, reviewed and actioned upon by the owner or founder directly. This exercise of costing requires a granular business understanding – Alok did this exact exercise for each SKU (socks) that they manufactured
6. Awareness of micro and macro business matters is very critical. This helps in identifying opportunities. But seizing the opportunity requires hard work and patience. Life teaches you about the sales funnel (Read the similarity between Sales Funnel & Coho Salmon fish here)
7. Seeing is believing and believing is buying. An entrepreneur must always look for ways to improve margins. This coupled with honesty will give you the best results. The owner of a business knows his machines inside out. That is how they’re able to innovate. Don’t be afraid of being termed as a mechanic
8. Meet people. It is not for “networking” as few people perceive. It is about knowing more, expanding your horizons in true sense – I have been talking to B-School students about this way of “expanding your horizons” in its truest form. Always try & be the dumbest person in a room at least once a week!
9. Many of us have ideas (some genuinely brilliant), but very few of us do something about them. The important thing is being proactive, leveraging people around you and initiating the execution
10. To get a new business off the ground, it takes hard, gruelling, undying, maniacal effort
11. If you want to create something unique and valuable, you will have to learn to please and seek. It’s a cruel trade-off between your ego and your ambition. You must have the ability to wait endlessly outside people’s office waiting for them to call you inside
12. When an entrepreneur starts doing something innovative, disruptive and compelling, capital begins to chase the entrepreneur. But the entrepreneur must choose the VC prudently. The strategic guidance, hiring insights, connections, and business assistance far outweighs the money they invest
13. Though fame, fortune and glory are important, it is utterly futile and silly for an entrepreneur to sacrifice precious personal moments to chase transient business events
14. Why was contests2win not generating revenues - because Alok never asked for it! This is a classic case of entrepreneurial passion blindsiding the logic perhaps. Opposed to what he did for his dad’s socks business (executing & then advocating a detailed costing & then pricing for the socks), Alok did not ask for money for the services fearing he might lose clients & subsequently business will close. This is where the right VC is needed for the strategic business guidance (The same helped Alok)!
15. Cultivating partners and trusting them is vital and crucial to creating long term value in business
16. Never underestimate the power of ‘creativity of naivety’
17. For a successful sales person, sacrificing profit margins, underselling, competing blindly (often to prevent someone else from getting the order) should never be an option. You must boldly say ‘not interested’ and move on
18. Never lose or compromise your self-respect for anything, leave alone a business deal. Losing dignity means stopping below the threshold of purpose, intent and effort. Sales and ego never go together (Read more about Sales here)
19. What the entrepreneur must do is keep building his business hour by hour, day by day, year by year. When doing becomes more important than succeeding, everything falls into place. All things start small! – I remember an interaction with Mr Sanjiv Bhikchandani, founder of Naukri.com, that left a lasting imprint: “Dream Big! But it’s not too bad to start small”
20. Key insights on selling –
1. The third sale is the real sale. Awareness and observation are a salesperson’s best friend
2. The art of storytelling is important for sales. The art of listening is as important. Solid sales rehearsals before any meeting are a must
3. Be original, interesting and genuine. Your demeanour must be everything but that of a seller
21. When things go better than expected, don’t hurry. Keep your composure on how the client intends to use your product/service and then price it for a win-win

Do share your views/feedback in the comments section

Ego is the Enemy - No Triumph without Toil

A lot of us have given a lot of definitions to Ego. Ryan Holiday, in this book, talks about a version that sits inside our heads & impedes our growth. Below is my interpretation of the book –

What is the Ego that we’re talking about?

1. The ego we see most commonly goes by a more casual definition: an unhealthy belief in our own importance. Self-centred ambition. The need to be better than, more than, recognised for, far past any utility - that’s ego

What are the characteristics of Ego?

1. The egotist does not stumble about, knocking things off his desk. He does not stammer or drool. No, instead, he becomes more and more arrogant, and some people, not knowing what is under that attitude, mistake his arrogance for a sense of power and self confidence
2. With success comes the temptation to tell oneself a story, to round off the edges, to cut out your lucky breaks and add a certain mythology to it all. It’s a temptation that exists for everyone - for talk and hype to replace action. The empty box (comment, what’s on your mind, tweet) is waiting to be filled with thoughts and stories. Technology asking you, prodding you, soliciting talk is acting as a facilitator of this temptation
3. We want to so desperately believe that those who have great empires SET OUT to build one. Why? So that we can indulge in the pleasurable planning of ours. Setting up narratives for ourselves deviates us from action
4. All of us unthinkingly say yes on a lot of occasions out of vague attraction, greed or vanity. Because we can’t say no as we might miss out on something if we did. Ego leads to envy that rots the bones of people big and small

I do have aspirations in life, but I am just a beginner. How does the Ego that you talked about impact me?

1. For a generation, parents and teachers have focused on building up everyone’s self-esteem. All gurus/public figures have been almost exclusively aimed at inspiring, encouraging and assuring us that we can do whatever we set our mind to. In reality, this makes us weak. We take it for granted that you have promise. But talent is only the starting point. Will you be your own worst enemy?
2. The passion paradox - Passion, for people who don’t start, is deliberately blunting most cognitive functions. The waste is often appalling in retrospect. Even dogs have passion (ask a toy) but fortunately it has a graciously short-term memory that keeps at bay the creeping sense of futility and impotence. What we humans require in our ascent is purpose and realism. Purpose is like Passion with boundaries. Realism is Detachment and Perspective
3. Passion is ‘About’. Purpose is ‘To & For’. Actually, purpose de-emphasises ‘I’. Passion is form over function. Purpose is function, function, function
4. When you’re starting out, be sure of these fundamental realities - you’re not really as good or as important as you think you are, you have an attitude that needs to be adjusted, most of what you learnt in books/school is out of date or wrong. It is not about kissing ass, it’s about providing the support to others so that others can be good. Greatness comes from humble beginnings; it comes from grunt work. It means you’re the least important person in the room - until you change that with results
5. We all behave like teenagers. Adolescence is marked by a phenomenon known as the ‘imaginary audience ‘. Consider a 13-year-old boy who misses entire week of school, positive that the entire school is thinking and murmuring about some tiny incident that in truth hardly anyone noticed. We’re susceptible to this even as adults. Our imagination - in many sense our asset- is dangerous when it runs wild. There is no one to perform for. There is just work to be done and lessons to be learned, in all that is around us

I am already successful & have reached a certain level in life. I’m pretty sure I’m past all that now. How does it even matter to me now?

1. Whom the gods wish to destroy, they first call Promising. The first thing which He does bestow on one they would annihilate, is Pride. Pride leads to arrogance and then away from humility and connection with their fellow man. Pride blunts the very instrument we need to own to succeed: our Mind!
2. Genghis Khan was the greatest conqueror the world ever knew because he was more open to learning than any other conqueror. He learnt and absorbed from all cultures he raided. The technique of splitting your army into small units was taken from Turkic tribes. The concept of walled cities from Tangut raids. He would not be able to grow & sustain had he not applied these learnings
3. When we’re aspiring or small time, we can be idiosyncratic, we can compensate for disorganisation by hard work and a little luck. That’s not going to cut it in the majors. In fact, you’ll fail in the big game if you’re disorganised
4. With success, particularly power, come some of the greatest and most dangerous delusions: Entitlement, Control and Paranoia

I have failed in my venture(s) & I know what failure feels like. How does it even matter to me now?

1. Adversity gives you a chance. Most trouble is temporary. Unless you make that not so. Recovery is not grand, it’s one step in front of the other. Unless your cure is more of the disease. If your reputation can’t absorb a few blows, it wasn’t worth anything in the first place
2. If ego is just a nasty side effect of great success, it can be fatal during failure. The future bears down upon each one of us with all the hazards of the unknown. The only way out is through

Ok, I get it. Ego may have an impact in all the 3 stages – Aspiration, Success & Failure. Is there a way out? How do I keep it at bay?

1. Detachment is sort of a natural ego antidote. It’s easy to be emotionally attached to yourself and your work. Any narcissist can do that
2. Become a student. The power of being a student is not just that it is an extended period of instruction. It also imposes an ego ceiling that he is not better than the master he apprentices under. Try & follow this technique by Frank Shamrock, a MMA trainer. The training technique of + (have someone who is superior & can teach you), - (Have someone whom you can teach & give back) and = (Have someone with whom you can compete with). It purges our ego that puffs us up (the + helps), the fear that makes us doubt ourselves (the – helps) and any laziness that might make us want to coast (the = helps)
3. Help others and let it accumulate. You’ll see what most people’s egos prevent them from appreciating: the person who clears the path ultimately controls its direction, just as the canvas shapes the painting
4. Work Work Work! To be both craftsman and artist. To cultivate a product of labour and industry instead of just a product of the mind. It’s here where the abstraction meets the road and the real, where we trade thinking and talking for working. The freshly promoted soldier must learn the art of politics. the salesman, how to manage. The founder, how to delegate. The writer, how to edit others. The comedian, how to act!
5. It is important to sit down and think about what’s truly important to you and then take steps to forsake the rest. Without this success won’t be pleasurable or nearly as complete as it could be. Specially money, if we don’t know how much we need, default answer is MORE
6. Ego needs honor in order to be validated. Confidence on the other hand is able to wait and focus on the task at hand regardless of external recognition. Beware of the Disease of Me & seek confidence (which comes from excellence). Ego only seeks praise. It cannot see the opportunity side. Make a distinction between your internal scorecard and external one. Your absolute best that you’re capable of - that’s the metric to measure yourself against. Winning is not enough. Anyone can get lucky and win. But not everyone is the best possible version of themselves
7. It’s no surprise that great leaders went into wilderness and come back with inspiration, a plan, with an experience that puts them on course to changing the world. Silencing the noise around, they could finally hear the voice they needed to. Meditate, seek calmness, get that inner self to tell you what is important
8. Sobriety is the counterweight that must balance out success. Especially if things keep getting better and better. Most successful people do not even reach the limelight – that’s because they want it that ways!

The bottom line – We must be: Humble in our Aspirations, Gracious in our Success, Resilient in our Failure

Do share your views/feedback in the comments section

One up on Wall Street - Investing Done Right!

One up on Wall Street, written by Peter Lynch, erstwhile manager of the Fidelity Magellan fund ($3 Billion at that time – that’s like if the entire world put in 50 cents each, the corpus was be managed by him!) is a timeless classic on investing. One of my personal favorites to facilitate mindset conditioning for investing (stock investing is what is targeted in the book). I would put it in the league of ‘Rich dad poor dad’ & ‘The intelligent investor’. Below is my interpretation of the book –

(The way I’ll structure this is to cater to our basic questions/apprehensions)

Who, ME? How could I possibly be better at investing as a beginner than my professional consultant?

1. The average common investor has the edge over the professional investor as he can sight multibagger from the beginning of the business in his day to day life. The business reaches the professional investor after it has already taken multi-fold leaps – Imagine a new store opens in your neighbourhood that is always flooded with customers, you must wonder who owns this & is it listed?
2. Stock doesn’t get traction by professional houses as a lot of times the business doesn’t get classified into existing industry categories. Other times they just take too long to put it on their watchlist. It’s a choice between chance of making a large profit on an unknown company and the assurance of losing a small amount on an established company. Fund managers generally choose the latter. You’ll never lose your job losing money on IBM. If IBM stock does not rise, fund managers won’t question the buy decision of the manager. Instead they’ll ask “What is wrong with IBM”?
3. Fund managers too, just like you, spend a quarter of their working hours explaining what they just did - to their immediate bosses and ultimate bosses (shareholders). Both who can be very critical to the fund as well as to his career!
4. The SEC (SEBI in our case) also poses a lot of well intentioned restrictions on holdings of funds that may rule out a lot of Multiple baggers – I remember just recently all the small cap crashed without anything wrong with their fundamentals. I could only link it to the reason that most Large/Mid Cap mutual funds were asked by SEBI (with good intentions) to get their Small Cap holdings within prescribed %. Now all of them sold their small cap holdings sending the stock prices nosediving!

OK, I may have an edge, but I don’t understand the numbers or any industry in depth. Do you want me start learning it from the scratch now?

1. Investing in stocks is an art. Not a science. All the math you need in the stock market you get in fourth grade – Always remember the stock market is a Voting machine & not a Weighing machine. But here the votes favour the one with strong fundamentals in the long term!
2. Most dot coms (start-ups in today’s reference) cannot be rated on the p/e yardstick. There’s no ‘e’ in the all important P/E ratio. There’s no track of ‘e’ but people always keep a track of ‘p’ which gives absolutely no information. EDS once sold for 500 times it’s earnings. This means it would take you 5 centuries to make back your money, if EDS earnings stayed constant
3. If you don’t understand any industry/technology (eg internet), look for industries that indirectly benefit from it. In the gold rush, the would-be miners lost money, but the people who sold them picks, shovels and blue denims made a lot of money - Instead of manufacturer of technology (highly competitive), better invest in a company that is a user of technology

Fair Enough, but there are huge number of companies out there. Where do I start or how do I filter?

1. Step 1: Possess these virtues – Patience, self reliance, common sense, tolerance for pain, open minded ness, detachment, persistence, humility, willingness to do independent research and admit mistakes.
2. Try & classify the companies into 6 broad categories - Slow growers, Stalwarts, Fast growers, Cyclicals, Asset plays and Turnarounds
3. “Any idiot can run this business” is one characteristic of the perfect company, the kind of stock I dream about!
4. A no growth industry is where winners are developed. Whenever the next breakthrough arrives in an industry, there are hundred companies working to make it cheaper in Taiwan. This does not happen with bottle caps, oil drum retrieval or motel chains
5. Invest in companies that have products that people have to keep buying – Well, clothes & basic hygiene/packaging is here to stay till the time humans walk this planet!

Well this seems easy, anything nuances that I MUST take care of?

1. Before you own a share of anything, answer 3 questions for yourself –
1. Do I own a house? If no, stop!
2. Do I need the money in the near term? If yes, stop!
3. Do I have the personal qualities that’ll bring me success in stocks? (remember point 1 in last section) – If no, duh! STOP!
2. Once you have the tip or identified a good business, it does not mean you simply buy it. Investing without research is like playing stud poker and never looking at the cards
3. It is easy to forget sometimes, a share of stock is not a lottery ticket. It’s part ownership of a business. Value will eventually catch up with the earnings. Always keep an eye on earnings and assets – Compare growth to earnings - (long term growth rate + dividend yield)/ P/E
4. Learning on each stock that you must possess - p/e, % institutional ownership (lower the better), insider buying/buyback, trend of earnings (keep in mind the asset play), debt-equity ratio, cash position
5. 5 basic ways in which companies can increase earnings - Reduce cost, Raise price, Expand into new market, Sell more in old market, Dispose losing operation
6. When in doubt, tune in later. Have patience. Most importantly, invest at least as much time and effort in choosing a new stock as you would in choosing a new refrigerator

OK got it! Anything that I need to be wary of?

1.       You don’t need to make money on every stock you pick. 6/10 winners in a portfolio can produce satisfying results

2. If there were a way to avoid the obsession with the latest ups and downs, and check prices every six months or so, the way you’d check oil in the car, investors might be more relaxed. Day trading is a casino that supports a lot of accountants & brokers!
3. Humans go through 3 emotions that make them bad timers of the market –
1. Concern (when market is low) which keeps him from buying good companies
2. Complacency when he buys at higher prices and stocks are going up (so he gets complacent and doesn’t check fundamentals)
3. Then when stock falls below the price he actually paid, he Capitulates and sells
4. Perhaps a winning investment seems unlikely in the first place that people can imagine the best happening as far away as possible, somewhere off in the great beyond, just as we all imagine that perfect behaviour happens in heaven and not earth
5. If inventories are increasing faster than sales, it’s a red flag. People may talk about FIFO or LIFO as accounting principles. But mostly it’s GIGO (Garbage in Garbage Out) and FISH (First In Still Here)
6. Regarding somebody else’s gains as your own personal losses is not a productive attitude for investing in stock market. It leads to try and play catch up by buying stocks they shouldn’t buy. This generally leads in real losses.
7. Short term gains or losses don’t tell much about the prospect. Most people keep the winner and dump the loser. This is further from the truth. It just tells you someone else is willing to pay more /less for the same merchandise
8. The mindset has to change from - when I’m down 25%, I’m a seller to when I’m down 25%, I’m a buyer

Ah! Got it. Last question, I know how & when to buy, but when do I Sell?

1. CHECK FUNDAMENTALS!! Some signs are as follows:
1. Slow grower - losing market share for 2 consecutive years and it is hiring another advertising agency
2. Stalwart - growth is slowing down and maintaining profits by cutting costs
3. Cyclical - inventories go up and company is increasing capital budget instead of modernising current plants
4. Fast grower - when p/e reached absurdly high levels and at least 3 national magazines have fawned over the CEO, same store sales are decreasing
5. Turnarounds - we’ll, when they’ve turned around and you’re able to reclassify them, debt suddenly goes up
6. Asset play - assets were marked down, institutional ownership goes up

Do share your views/feedback in the comments section