Sleep Easy Stocks (Part 2)

I intended this to be a quick hitter but in writing the last entry I discovered the fabled “sleep easy portfolio” has two separate characteristics: not being perpetually stressed over potential losses and bragging about winners.

People love to brag about winners. If bragging were ever to be justified then I believe one who works hard at something has more right to do so than one who had it easy and did not put forth any effort at all [I still think bragging should be avoided because it amounts to hubris and as the old adage states, “karma’s a *itch“].

Another cliché is “no risk no reward.” If I truly have no risk then I may sleep easy but I will not make any money.

What I don’t see happening is having my cake and eating it too: no stress and the ability to brag about windfall profits. If I make good money and it seems easy then I should avoid bragging because luck might have played a part and it’s probably just a matter of time before Mr. Market evens the score (and then some). Not everyone can make good money because not everyone works hard, which is one reason a hard work ethic is highly valued in this society.

The “sleep easy portfolio” is therefore nothing more than a myth.

I used to know somebody who would say “I don’t need to work as hard as you because I ‘get’ things faster.” She later went to alcohol rehab and things did not fare well for her. My guess is that until [if] she changes that belief about hard work, she will always be in denial and will continue to have great difficulty finding success in her life.