In 1994, and then again in the early 2000s, I made the two worst financial decisions of my life. Because of them, I left at least $720 million on the table.
If it weren’t for these two terrible decisions, I’d likely be ranked among Forbes’ list of the wealthiest people in the world.
But I let the opportunities slip through my fingers… And I’ve been kicking myself in the behind ever since.
In 1994, I was a young and inexperienced investor. But I knew computer stocks were the future. So I took positions in Microsoft and Oracle.
I got in these names in 1991 when they traded for the split equivalent of pennies.
But boy, did I sell way too early…
That same year, the Federal Reserve vaporized my tech investments when it raised interest rates five times from a low of 3% to a high of 6%.
When the Fed raises rates, riskier assets like tech stocks drop in price.
So when the Fed doubled its key interest rate in 1994, tech stocks measured by the Nasdaq Composite Index dropped roughly 14%.
Many of the highest-quality tech stocks fell further… Microsoft and Oracle fell as much as 28% and 30%, respectively, during this time period.
My research still suggested tech stocks had a long way to go in their respective adoption cycles of home computer ownership and internet adoption.
But I was young and inexperienced.
So despite my research telling me to hold on to these stocks, I did what young and inexperienced investors do: I panicked and sold Microsoft and Oracle at the lows.
My mistake was the same many are making today in the crypto market: I confused short-term price volatility with a long-term change in fundamentals.
That’s why I constantly remind you that instead of looking solely at price, I now look at a technology’s adoption rate as the No. 1 metric to project long-term value.
I wish I could go back in time and teach the young me that lesson…
What I Learned From My $720 Million Mistakes
In the early ’90s, all you needed to know to make a fortune from Microsoft or Oracle was that the number of personal computers – along with overall computer usage – would explode over the next two decades.
That’s exactly what happened. The number of households with personal computers skyrocketed from 8% in 1984 to nearly 70% two decades later.
That decision to sell Microsoft and Oracle early has haunted me for nearly 30 years. Had
I just held on, I would have made well over $20 million before the age of 30.
I then made another mistake that ended up costing me over $700 million.
In 2003, I went long on Apple, betting on the widespread adoption of the iPod.
When Apple came out with its iPod music player, at the time it was only available for people who had an Apple computer. That was only 3% of the market. So 97% of the market didn’t have access to the iPod.
I bought one for every member of my family. We loved them. All my friends who had Apple computers loved them… But all my friends who had PCs didn’t even know what an iPod was.
There was no other product in the market that could compete with it. So I knew that once Apple took this product to the larger PC ecosystem, it was going to sell more.
There was just no question. And it was really that easy.
But the process of actually making money from Apple stock wasn’t easy…
Right after I bought Apple that year, Steve Jobs came out and canceled 55 million stock options, sparking fears that the company’s founder was dumping shares.
Apple shares tanked. But this time, I held on and rode out the storm. I was proud of myself…
But the mistake I made this time around was selling far, far too early after shares rebounded.
On a split-adjusted basis, Apple was trading at just 25 cents per share in 2003. At its recent peak, I would have made $700 million for every million dollars I had invested in the stock.
This financial mistake has caused me more heartache, regret, and self-flagellation than any other financial decision I’ve ever made. That includes bad decisions I made in 1998 that compelled me to file for personal bankruptcy.
The bankruptcy was less traumatic than leaving $720 million on the table.
Friends, here’s why I’m telling you about some of the most painful moments in my life.
If I had stuck to my convictions back in the 1990s, today I’d likely rank alongside
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, NBA superstars Michael Jordan and LeBron James, and golf legend Tiger Woods on the Forbes’ richest people in the world list.
These men have an estimated net worth between $1 billion and $2 billion. I imagine I’d be somewhere in that range if I had known now what I did back when I was younger.
The reason I’m not among that group is because – in my youth – I was what we call in finance a “weak hand.”
“Weak hands” are investors who flee their positions in the face of volatility. When they see down days putting a dent in their profits, they panic and run for the exits.
This phenomenon is even more pronounced in the crypto market – which is extremely volatile.
Crypto can experience 50% swings in a day – even when there’s no bad news. This type of violent volatility shakes out the weak hands.
These are the people who constantly buy into strength and sell into weakness.
What’s so sad about these weak hands is they ignore crypto’s long-term adoption story and instead act on emotion – like I did with my tech stocks in the 1990s.
Today, I’m grateful for the weak hands. They give us opportunities to take advantage of their ignorance.
However, I’ve recently uncovered a way for you to make gains in crypto without all the volatility. This new development can keep even the weakest hands in the game.
A Way to Harness Crypto Volatility
Over the past seven years, I’ve recommended 27 crypto picks across my publications that have jumped by more than 1,000%, including peak gains of 36,696% on Binance (BNB), 156,753% on Neo (NEO), and 48,611% on Ethereum (ETH).
I’ve given my readers multiple chances to turn a small stake into six- and even seven-figure payouts.
I’m proud of what I’ve been able to accomplish. But there’s always been a problem… It’s something that has been bothering me throughout all those years.
The reality is that most of those monster gains I cited above took too long. In most cases, it took years. And my readers had to go through stomach-churning ups and downs..
If you’ve been following me over that time, you know investing in cryptos can feel like riding a wild bull.
From the beginning, I’ve always warned that crypto is the most volatile asset you’ll ever own. There are some mornings you’ll be down 50% and feel like vomiting all over your keyboard.
So I’ve been looking for a way to harness this crypto volatility – a short-term trading strategy that could accelerate those gains without all the crazy ups and downs of the crypto market.
Before artificial intelligence (AI), this was just a pipe dream. It wasn’t really possible.
But with recent developments in AI, we’re now able to see things in the crypto market that not even a team of the smartest analysts can see.
Because of that, we were finally able to build what I believe is the industry’s first-ever AI-powered crypto trading system.
I’m calling it Teeka Tiwari’s Secret AI Project: C.O.N.A.N.
And on Wednesday, October 11, at 8 p.m. ET. I want to share the details of this incredible trading system with you as soon as possible.
Please note: Spots for this project will be extremely limited and on a first-come, first-served basis. So I urge you to join the waitlist now so you can be one of the first people to sign up once registration starts.
Friends, there’s nothing wrong with the buy-and-hold approach with the right coins.
But the majority of coins in the crypto market don’t have long-term value. They only offer short-term trading opportunities.
For some people, this short-term trading strategy might be an even better approach.
Many investors are uncomfortable with the volatility that comes with buying and holding cryptos.
So if you’re buying and holding for the long term, you must be willing to sit through those nasty declines.
And if you’re not willing to do that, the short-term trading approach could be better for you.
So please click here now and join the waitlist for my urgent AI briefing on C.O.N.A.N next week.
Let the Game Come to You!
Big T