Investing is an act of hubris, and there certainly hasn't been a lack of hubris on these boards leading into the ER. As a retail investor, the only thing you have control over is your own ROIC. This is why, for our own sake, we always must be mindful of risk, and the unexpected. Proper risk management requires us to remain flexible, to have the foresight to expect the unexpected, to remain humble and to stay indifferent to everything except our own performance and returns in this market.
If your goal is to maximize your return on shorter time-frames (not everyone's is), you will always be able to learn more from your own strategy, your own performance and your own failures than anything else. It's fair to seek easy money in any market, but it's essential to have a drive to make your next investment better than the last, to test yourself and to learn from your mistakes. Despite the hubris I've seen, I hope personal growth is an attribute that we can all find agreeable.
I've been an infrequent reader in this board as of late. First it was because of the nay-sayers piling in and patting themselves on the back as we hit new lows. However, lately it has been a few of you's obsession with Brent. This board has been on FIRE as of late, despite the fact that not much (if anything) has fundamentally changed as we get closer to the ER. Every time I pop in here, all I hear is the slow beat of war drums as the battle wages on.
There have been a handful of times that I've thought about throwing a word in here or there, but I've stopped myself. If I don't think I have something to add to a conversation, I won't say what's on my mind. I personally don't think I'll add any value to any conversation by jumping in the trenches with you all and fighting in this, "war." Even if that's not my goal, I know at least one on this board who is liable, if not guaranteed to bunch me into one of two sides -- I don't want to be on any side.
If this makes me an outsider, that's ok, and I only hope that my thoughts have value to somebody. I have two primary things that I want to say, that I hope will reach the denizens of this board.
The first, is that I hope we can all recognize the inherent shame in patting ourselves on the back after the ER. While the behavior of the flood of, "shorts," might be disgusting, that doesn't mean the, "longs," should feel righteous in doing the same. It's okay to be shameful at times, and absolutely okay to celebrate a big win, but stay humble, flexible and don't lose your perspective.
Whether down or up, once the stock price moves after the ER, it means very little in the long-term and at best, it will only be the first step of Supreme proving itself to investors, and to the market. I hope that we all can maintain respect for one-another and acknowledge those of us that see or value risk differently. I've been getting a bit exhausted with the lack of respect that is being thrown around on this board lately, and from the folks who claim this board as their own, at that.
With that said, the second thing I need to say is that I #StandWithBrent. I'm not sure how our perspectives can vary so differently here, but he's been the only reason that I still feel like poking in from time to time. I've been impressed with Brent's integrity and his composure, but the constant bickering from you all is why I've become exhausted. He's been a strong and steadfast target for too long now and for some reason that has some of you riled up.
Where's the respect? Is it really that unusal that I started a long, am long, and will be long for now while at the same time greatly respecting and appreciating what people like Brent and Watch have to add to a conversation? Are we looking to create a small-world here by turning off all reasonable, differing opinions until all we're left with is confirmation bias, except for the occasional flood of IDGAF shorts?
If I knew how to message Brent directly, I likely wouldn't be posting this -- it's easy enough for me to just move on if I don't want to read what's being written here. I'm not trying to sit back on my high-chair and lecture, ya'll can do whatever you want. I've just spent far too much time scratching my head at how the coversation devolves into dismissal, disrespect and name-calling.
While Brent is not blameless in what I called bickering, I still see composure, integrity and respect in what he takes his time to write in response. Meanwhile, I've seen those qualities slowly dissipate from the people engaging him. I acknowledge that I could just agree too much with how Brent composes himself, but I don't understand for a minute why anybody would block him. Then again, I haven't and don't intend to block anybody and that could be a personal problem.
If you all don't want to feel attacked by Brent, like he's pushing people into a depression (ridiculous) then there is one and only one solution and that will not change.
LET. SUPREME. PROVE. IT.
It's those of you that are acting like returns are an Fing 100% guarantee with no respect for risk or your retrospective performance that are pushing your will and your whim onto the others in this board. I understand that not many here would say returns are 100% guaranteed, but that's not how you act, no matter how many JMHOs you throw in there.
Any respectable investor should know that you have a far better chance of success waiting for confirmation of a turn-around rather than gambling on a falling knife. This is the epitome of hubris, and it's silly. I love trying to catch a falling knife, but I try my absolute best to remain flexible, to expect the unexpected, to remain humble and to stay indifferent to everything except my own personal performance and what I can do to improve.
I'm not here to convince others, because I don't want to exert my will, opinion and perception onto others. I post to explain myself, my perspective and hope that when you evaluate what I have to say, there's a bit or piece here or there that helps diversify and grow your own perspective and maybe even eventually turn that into a more responsible risk-adjusted return in the future.
This took far too long to write, and I don't know that it will add value, but I'll leave it as it is. I truly wish you all the best and hope that we can all find winning & profitable strategies (long or short) and build respectable & responsible futures of wealth accrual.
I'd like to talk to you more Brent, so I'll be back to poke in later. If you're active anywhere else, maybe we can talk there. Do you have a stop-loss set-up for your recent trade?
Critique me freely, because it is JMHO after all,
Sincerely,
-Dubby