| Since I was a little boy I dreamed of being a Wall | | | | not the results were disastrous. I even lost some of |
| Street Wizard. I read the Wall Street Journal and the | | | | my parents' money investing in a stock I was told |
| Economist. I hung pictures of Warren Buffet and | | | | was guaranteed to double in just a few days. |
| Peter Lynch on my bedroom wall. But as I grew up I | | | | After that, I vowed that I would never again take a |
| found other interests. By the time I reached high | | | | tip from a trader on the Street. I made up my mind |
| school, I was one of the best pitchers in the state. I | | | | to treat investing as serious business and not as a |
| went to the University of California on a full athletic | | | | get rich quick scheme. It took me many years of |
| scholarship. During my college years, I still followed | | | | research, trial and error, but before I got married I |
| investing very closely. Although I didn't have much | | | | finally created a portfolio that suited my needs. It |
| money in the bank, I took what I earned from | | | | was well diversified and had just the right level of risk |
| summer jobs and invested it in mini portfolios. | | | | for a person my age. |
| At the end of my junior year I badly injured my | | | | Now my daughters are in grade school and the |
| shoulder, and that was the end of my baseball | | | | portfolio I created almost a decade ago is worth |
| career. After that, I decided to attend business | | | | twice the amount I originally invested. It goes to |
| school and follow my passion for investing. When I | | | | show you that investing is something that must be |
| graduated, I found an entry-level position working at | | | | approached with equal parts patience and courage. |
| a major Wall Street Brokerage house. Now investing | | | | And if you treat it like a game, you are likely to lose |
| was how I earned my living, and I wanted to learn | | | | your shirt. The key is to realize it takes time to |
| everything I could. | | | | invest well, but this does not mean to buy and |
| Like many other young guns, I was headstrong and | | | | forget. You must actively manage your investments |
| certain that I could not fail. In time, however, I | | | | to make sure your money is allocated to the best |
| learned that investing is not a game. For years I tried | | | | prospects, if not, do not be afraid to switch it |
| to take advantage of every hot stock tip and sure | | | | around. |
| thing that came down the pike, but more often than | | | | |