pinky1417

We're now in the period of separating the true value investors from the speculators. It has nothing to do with returns and everything to do with psychology. Can you keep a cool head while everyone around you is supposedly getting rich fast? I'm getting a few texts from friends telling me bragging about their returns over the last ~12 months. One friend thinks he has special skill because he invested in the FANGs ex-Apple and should thus start a hedge fund. Another routinely sends me texts telling me about successes in short term gains by buying Hertz stock or trading various options. These aren't dumb people: we're talking about JD-MBAs, engineers, and degrees from Yale, Harvard, and MIT. I'm happy that my friends made money and I'm not inclined to follow their lead in "investing" strategy. But I see how they might influence their social circle to engage in short-term trading, greater-fool "investing," and other speculation. I try to warn them that their short-term success is hazardous to their wealth because they'll start believing that they have special skills or that they can't lose.

I listened to the Audible version a while back. I put in the mediocre category: don't regret spending the time to listen to the book but generally wouldn't make a recommendation. Perhaps my feelings come from reading a similar type of book, Peter Thiel's Zero to One, which I found incredibly insightful and contrarian. I'd say the ideas in Blitzscaling are more interesting than your average "I built this business now here's my advice" kind of book, but I wouldn't put in on a very high pedestal.