Reforming Sidewalker

[CRAsian]

Hello, everyone. My name is Khoa and I've been a Sidewalker my whole life (this is about to change) - I was one of the lucky ones who made millions of dollars in online sales, but, true to Sidewalker nature, blew it all over a span of ~5 years in a series of poor financial decisions. In a way, I'm glad that it happened relatively quickly since I can still change my ways and rebuild on a foundation of processes, Fast Laner-style.

I'm now reforming after my humbling episode of going from hero to zero and I'm also learning a whole lot thanks to MJ's books (I wish I had read them earlier, but better late than never). My goal is to start building and validating a SaaS business in the coming weeks-months once I've identified prospective customer needs and/or problems that I could solve. I'm really happy to be here and I look forward to learning from you all and eventually making an impact on this great community.

Thanks for having me!

 

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[D2S]

You are welcome Khoa - very interesting backstory.

I'm quite new myself and have found the forum very informative, I think you'll make the most out of it.

Can you please share on how you lost millions? Seems quite intriguing...

 

[CRAsian]

Thanks for the warm welcome, D2S. Here’s how I primarily lost my wealth:

- Gambled on and became addicted to stock options (my biggest and worst screwup to date)
- Being overly generous with friends/family when it came to gifts and meals (I don’t really regret this one)
- Overspending on foods, clothing, useless expenses
- Funding another startup of mine and not recouping funds or paying myself a salary even after raising capital (I never thought it’d fail but it did and I lost a huge sum)

I can go on and on but I would say those are the biggest reasons why I’m back to square 1 financially. I’ve had time to reflect and now accept it, and will do better going forward; this time armed with MJ’s teachings and the lessons I’ve learned over the years.

You are welcome Khoa - very interesting backstory.

I'm quite new myself and have found the forum very informative, I think you'll make the most out of it.

Can you please share on how you lost millions? Seems quite intriguing...

 

[D2S]

Thanks for the warm welcome, D2S. Here’s how I primarily lost my wealth:

- Gambled on and became addicted to stock options (my biggest and worst screwup to date)
- Being overly generous with friends/family when it came to gifts and meals (I don’t really regret this one)
- Overspending on foods, clothing, useless expenses
- Funding another startup of mine and not recouping funds or paying myself a salary even after raising capital (I never thought it’d fail but it did and I lost a huge sum)

I can go on and on but I would say those are the biggest reasons why I’m back to square 1 financially. I’ve had time to reflect and now accept it, and will do better going forward; this time armed with MJ’s teachings and the lessons I’ve learned over the years.

Thanks for sharing Khoa.

I'll like to think of the losses as a large investment in your financial education.

It is the reason you are here, and will serve as reminder of the things not to do.

Enjoy the journey ...

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

I was one of the lucky ones who made millions of dollars in online sales

Congrats!

Gambled on and became addicted to stock options (my biggest and worst screwup to date)

Oh no, what specifically did you do? Sell calls on bio-tech stocks?

Welcome aboard!

 

[CRAsian]

That’s a wonderful way of looking at it - I’m going to need to adopt that same mindset if I’m going to succeed. Thanks for the great sendoff, I’m looking forward to being on this journey with you.

Thanks for sharing Khoa.

I'll like to think of the losses as a large investment in your financial education.

It is the reason you are here, and will serve as reminder of the things not to do.

Enjoy the journey ...

 

[CRAsian]

Congrats!

Haha a gift and a curse, but great lessons learned regardless.

Oh no, what specifically did you do? Sell calls on bio-tech stocks?

Welcome aboard!

Actually, what kickstarted the whole addiction was that I got extremely lucky buying calls on a popular tech stock which tripled in value in about a week. I’ve never made such easy money in my life so I proceeded to purchase more calls/puts thinking I was some sort of genius (I couldn’t be further from one) and lost all the profits I made and more. Hurts thinking about it, but I’ll never chase the “easy” money again. My two takeaways from that experience (may not apply to everyone):

1) Learn when to cut losses: my losses kept getting deeper and deeper because I kept thinking that I could make it all back again so I would put more money in
2) Don’t gamble on things you don’t understand: I wasn’t making smart investment decisions, I was gambling because I wanted quick, easy money and tossed money at options without understanding much about them or the underlying assets

Thanks for the welcome MJ!

 

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