Chapter 27 Chapter 27 "Fake Idiots Are Not Crazy" and the Cultivation of Investment Confidence

Some people say that the stock market is a man's world, which is not unreasonable.Indeed, in the world stock market, most successful people are men.Take the United States as an example: Jep Morgan, the rich man who rules Wall Street; Jay Gould, who is good at deceiving; Especially...these people are all men.However, in the United States from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century, there was a strong woman in the stock market—Heidi Greene. With her identity as a woman, her mind and means of a man made some men on Wall Street rich and also Had to give her three points.

At that time in the United States, the status of women and men was extremely unequal, and there were many rules and regulations on them, so that their talents could not be brought into play and revealed.The male-dominated public opinion circle has always responded with cynicism to the feminist movement.In this situation, Heidi Green insisted on her right to speculate, traversing the various broker's offices around the New York Stock Exchange, speculating with a large sum of money she had just inherited.For this reason, the macho newspapers gave her an ugly nickname: "Wall Street Witch".

This "witch" wandered Wall Street for decades, and through speculation, turned her inherited property of 6 million dollars into a huge sum of 100 million dollars. Rulin's Wall Street stands firm.With no help from anyone, she ranks among the most successful billionaire speculators solely on her own merit. However, the behavior of such a wealthy woman is so weird that it is difficult to combine her with a successful speculator from the outside.This person dresses plainly and lives a frugal life. Although she has a lot of money, she often eats rough biscuits like a commoner; this person is eccentric, and her handbag is often bulging. Financial transactions, in fact, are filled with various bits and pieces of paper in the handbag.It is said that she often talked about business, and went her own way, deaf to sharp teasing comments, and walked in and out of Wall Street as confidently as a man until her death in 1916...

To use a Chinese idiom to describe Heidi Green's behavior, perhaps it should be called "great wisdom is like a fool". Perhaps it is this weird behavior of "showing that there is nothing to do when doing something" that conceals her true purpose and makes her It was her surprise that made her success all the more remarkable.In "Thirty-Six Strategies", it is called "fake insanity without insanity." "Fake ignorance is not insane" belongs to the third strategy in the fifth set of countermeasures in "Thirty-six Strategies": "It is better to pretend that you don't know what to do, than pretend to pretend that you don't know what to do, and don't pretend to pretend to know and act recklessly. Keep quiet and don't show your opportunity, and the clouds and thunder are on the side." Meaning Yes: It is better to pretend to be ignorant and not take any action than to pretend to be smart and act rashly.Be calm on the surface, plan secretly without showing any signs of expression, so that you can seize the right time, use retreat as advance, and strike later.In military struggle, it is better to do something and pretend to be inactive, and to be smart and pretend to be confused than to do nothing and pretend to be smart.

In 239 A.D., Emperor Ming of Wei was critically ill, and the prince Cao Fang came to the throne, and the court power was jointly held by Sima Yi and Cao Shuang.Relying on being a relative of the emperor, Cao Shuang arbitrarily puffed up his power, and regarded Sima as a thorn in his side and a thorn in his flesh, and he wanted to get rid of him quickly so as to monopolize the power.Sima Yi was scheming and scheming, and he knew the principle of building a big tree to attract wind, so as to protect himself, he claimed that he was sick at home, and the state affairs were handed over to Cao Shuang. He also asked his two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao, to retire from their jobs to avoid suspicion. In fact, he secretly sent people to pay attention to the court. Dynamic, ready to look for opportunities to make a comeback.

In the winter of 248 A.D., the Lord of Wei sent Li Sheng to take over as governor of Jingzhou.Cao Shuang saw that this was a good opportunity to spy on Sima Shi, so he said to Li Sheng, "Go to Sima Yi's mansion to say goodbye, and take this opportunity to observe his movements." Li Sheng then went to Sima Yi's mansion to ask to see him. When Sima Yi heard that Li Sheng was visiting, he knew that he was here to test the truth, so he lay down on the bed with the quilt on top of him, his hair disheveled, and deliberately pretended to be terminally ill.When Li Shengjin met, Sima Yi said that he was thirsty and asked his mother-in-law to offer rice soup. When drinking the soup, he deliberately looked powerless and spilled the rice soup on his lapel.Li Sheng looked at it and was secretly surprised: "I don't want Sima Yi, who is all-powerful, to be so ill." He pretended to say a few words of greeting.But Sima Yi said: "I heard that you are going to Bingxun to take office soon. The place is close to the barbarians, so you have to take precautions. I'm afraid I'm not far from death. Please tell General Cao Shuang to take good care of my family from now on." "Li Sheng hurriedly said: "I am going to Jingzhou, not Bingzhou." Sima Yi deliberately interrupted again: "You just came to Bingzhou?" Li Sheng corrected again: "I went to Jingzhou." , I’m also deaf, so I can’t hear what you’re talking about.” Li Sheng said a few more words of pleasantries, and then left.

Li Sheng went back and told Cao Shuang: "Sima Yi is dying of illness. His body and spirit have been separated. He may die soon. The general need not worry about him." Cao Shuang was overjoyed: "Sima Yi is about to die of illness. I have nothing to fear. It's over." So, the surveillance of Sima was relaxed, and Sima Yi took the opportunity to gather forces loyal to himself and launched a coup on February 5, 249. Cao Shuang and his followers were all arrested. ", Cao Shuang and others were all sent to Dongshi to be executed.Since then, the power of Wei State has been in the hands of Sima.

Heidi and Green's behavior are very similar to Sima Yi's, they are both "doing something and showing it is inaction".In the vicissitudes of the world, people's hearts are unpredictable, so sharp-edged, it is bound to become the target of public criticism, and it is inevitable to stumble.This is especially true in a highly competitive stock market.In order to avoid making too many enemies, "fake insanity" is indeed a good way to protect yourself. Once successful, you can receive unexpected benefits.Sima Yi's seizure of power, Heidi and Gelin's success, don't they all illustrate this point?

However, the risks in the stock market are unpredictable, and there are other ways to use "fake idiots but not crazy", please see the following examples: In 1907, Wall Street in the United States entered an era of great panics. Like any time before, the great panics must have a common feature, that is, Wall Street suddenly and catastrophically lost public trust in it. At this critical juncture, the financial tycoon Morgan looked like a superman in the face of the crisis facing Wall Street, which he dominated, without any panic on the surface.His son-in-law gave a wonderful description of his appearance after attending a special emergency meeting:

"Anyone who saw Morgan come out of the stock exchange to his office that day will never forget the scene: his shirt was unbuttoned, his chest was open, a document was clutched in his left hand, and he was hurrying to the banker. Walking across the street. He wore a flat black top hat tightly on his head, a pipe full of snow was dangling from his mouth, and his eyes were straight ahead. When he walked, he waved his arms and looked at no one. .He is not watching people coming and going on the road, but concentrates on what he is doing... When walking forward, he is different from all other people on the street: he does not dodge He didn't walk in or out, he didn't hesitate, he just swaggered, as if he was the only one who walked down the corner of Nassau Street and passed Fenjinxiang. He was the embodiment of power and will."

What was Morgan's state of mind at the time?Undoubtedly there must have been tension in his heart in the face of a calamity that threatened to destroy his kingdom.But the most wonderful thing is: his heart may be turbulent, but his expression is as calm as water.This firm expression is not only a kind of stability to his own psychology, but also a kind of deterrence to others.It seemed to show that Morgan was not overwhelmed by the disaster, and that he still had the ability to control and stop it.It was precisely because of this firm confidence that Morgan made Wall Street survive the catastrophe in 1907 and made him a stock tycoon who turned the tide. In the autumn of 1929, the Wall Street stock market in the United States plummeted, with a drop of 12.82% in one day, which was called the "big crash" by historians.During these days, there was also an interesting episode of "fake insanity but not insanity". At 1:30 p.m. on October 24, when people were scurrying about the market like headless chickens because of the sharp drop in stock prices, a gentleman named Richard Whitney appeared on the Wall Street trading floor.This man was an acting director of the New York Stock Exchange and a broker for Morgan & Co.Seeing that Whitney was calm, he went straight to the stock counter of Yiguo Iron and Steel Company and bought 10,000 shares of Ding Iron and Steel Company at a price of $250 per share.This was no ordinary transaction, and it was clear to everyone that Whitney was exercising organized influence on behalf of the most powerful institution on Wall Street in an effort to stem this horrific stock slump. Then, with the same firm and calm expression, Richard and Whitney walked to several other counters and ordered stocks one by one under the attention of everyone.In an instant, trust was like lightning, illuminating the entire trading floor.Whitney's move, the prices of many stocks began to recover.For example: the stock of Ferroniobium Company had fallen to 193 US dollars, and rose to 206 US dollars at the close; although the stock of General Electric Company fell 33 points, most of the losses had been made up at the close.Richard "Whitney's brave gestures, and his dramatic efforts, have long been legendary in the stock market. Whether it is Heidi Greene, Morgan, or Richard, Whitney, when they are using "Fake Crazy", there is a strong pillar in their hearts to support them, that is: a high degree of self-confidence , Believe in your own ability and judgment.Calm without self-confidence is strong on the outside, but confident on the inside, but calm on the surface. This is the real "fake insanity but not insane". Self-confidence is one of the secrets of every entrepreneur's success.Although it is sometimes difficult to distinguish self-confidence from arrogance, it is indispensable after all.As an investor, in order to achieve success like Heidi "Green" and Morgan, you must cultivate your self-confidence from the very beginning of getting involved in the stock market, and don't be influenced by the surrounding environment and changes in the stock market. Believe in yourself The analysis and judgment of others must not follow others' opinions, follow the trend, and only follow others' lead. The stock price changes frequently, and opportunities are often fleeting. Without strong perseverance and extraordinary courage, good opportunities will often be lost. Therefore, investors must have A certain amount of courage, on the basis of self-confidence, can take the short-term interests lightly, and make a decisive deal at the critical moment. To cultivate your self-confidence, you must remember the following points. Courage, thoughtfulness, and determination are the three conditions for success; buying depends on patience, selling depends on determination, and rest depends on confidence; therefore, you must study stocks by yourself and judge the market by yourself, and you must not change your determination because of unconfirmed rumors; Buy when you can buy, sell when you should sell, stop when you need to stop, safety first, stability first, recklessness leads to loss, greed leads to poverty, the most futile behavior is to try to guess the psychology of large shareholders; People will not earn more than investors outside the market; they should not estimate the market with their own financial resources, and should not affect their determination by the amount of loss; Those who are not prepared to entrust to buy and sell stocks, it is best to stay away from the market.People who go to the stock market to wait and see the market every day are easily affected by market changes and market rumors and make wrong decisions; There is no market that only goes up but not down, and there is no market that only goes down but not up.The "fake idiots don't get sick" introduced in this section is a clever strategy to deal with abnormal situations in the stock market.But you must have sufficient self-confidence.Therefore, the majority of stockholders should consciously strengthen their own training in this area, and always remember Madame Curie's famous saying - "We must have confidence, especially self-confidence."