About the time they told me I'd need a team of security guards to escort me to the men's room, I knew I'd done it.
By it, I mean ticked off a roomful of folks so pompous that you couldn't tell where their silver spoons ended and their perma-scowls began. Even worse, I committed this crime on the holiest of grounds ...
Brace yourself for the horror!
That's right, I wore seersucker shorts, a red Ralph Lauren polo shirt, and flip-flops to a local country club where I was supposed to interview a "wealth manager" who was reading passages from his newest book to all of his appropriately dressed clients.
Granted, I probably looked like I'd just escaped from some sort of white-collar Supermax where they only play pedestrian lawn games like bocce and badminton. But in my defense, I didn't know I was going until about an hour beforehand.
Not to mention, my boss assured me that I wouldn't be openly -- and quite loudly -- called out as "(expletive deleted) disrespectful" by the club's chief of security.
Amusingly ironic -- and tactful, to boot
For now, I'll shelve my disdain for this eloquent ogre, the acres of neatly manicured grass he protects, and all the Judge Smails wannabes I encountered there. Heck, I won't even mention this establishment by name. (I will say that it wasn't the Bushwood Country Club where Smails and the other Caddyshack goofballs hang out.)
But I will tell you that the whole experience has me bound and (expletive deleted) determined to become the best investor I can be so that one day I can join any golf club I please and treat disgustingly underdressed people like ... well, people.
Here's how I'm going to do it ...
First, I'm going to follow my old man's lead and read everything I can get my hands on. After all, he belongs to several clubs every bit as prestigious as this one -- and he doesn't even play golf.
I've already started by reading the 25 books that Motley Fool co-founder Tom Gardner thinks every investor should read.
Now, in my ongoing quest to become a master investor, I'm moving on to these ...
Fundamental Analysis:
The Five Rules for Successful Stock Investing, by Pat Dorsey and Joe MansuetoSecurity Analysis, 6th Edition, by Benjamin Graham and David DoddBehavioral Finance:
Why Smart People Make Big Money Mistakes and How to Correct Them, by Gary Belsky and Thomas GilovichYour Money and Your Brain, by Jason ZweigGeneral Investment Wisdom:
The Aggressive Conservative Investor, by Martin WhitmanPoor Charlie's Almanack, by Charles T. MungerEconomics and Markets:
The Age of Turbulence, by Alan GreenspanA Short History of Financial Euphoria, by John Kenneth GalbraithCase Studies:
The Smartest Guys in the Room, by Bethany McLean and Peter ElkindIn an Uncertain World: Tough Choices from Wall Street to Washington, by Robert Rubin and Jacob WeisbergThese are just 10 of the 31 books on the Motley Fool Hidden Gems reading list. And though it might take you a few months to plow through all of them, I'm positive it will be worth your while.
What I'm doing in the meantime ...
I, for one, am putting that reading to work and taking full advantage of the discounts the recent market collapse has handed us.
Because I'm confident the world economy will eventually recover and drive commodity prices higher, I've been building positions in both Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE: FCX) and Transocean (NYSE: RIG). Continued... |