Approaching the physical age of 56, I am constantly reminded of Seneca's thoughts on mortality.
You act like mortals in all that you fear, and like immortals in all that you desire.
I've been trading in financial investments in some form or the other for the past 40+ years. Mostly stocks, some mutual funds and ETFs, and for the last 2-3 years, crypto currencies. My current crypto holdings are in Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), Steem (Steem) and nem (XEM).
To be sure, investing is not for the faint of heart, and all investments require fortitude to stick with a plan or abandon it when the plan is failing. The most important part is to know what works, or else you won't know what fails.
Over the years, I've shaken off so many market corrections to count, simply because I know these happen and stocks will eventually rise again to new heights. As Tony Robbins puts it in the title of his latest book, Unshakeable. (Here is the take-away from the book: Buy and keep buying the lowest load index ETF - I own SPY -, regardless of price, and don't panic.)
Overall, Stocks rise, fall, then rise to new heights. This is practically a law of investing. (I'm referring to stock averages, not individual stocks.)
Cryptocurrencies, especially BTC and ETH will rise to new heights, fall, then rise again to new heights. No doubt. They are here to stay, and nothing can stop them. (And, before you ask, yes, I am bullish on STEEM and XEM or I would not hold them, or more importantly write on this platform).
But now, my investment horizon is starting to fuck with me in a way that I can't quite get my head around. For 40+ years, I've almost always been fearless and unshakeable, but the confidence I have in Steem and other cryptos are coming into a conflict with my investment horizon, or what I commonly refer to as "having too much life at the end of the money, or too much money at the end of the life".
This Seneca quote is particulary troublesome:
How stupid to forget our mortality, and put off sensible plans to our fiftieth and sixtieth years, aiming to begin life from a point at which few have arrived!
Cryptocurrencies, especially BTC, are crossing the chasm from the early adopters to the early majority. Just a week or so ago a colleague asked me which crypto he should buy. I don't think he had ever seriously bought crypto before. This was the very morning that BTC hit an all-time high over $2700. I took some profits off the table right then.
Regardless, my bucket list is there, my mortality is there, and the knowledge that cryptos are the current and best wealth investment today are troubling me.
I am very interested in hearing others' thoughts.
If you post a reply, please let me know at least your age (or any other thing that affects your investment horizon).
