A lie serves only to deceive yourself

Successful investing requires a flexible mind; the investor always ready, willing, and able to admit his or her error, and in real time. Some view that truth as equivocation, or fence-sitting, but the reality is that it is necessary. What is not necessary is to lie, and pretend you do not say what, in fact, you did.

My friend, Allan Harris, is no fan of CNBC's inimitable Jim Cramer. In post after post, Allan has railed against Jim, whereas I have defended him. I know Jim is not the clown he portrays himself to be on TV; no, Jim is a quiet, reflective, sensitive, and intelligent man.

But that reality does not excuse his TV buffoonery, nor does it excuse the truth that his investment returns fail, year after year, to beat any market benchmark... which all (I believe) to be the cause of Allan's ire. Poor investment returns + buffoonery = TV show... And that somehow equals success...? What the hell kind of equation is that?

Okay, it is a difficult market environment (when is it not?), but never lie. Ever. Own up to your errors, and then move on. In the intriguing ~10 minute video below, one fellow captures Jim Cramer with his pants down...

Your comments welcome.
-- David M Gordon / The Deipnosophist