🌙 Message at 3 AM
At 3 AM, my phone lit up:
"Only 50,000 left in the account, can it still be saved?"
The profile picture is Old Chen.
Six months ago, he had deposited 450,000 USD with me.
The screenshot is filled with glaring red, the loss numbers seem to want to swallow a person.
A few minutes later, he added:
"I don't expect to break even, I just want to keep this little amount of money."
I didn't preach, just set a strict rule for him:
Single loss not to exceed 3%, draw the stop-loss line before building a position, and no changes even if the market goes crazy.
Old Chen is very straightforward and followed it.
Every day he sent records, not once breaking the rules:
When it went up, he didn’t chase after adding positions;
When it went down, he didn’t stubbornly hold on waiting for a rebound.
Three months later, the account slowly climbed to 90,000;
After enduring for another four months, it finally returned to 450,000.
That morning, he sent a message:
"All the money is out, I'm done playing."
I was taken aback and asked him:
"Aren't you going to wait a bit longer for an opportunity?"
Old Chen replied tersely:
"What I earned before was luck, but what I keep now is solidity. The market is always there, but my greed should stop now."
Later, someone asked me:
"Who is the most formidable investor you have ever seen?"
I often think of Old Chen.
He never made shocking profits,
but with the words "I'm done playing," he won a freedom more valuable than money.
In investing, being able to stop is often harder than being able to charge forward.
