My humble opinion: the analogy is not quite so perfect. Everything in life
from foods to actual names of a person gets some neural association and
likewise there are good ones too. I think that just about any example could
fit here, probably ones that have even more in common with a portfolio.
Bankruptcy <=> Puke?
Food <=> Money?
I think the message of this writer is clear though... and surely he is
investing at the moment which would explain his interest in getting more
people into the market.
----- Original Message -----
>From: "Harvey Tobkes" <harveyT@prodigy.net>
To: <harveyT@prodigy.net>
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2003 1:05 AM
Subject: Eat Fish
>
> Below is a short excerpt from an article I read that makes a vivid
> comparison but nevertheless it is a wake up call for sideline sitters.
What
> is your opinion?
> Imagine you went out to dinner and got food poisoning from a bad piece of
> fish yesterday. You spent the whole night sick as a dog puking your guts
> out. Not much fun. I'll bet you wouldn't be in any hurry to get back to
the
> offending restaurant. In fact, the fish you ate would probably be
> blackballed from your list of preferred foods for quite some time.
> For the next several years, when someone suggested eating fish, memories
of
> that horrid event would come flooding back. The taste would come rushing
> back along with a nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach.
> Sorry for the graphic metaphor, but it fits the experience of many
investors
> today. Watching your portfolio and your 401K get decimated for three years
> was akin to the horrid, wretched feeling associated with food poisoning.
> Naturally, you are afraid to order the fish, even though you loved it for
> many years. Getting back into the market is like ordering that first piece
> of fish. You're scared. Memories of illness come flooding back.
> Nevertheless, once you get that first bite out of the way, fish becomes
one
> of your favorite foods again.
> If you haven't put the stock market back on your menu, do so. Forget the
> wretched feeling associated with the illness that pervaded your portfolio
> for three years. It's time to get back into the market, and it's far from
> too late.
>
>
>
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