A thought that I had on investing philosophy while walking: I pay no attention to 2-baggers, 5-baggers, 10-baggers or whatever in individual stocks, nor do I count them.
This is relevant because this way it never crosses my mind to think anything like “This stock is slowing down, but it’s a 9-bagger. Maybe I should hold it for another year to try for another 10-bagger.” Going from a 9-bagger to a 10-bagger is only an 11% gain, so counting 10-baggers is meaningless to me. If I’m no longer in love with the stock, I should be able to put the money into something that will be up 30% in a year, and it will never even cross my mind that I missed having a 10-bagger.
What I do pay attention to is how my total portfolio is doing. When I multiplied my results out from 1991 to 2007 it came to a 115-bagger on the whole portfolio. That’s what is really important to me, since my family and I have to live on the gains.
Saul
PS Here’s another way to think about it: If you have an 80-bagger on a stock that grows to an 85-bagger it sounds exciting, but it’s only a 6% gain on your money.
If you take the same money and put it into a new stock where you just get a tiny little 2-bagger, you’ve made a 100% gain on the same money.
Which is why I don’t pay attention to trying to get multiple baggers. If they happen fine, but it’s not my focus.