Go Pro

'Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.' - Henry Ford

Helping others without any expectation and without gain is just as much of a gift to yourself as it is to the person you give to.' - Kat Von D [Go Big or Go Home]

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If one can find a way to turn a intense desire into a way into a lifestyle all the better. The Go Pro camera concept should be considered a success for the creators and end users bringing cinema technology into open active spaces. Billionaire Nick Woodman is a good example of marketing the dream.

The GPRO - Initial Public Offering (IPO) generated a market capitalization near $14 billion at a unique time when many non profitable companies were looking for pubic capital (2014). A euphoric market sentiment created a great environment for an outstanding product and excellent company story. Indeed, the owners of the private company who took this thing public were the ones who Went PRO!

As a former financial consultant I would ask clients to avoid buying shares of of a company with a huge valuation, questionable balance sheet and a business subject to competition (limited barriers of entry). Action cameras are a consumable and these very expensive products face little growth with significant competition. The sex appeal of an amazing product fueling our passion often doesn't qualify as an ideal investment. Take a look at the number of individuals who sought retail in their field and have found Amazon.com to be a formidable foe with no commercial rental costs.

The final word isn't concluded on GoPro but as a home run for the creator and another example of how technology help bring the outside world inside more efficiently. Cinematic quality has brought amazing views from many amateur's action shots with numerous new cameras entering the market today from multiple sources.

Photo - George Greenough - Pioneer innovative surfer / cinematographer / designer [1969].

GoPro has declined some 85% from it's high in 2014. While the capital loss outcome from the high priced IPO is no surprise it should be noted that an objective international traveler can benefit from the technology of many new low cost cameras

- 'Be a Hero' To Your Assets
Obtaining extreme profits can be achieved with calculated speculation. Doug Casey describes speculation as disciplined / calculated moves deploying capital (cash - money) using distortions in the marketplace. Sometimes assets or entities may be extremely inexpensive as they become out of favor where the supply / demand fundamentals greatly shift to the odds of the owner as the flow of funds naturally return.

My greatest mistake in the financial markets was not taking gains. I should have re-read Chapter 8 of 'The Intelligent Investor' by Benjamin Graham many more times. All bull markets with a bright future have severe corrections. Rather than fret I wish to learn greatly and act accordingly.

I believe many great investors like Warren Buffett are well aware the world is entering an unprecedented time to find a safe haven for growth and preservation of capital. The amount of new currency added to world financial systems has created a zero interest rate market in the western world and fueled the prices of stocks, bonds and real estate. The days of holding a bond to maturity for 10 years may no longer be a safe option with certificates of deposit yielding less than one percent.

Crisis - Opportunity

Inheriting capital is not an option. Creating capital using financial leverage will be covered extensively in this blog. Current and future actions may be noted for the reader. Owning much of something out of favor which may change based upon a paradigm shift is the goal. Continuing research and diligence is paramount like a hunter seeking prey.

When all the currency is on one side of the trade opportunities far away from the crowd may exist. We hope to provide ideas to use the extreme changes in the world to your advantage. If someone told me 20 years ago when I was still living in Jersey City, NJ that I would be living in Encinitas, California & surfing while renovating homes in Uruguay I would have found it hard to believe!

Fortune favors the brave -

Chris