This post isn’t about investing, but about my experience in dealing with criticism, which I am now used to through my work at Safal Niveshak.
I am sure a lot of you also face criticism in your life, especially when you go out of your way and do things that you are proud of, but that may raise a lot of eyebrows from those who do not understand what you are up to.
In fact, if you’re going to do anything interesting in the world, criticism is an unavoidable fact.
You’ll be criticized, because you’ll make mistakes, because some will be jealous, because people have opinions about anything interesting, because people want to help you, because some want to drag down those doing anything different.
The trick to navigating the icebergs of criticism is to figure out which are helpful, and steer clear of those that aren’t. And above all, do it with grace.
Now, while getting criticized – especially for the wrong reasons – got me emotional a few years back, I now take things in my stride. Often I don’t respond to critics who abuse me or my work instead of sharing a genuine critique, but it being a Sunday today, I got into this interesting discussion with a follower on Twitter (he isn’t a follower anymore 🙂 ).
Our dialogue started when I informed my Twitter readers about the last day of admission for my Mastermind course.
And over the next one hour, I was called “desperate”, “greedy”, “idiot”, and a “jhola chaap”. 🙂
Here’s that discussion. Instead of using that person’s original Twitter handle (let me not make him famous 😉 ), let me call him @abc420.
@safalniveshak – Admission to my online Value Investing course – Mastermind – closes at 11.59 PM tonight! Know more and join here…
@abc420 – seems u have become desperate of money. Can see u persuading people to come to ur class
@safalniveshak – Yeah, I am desperate…to help more people lose less money in the stock market. 🙂
@abc420 – if ur teaching really has some substance then mouth talk will pull people in ur class else anyhow this class idea will die
@safalniveshak – Word of mouth has already pulled a lot of people. Thanks anyways for your prediction!
@abc420 – remember once u publish ur portfolio and saw the third class stocks then i stopped following your website
@safalniveshak – Good for you. My portfolio is doing great for me 🙂
@abc420 – u just try to make ur analysis complex by putting lot of unwanted formulas and prove tht u have awsome skills
@abc420 – in last 7 yrs just by trials i learnt to make portfolio and have awsome portfolio tcs infy wipro icici hdfc sbi yes bank l&t
@abc420 – hero bajaj maruti hll itc sunpharma cipla ambuja this is my portfolio
@safalniveshak – Great! But I will not share my views on your stocks 😉
@abc420 – to make such portfolio do someone need calculation? Hope u dont fool people
@safalniveshak – “My” people know whether I am fooling them.
@abc420 – just watch your portfolio. Crappy stocks…all i can see some numerical analysis
@safalniveshak – Crappiness, like beauty, lies in the eyes of the beholder. 🙂
@abc420 – by recommending to buy opto circuit like stocks…come on…
@safalniveshak – I have never recommended stocks on my site. I do a company’s analysis and often go wrong. I ain’t a perfect investor, like you.
@abc420 – dont lie once you shared ur portfolio
@safalniveshak – Sharing a portfolio doesn’t mean recommending those stocks. It may be for you, not for me.
@abc420 – blatant lie…you shared ur portfolio on ur website with full of regrets..why u didnt buy page ind
@safalniveshak – I bought and sold Page at 5x, when you were still taking your first steps. 🙂
@abc420 – dont fool people…u say buy right sit tight…And here u r saying u sold at 5x.. Blatant lie
@safalniveshak –See here where I talked about my 5x in Page, if you care to read – https://goo.gl/1LBtvR
@safalniveshak – You seem to be having a bad day. I wish you a better day ahead.
@abc420 – i am in europe and can understand who has a bad day…just want to say that just dont fool people by analysis
@safalniveshak – Oh, Europe? Then, given your poor attitude, you may be jobless. Sorry, I don’t have any job to offer to you.
@abc420 – according to his pravachans he should not run city to city for money… Aaj last din hai class ka
@safalniveshak – People need to be reminded. If I wanted money, I would have offered a 50% discount in desperation.
@abc420 – daily mails today is last day to enroll. What man if ur teaching is great people will run to ur home
@safalniveshak – You know what, they are running to my home, and my doors are open for them. 🙂
@abc420 – ok enough of u.. I m unfollowing u…plz ensure to remove my email from ur class mail list
@safalniveshak – Good for you, and great for me.
@safalniveshak – I am blocking you now. Need to spend some quality time with my kids. May you get all you deserve in life!
@abc420 – i am unveiling ur analysis drama so u r getting crazy
@safalniveshak – I am still crazily laughing for sure. 😉
@abc420 – apne aapko jhunjhulwala samajhta hai
@abc420 – nestle ko farzi stock batata hai and buys optocircuit.. This is kind of analysis he gives
Critic 2 enters the discussion – I second ur opinion on #safalniveshak ….if this guy is comf with money making via stocks….why pushing for fee ….greedy
@abc420 – itna mahagyani ho to city to city kahe liye mara rahe ho and fooling with half gyan
@abc420 – just want to make people aware of this jhola chhao stock tantric
@abc420 – ever seen warren buffet selling good stocks.? Just now this jhola chap wrote tht he sold page ind at 5x
@abc420 – this idiot saying tht i will be jobless soon.. 500 rs ke liye city city daud raha hai khud
@safalniveshak – A wise man said – “Never wrestle with a pig, you’ll both get dirty and the pig will enjoy it.” And you surely are enjoying! 😉
Yes, I’m Desperate and Greedy!
Let me clear a few things – not because I don’t want to see any further criticism for my work – but just to try and remove any iota of doubt you may have on my mission and vision for Safal Niveshak.
If I remind people to sign up for my course – and many sign up on the last few days – and someone thinks that’s desperate, then I am desperate. I am desperate because I do not want people to miss out on learning things that can help them for years to come.
And my desperation is proven when I allow people with financial constraints to sign up for my course and workshops even at an 80% discount, and sometimes at a zero fee.
Then, if I charge fee for my course, and you think that is being greedy, than surely I am greedy. I am greedy to earn some money for the value I am providing because that not only helps me run my house but also helps me give away money to the needy.
So, effectively, I try to trade my skills for money that brings smiles to me and my family, and a lot of unfortunate souls.
You see, I’ve learned that criticism is a fact of the game. I can respond with anger, or let it stop me from doing things, or I can let it help me. Or accept that it’s there and move on. I choose the last two.
By the way, someone recently wrote to me calling me a Pied Piper who is fooling his people by preaching the works of Buffett, Munger and Co. In fact, he sent across this picture to describe me and my work…
Now, if you think I am fooling you, you are free to choose to stop reading me.
I am sure you are smart enough to know the power of independent thinking, right?
Mastermind Admission Close Date Extended to 8th Oct.: Owing to bank holidays (till 6th Oct.) and a pretty long weekend, I have received quite a few requests to extend the closing date of admission to my online Value Investing Course – Mastermind. So, without being desperate, I have extended the same to 8th Oct. 🙂 Click here to join Mastermind now!
some wise man said …” You will never reach your destination if you stop and throw stones at every dog that barks. Better we keep biscuits and go.”
Thanks for your suggestion, Amit! 🙂
Hi Vishal, These are just trolls – hiding behind the anonymity of internet. They are everywhere. Just don’t feed them by engaging in a conversation.
Thanks for your concern, Harish!
Vishal don’t hurt by any comments… Keep on your good work.
Surely Virendra, Thanks!
Its really sad to hear such things. People including we tribesmen are not fools and can judge whats good or not. Though i am a newbie but I can bet that safalniveshak.com is going to be the TOP value investing website of India soon, its already BEST.. 🙂
@vishal sir – just ignore and move on..
@abc420 – if you think you are right then prove it by making better blog than SN and not just by sitting and critizing then you will realise..
I am and will be your tribeman and one day will surely become a SAFAL NIVESHAK ;)..
” AAP KUCH ACHA KAR RHE HO AUR LOG AAPKO PAGAL SAMJHE TO AAP SAMAJH JAO KI AAP SAHI TRACK PE HO..”:)
Thanks Abhishek!
As far as I know, you never a recommended a stock… Maybe (and let me clarify its ‘Maybe’) you recommended (unconsciously) the study of particular stock… But you always made it clear that its your personal opinion and not recommendation. Looks like somebody wanted to brag about his awesome stock holdings more than exercising independent thought.
Thanks for your comment, Gaurav!
All i can say is, Vishal has shown great maturity and temperament.
These kinda ppl u will get to meet all over the world and in any field of work.
Just ignore and continue the journey as rightly said above…“Never wrestle with a pig, you’ll both get dirty and the pig will enjoy it.”
Even Warren buffet faced criticism, did he bogged down…NO….Y shud he……
Everybody has a brain of their own, if sombody doesnt feel they are comfortable with SAFALNIVESHAK Tribe, head elsewhere….life is too short to waste time in these petty things.
Thanks for your concern and support, Vivek.
Vishal, I have learnt so much from you. The course is great. Every one who expresses their opinion openly will always invite criticism. But dont worry about that. You are doing the tremendous job of educating people and enriching their life.
Thanks for your kind words, Balaji!
Hi Vishal,
Best way is to “block” such people immediately because we have better ways to use our time.
Indeed Avadhut.
Ignore them
Yeah Abhijit.
Not sure why some people in life seem to derive joy from putting down others and their work, especially when they have not done anything great themselves. In my experience it usually is people who lack self confidence and have low self esteem, that hide behind the anonymity of the Internet and spray venom all over. But as somebody above commented, you cannot stop to throw stones at every dog who barks at you!!
Thanks Nishanth!
In my mind I feel that your charges are little more than “stupid common man” can afford and above average economical investors can only afford such charges.
Having said that if you deserve then above average economical investors are always ready to pay for your premium services.
No doubt that there is quality in your services but layman have to think twice to afford the charges.
I know that you are doing charity also which is surely another feather in your cap and that charity act sounds like Robin Hood who cheats the rich to help the poor. This is perfectly normal.
In anyway, I must appreciate your time, energy, knowledge that you share with the world and always admire your for that.
Such comments are passing clouds for which you can forgive them.
God bless you Vishal for all your works to the world.
Many thanks, Mr. Kumar!
Kudos to you for your patience Vishal.
Difficult to keep calm with such harsh people..
You doing a great job. for people like me with below average intelligence, your blog is an eye opener.
Wonderful readings here.
Thanks Aditya!
jab log tumare bare me bat karne lag jaye na samaj lena tum taraki kar rhe ho…. well done Vishal sir 🙂 Plz write as much post as u can… boz it gives confidence in investing ….. All the very best Vishal Sir….:)
Thanks Archit!
I,really, feel pity on @abc420.
It just reflect – his poor upbringing, arrogance, zero intellect, uncivilized attitude, unprofessionalism and what not.
Indirectly he has abused all the tribe members here. We aren’t fool to follow any one, right folks.
I was introduced to this forum by my Professor (though indirectly – by sharing one content from safalniveshak). And I know my professor ( an XLRI product, quit job as VP of MNC, financially independent and person with immense humility) isn’t any fool to follow any tom, dick and harry.
Vishal – you are doing tremendous job. Keep going.
Thanks for your kind words of support, Amit!
Hi Vishal,
Nothing is free in this world and i think sometime people don’t understand the difference between charity and people working as administrators in charity.Any cause is never free and for that matter “There is no free lunch”.
Good way forward is to focus on what is intended and move ahead.Keep up the good work and i personally like your work.
Thanks AnBu!
I really liked your last sentence “Never wrestle with a pig, you’ll both get dirty and the pig will enjoy it.” Very true.
Some people simply derive pleasure by putting others down. We should filter them out and ignore them. I am always open to a rational criticism with the right intentions. But the conversation (from abc@420) was too uncivil to be rational. It lacked a point of view with any specifics.
Kindly forgive them and move on.
Thanks for all your work!!!!
Thanks Sonny!
Hi Vishal sir,
Criticism is a part of success of the story…
And answer to abc420 ” bhai jo Kuch nahi kar satey wo kamaal hi kartey hain”
Thanks Pradeep! 🙂
Honestly, I won’t call anybody expert having Infosys in their portfolio. It is a company grown beyond value-parameters. Plus, I attended your ‘course’ too. It is just PDF files you are giving, no collaboration or clarification from your side. I don’t feel it worth.
Vishal pardon me for answering this on your behalf but the course does mention before joining that it is a self study course and just because the lessons are in PDF does not make them any less valuable. Plus you have lifetime access to it. So you can learn as per your convenience.
Also there is a forum in place where you can ask all the questions that you have. Such wealth of information particularly in an Indian context, written in such a simple style will be hard to get anywhere else apart from Safal Niveshak.
Thank you so much Nelson!
But wait! Rajesh, I do not find you as a member in any of my courses. Please clarify which of my courses did you attend so that I can respond appropriately to you.
Hello Vishal,
To all the people reading this, Vishal has helped me big time and I owe a lot to him. Not that he needs or wants a testimonial from me but haters & trolls fail to see the tremendous work done by him over the years.
To Mr abc420 I have the following to say:
Millions of companies advertise and promote products & services. Some of them even promote stuff like Tobacco, Alcohol, cigarettes etc. Vishal is promoting something which is beneficial for so many people not just in India but all over the world. What is your problem with that?
Plus, Vishal is trying to educate and inform people about Investing and finance. He is extremely passionate about it and likes to help people. Many times people in various cities/towns are not aware about the financial shenanigans that take place and fall prey to the same. By helping such people save money in fact helping them invest better…you call that desperate.
Vishal please do not pay the slightest of attention to such criticism.
Thanks for your kind words of support, Nelson! 🙂
Hi Vishal,
I am not a fan of your reminder emails. But, that doesn’t stop me from reading your generous contributions to the public or I lose sight of your mission.
What motivated me to actually come to the site and comment is – “you are damn right and you are entitled to every single $ of earning”. For the folks who somewhere have been bit by the socialist bug, I ask them to read Ayn Rand’s Atlas shrugged. For the really lazy, here is Hank Rearden’s self-defense and Francisco D Anconia’s speech on Money.
We are here to learn more about ourselves and ultimately make more money. You are a guiding lamp-post enroute to this simple mission.
Great post. carry on. maybe, you need to make this post STICKY so you really attract the folks who dont mind or rather feel ashamed to free-load of you. it is as simple as that.
Thanks you so much, Kalidasa!
Dear Vishal,
I have gone through the entire episode, while appreciating your balance of mind in dealing with the criticism of @abc420, I wish to state that as a small investor I cannot afford your fees. Hence, I follow my intuation alone in buying and selling stocks.
Thanks Mr. Chakraborty! Please check your email and revert. Regards.
Vishal,
If everyone followed the value investing way it would perhaps not work. Therefore people with the views of Mr 420 are very important for us to make a killing . Let them continue to follow their path and we follow ours.
Your course has added great value to me and my investment style and I feel a lot more confidence in my investing with every lesson of the course. There is a lot of valuable information that cannot be found in one place or explained in the simple and straight forward way you do it.
So just keep up the good work and do what you do best as we appreciate and deeply value what you do.
Your course is the best investment I have made. Thank You!
That’s great to hear, Steven. Thank you so much for your kind word!
Hi,
I am extremely satisfied with Mastermind course and I will recommend to all budding investors.
Do not worry about anything and keep doing your good work.
regards,
Nilesh Mehta
Surely Nilesh. Thanks for your testimonial for Mastermind!
Vishal, looks like Shri abc420 was free and found you to fill his time..what we call ‘majje lene ke liye’..Brother you are an Elephant when it comes to Wisdom in Stock Market Investing. Barking dogs can never cause any harm to an Elephant in the jungle. Keep up the good work and please continue to share.
Regards
Sure Sai. Thanks!
Welcome to the “World of Giving and Sharing” Vishal.
You’re doing good handling the criticism..:-)
Thanks Vikas! 🙂
Hi Vishal,
You should have stopped after the second response from abc420 and moved on.There are internet trolls and two things come into my mind when I read the exchange
a) the PIG stort :“Don’t Ever Wrestle With A Pig. You’ll Both Get Dirty, But The Pig Will Enjoy It.”
c) the Law of Garbage truck.
=================================================================================
One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, ‘Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!’
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, ‘The Law of the Garbage Truck.’
He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it, and sometimes they’ll dump it on you. Don’t take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don’t take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.
The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.
==================================================================================
-hari
Thanks Hari! Would remember the “Law of Garbage Truck” from now on, for I would need it several times in my life. 🙂
Hi Vishal,
On every website that relates to value/long term investing, I have seen reference to your name/site with good virtue. If that insane critic was a follower of couple of other good sites (stableinvestor, tyroinvestor, subramoney, freefincal, etc) he would not have dared to criticize you because he is providing a solid proof of him being a fool.
Forget him….the way to deal with such guys is mentioned by you only in the last line (pig wrestling…)
Remember the story of M. K Gandhi..(you might already know this)
When he was travelling from India to South Africa on a ship, an Englishman sent a letter full of bad words and slang to Gandhiji through the Captain of the ship.
When Gandhiji read that letter, he simply removed the ‘pin’ of that letter (that was used to staple many pages) and threw the letter into the sea with no emotions on the face.
Surprised by this act, the Captain asked “Why did you keep this pin and threw the letter?”
Gandhiji replied “This (the pin) is the only thing in this letter that is useful for me in future. So I kept it with me and the useless thing (the letter itself) threw into the sea.”
Just keep moving ahead……
Thanks Abhijit!
Dear Vishal,
This is the first comment Iam putting on your blog, only to give you support.
I think you have been doing a excellent work of educating people. And if you are charging some fees for the quality knowledge you are imparting people, I personally feel there is nothing wrong.
Please note people like me appreciate a lot, the work that U are doing.
I have been a value investor for around 10years. But yours is one of the best blogs I found.
Continue the great work.
Great to hear from you, Mayur. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
“Pigs don’t know pigs stink”.
If I may share my 2 bits on this, If I were you, I won’t spend time interacting or responding with such negative people. Spending time thinking, fighting and interacting with such people is time lost doing something productive and good !!
Vishal you’re doing a great job ! You’re special !!
Thanks for your kind words, Vinay!
Hi Vishal,
I sincerely believe the quality of your teachings and learning is honest and of very high quality. It is not not only essence of teachings of many sucessful investors, teachers but give an independent system. It is is at par or better than many B-schools who may be teaching some of the elements or part of financial investing.
For online course it is the best option available and certainly more valuable than fee you are charging.
We spend on so much on useless things so I believe course like yours is investment than cost. Plus you share so much free wisdom and learnings in your blogs can someone value it? I do not think so. .
All the best.
Ankur
Thanks for your kind words, Ankur!
It’s great to hear your thoughts on Mastermind. Many thanks!
I am not that twitter guy but can agree to some extent. Please take the following positively and will appreciate a honest response. Thanks.
#1 You used to mention clearly in your earlier mails (1-2 years ago) that after all expenses, the “fees” paid out will be donated towards your charity. I do not see this in your recent mails. Has this policy changed?
#2 You cannot brush aside Opto Circuits. I do not remember the link – valuepickr? ted? where someone did post about all your “analysis” on companies like Opto, Clariant etc. You can very well say you never reco’ed Opto but the skeletons were very clearly visible if you had read the balance sheet correctly.
#3 Why are you so afraid to reco any stock ?? I agree its giving a fish and teaching to fish but what are you so afraid to publicly say that you like something after making an analysis.
There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge/information.
Anon, I am sure that after writing the above post and reading replies from his tribesmen, Vishal would (and should) not respond to your questions.
We need to understand that this is his personal blog and he owes no one an answer, especially answers to questions that doubt him and his efforts. This is also considering that Vishal has done so much, and painstakingly, for his readers over the years. At least, I have benefited tremendously from his writings.
So, Vishal, I am taking this liberty to respond to the questions here before you do it. 🙂
I don’t want to talk about Vishal’s policy of charity, but I am sure his kindness must have spread there as well.
On your question on Opto Circuits, you must read his emails on the company where he has talked about his mistake. So it seems foolhardy why people continue to raise this issue, and surprisingly no one talks about his other company analyses where the stocks have done so well. Again here, Vishal, I believe you owe no one an explanation, especially to people who continue to torment you with the term “recommendation”!
On your third point, if Vishal was really afraid, he would have kept his learning and ideas with himself instead of sharing them on a public platform, and being open to inviting criticism. And do you really think all those who are recommending stocks on their blogs really sharing wisdom?
I sincerely believe what Vishal shares here is wisdom, given that he teaches the timeless learning and does not flood us with stock recommendations (again in the face of all criticism from people who think he is fearful and thus not recommending stocks!).
On your efforts, Vishal, all I want to say is what the former US President Roosevelt said in one of his landmark speeches – “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”
Yes Anon, there is a difference between wisdom and knowledge/information, as Vishal had recently written in a remarkable post. Plus, I am sure his tribe would vouch for the fact that he shares wisdom here. If you need information (aka stock recommendations), there are countless places on the Internet.
Sorry Vishal for being so long in my reply! Forgive me if I have written anything wrong. But whatever I have written here has come straight from my heart.
A tribesman,
Anon-2 🙂
Original Anon here – For people not familiar with value investing, the course(s)/material in this blog will be good, but honestly there is a vast ocean to cross between theory and practice. That is why I said why be afraid of saying you like something when you have taken the pain of analyzing something. Why not put up your audited portfolio up every quarter like most of the good bloggers do. Over analysis leads to paralysis. Show us the numbers.
I am no one to question his charity efforts and actually respected him for that earlier. The earlier face to face investor classes did not have any fixed “fees”. I was just wondering why these things have changed.
You cannot hide saying its a personal blog. Its a business and you have to accept questions/criticism. Please understand that I do enjoy this blog and respect/thank him for it.
Thanks “Original” Anon!
I practice what I teach here on Safal Niveshak, so I am sailing well through this ocean between theory and practice. But I owe it to no one to show up either my portfolio or performance. I share my learning here because I am doing reasonably well with that learning and would like others to benefit from the same.
Please enlighten me with the names of good bloggers who put up their audited portfolios up every quarter? I may try and clone them 🙂 But please don’t expect me to do that because, rather than being a full time investor trying to make a killing in the stock market, my focus is on teaching people to move from -15% CAGR to +15% CAGR.
As for the fee for my earlier workshops, I found too many people taking undue advantage of the same, and thus resorted to a fixed fee system. What is more, the fact that people who can afford to pay the fixed fee are helping me subsidize a lot of people who can’t afford the fee.
You see, again I don’t need to explain the rationale for the same to anyone, but I am still doing it since you raised the point!
Finally, of course this is my personal blog, and I owe an explanation to no one except people who are my “business clients” (since you called it a “business”) – students of my online courses and workshops – because they also put their money, apart from their trust, at stake.
This is not to take away from the fact that I am always there for my tribe – even for people who have never had a monetary transaction with me – to help them wade sensibly through their investing lives. And I would continue to do that till Safal Niveshak lasts.
I am ready to accept criticism and that’s why I am writing on a public platform, even knowing that I’ll make mistakes, that I will be crucified for that, and that there would be people who would want to drag me down every now and then.
Thanks for your time!
P.S. This is the last and final time I am responding to anyone who has questioned my work ethics or my efforts. I have better things to do in life, and for this tribe. 🙂
Original Anon here – Thanks Vishal for being so candid. I appreciate the hard work and time you have been putting here and wish you all the very best. My only concern was a lay person with just “theory” learnt from here may not be ready yet to face the financial markets.
All the best and wish you more & more success in the future.
Thanks Anon-2 for your kind thoughts and for taking the pressure off me. Let me say that, to your comments, I have nothing to add. 🙂
Dear Vishal, I hugely admire your work. You have been doing a terrific job at sharing your knowledge, mostly for free. It is really not appreciable to see you loose your temper on several occasions in the above transcript. I urge you to either exit such discussions at the first inappropriate remark or resort to only the politest of the replies. Your work can only be as good as you are as an individual. Good luck. TC
Did I lose my temper at any place? I thought I was extremely polite 🙂
Anyways, thanks for your comment.
I feel sorry for people who are criticizing you . I did mastermind course and it was the second best thing ever happened to me . ( 1st one was when I had a baby girl .lol. ) I am in australia and my friends are also doing mastermind course ( which I recommended to them ) . And when we meet , we regret that we cant actually meet you in person and learn your craft in person . I am sure that you dont need a certificate from armature investors like us but let me give you this certificate to you anyway . You are doing a great job and god bless you for what you are doing . Remember The Gita in times like this . It was no brainers to go with kaurava in mahabharat but people who believed in lord krishna won the great war !!
Cheers .
Bhavdip.
That’s great to hear Bhavdip – both about your girl and your views on Mastermind. 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words!
Unfortunately, one has to live with these people. Some people have trolled me for years on MMB & still post -ve views on stocks i have not written about in years 🙂 …. ignoring them is best.
Indeed BoscoM 🙂
Hi Vishal, I am an avid reader of your blog and have have made every use of your resources – posts and materials. My skills whatever I have picked up by reading has improved greatly with your resources (though without paying you.. I would love to attend your class though when I move back to Bangalore).
I too was based in Europe (Germany) for many years and have recently shifted base to US. I too am a firm believer in the statement acchhe din aane waale hain. Not as a politician – but seeing the vast potential our country has in comparison to developed nations.
I think you have a great future ahead. You are doing yoamen service to all. Keep up the good work. Your blog is one of the regular I keep track of. I have no shame in admitting that my analysis / checklists have many items taken (cloned) from yours.
Wish you much success in your job and life.
Cheers, Harsha
Good to hear from you, Harsha…and thanks for your kind words!
Hi Vishal,
Incidentally this post came in today in my mailbox:
“You must first salute the bad person and then salute the good person. Why? This is because the bad person is teaching you a lesson at his own cost: ‘Don’t do what I did, otherwise you will also go through the same trouble as I am going through’. So, salute everyone, whether the person is your enemy or your friend. – Sri Sri Ravi Shankar”
Maybe the abc420 was being mischievous and maybe he was trying to provoke you (didn’t sound European). Maybe he was frustrated, maybe jealous.
Mr. Abc420 or the comments from Supporters etc are all perceptions. Perceptions whether good or bad are to be dealt with , they may not be the reality. The Sun Rises and Sets…is that reality….No. It’s a perception. It is the Earth which is rotating.
No one could ideally know the real you. And what you do and why you do what you do…so this explanations and discussion can be endless and waste of your energy.
Easier said than done 🙂 but Forget and Forgive…and …Move on
Anuroop
Dear Vishal
There are very very few people like you who are self-effacing, and share knowledge freely like you,
its a treat to read your articles please keep up your good work you have many many more fans than critics ….am sure even your critics will one day realize your worth am looking forward to learn a lot more from your courses…your rates are very reasonable and the ROI on the course am sure will be very high.
Einstein once said, “GREAT SPIRITS HAVE TO ENCOUNTERED WITH MEDIOCRE MINDS”. Thats what happened to you Vishal. Ignore these ppl just like true investors ignores so called market pundits.
Hi Vishal,
The twitter fan has probably not benefited from your site so he seems to be bragging. If he had genuine concerns he could have shared the same with you or provided constructive feedback. One can be a bit skeptical but its important to respect the other person while doing so.
Promoting a course and charging for it is not a crime. After all you have done hard work in creating and putting them together and it can’t be fully free. However, I liked all your free emails and articles, which are highly informative and insightful. I appreciate your generosity and initiative for helping and sharing information even with free subscribers.
We all know SN does not recommend stocks and any discussion is only for knowledge sharing. In the past you also did Stock Talk which was a wonderful initiative, and that helped exchange knowledge and perspectives. But it was not a recommendation though. I also had different opinions on certain stocks but everyone has their right of having a different opinion/view, but its not right to criticize and attack someone personally (like the tw fan did)
SN/Vishal have also shared valuation model, good videos on you tube explaining financial reports/concepts, etc. I have benefited from these and imbibed some of the learning. Keep up the good work.
Hi Vishal,
You are doing an amazing job. I love your blog. I suggest you say “serenity prayer” to such people/comments as they don’t deserve your time/attention. Serenity prayer goes like this “give us courage to change what must be altered, serenity to accept what cannot be helped, and the wisdom to know the one from the other.”
-Raghu
Hi Vishal- abc420 is so mean- hope you ignore his comments and carry on with what you are doing. As per the pied-piper comment, it makes me sad. God knows how this strategy worked for the fellow who wrote that mail to you-maybe they lost some money and then they blame you, when ideally they should be working on improving their approach, figuring what went wrong etc etc- so the person’s just feeling bitter. I’d like to wish that person the best of luck, and hope that they get over their bitterness and try understanding the value investing way more deeply, and be patient for results!
Good luck for your work!