When I do public speaking I like to talk about my mistakes. They are always a little embellished because that is what happens to stories over time.

I have made some doozies (mistakes). It might be why I need Ambien to sleep.

I have made gynormous mistakes by ommission and of course by commission. I don’t quite agree with Seinfeld ‘Even Steven‘ theory, but I do believe in ‘Serenity Now‘!

My last long interview came at Zurb’s Soapbox a few weeks ago. I like the way they edited it down in the article or you can listen to the whole podcast. I will start leading future talks with:

You’ve got to have a sense of humor about life/mistakes. And you’ve got to talk about the stuff you’re wrong about more than the stuff you’re right about.

My friend Bijan (watch this classic short interview we did on Wallstrip), who lost the Wallstrip Blackberry race, has this great post up entitled ‘Who Took a Chance on You‘. Read it. The gist:

Many folks get to experience some of their goals because someone, somewhere along the way, gave them a shot. They took a real chance based on something they felt or saw (vs historical evidence per se).

I was inspired to blog because I found Brad Feld and Fred Wilson’s blog searching the word term sheet on Google back in 2005. It is how I started to really learn to invest. GolfNow and Lifelock were the companies I was researching at the time. Lucky for me everything came together so beautifully and I invested very early in both companies.

Fred took a chance on me investing in Wallstrip, as did Brad Feld and Roger Ehrenberg. The rest is everyone else’s bad history now.

I really think this ‘Who Took a Chance on You’ applies to the world of finance and investing as well. There is math, psychology, art skill and luck at play and the best investors are wrong all the time. I have no doubt journalling is the best way to improve. Beyond that, reading everything and always, actually investing your money and spending time with other passionate investors is the key to fulfillment, profit and joy from this way of life.

Which brings me to Stocktwits of course. I have noticed over the last year many thousands of people showing up and listing themselves as Novices. That’s awesome. I am excited to be part of the process of passing on my knowledge and process and ideas in the world of investing. I am witnessing so may grizzled veterans doing the same. I hear from beginners all the time that they appreciate it. Lot’s more we can do.