It is not really a game....

Recently I had a conversation with one of my MBA classmates. It’s been three years since we got in touch so initially I thought it was nice to catch him online. I am going to jot down the summary of the conversation.

He: Hey!!! wazzup?
Me: I thought for a moment. It clicked suddenly. Oh yes he does not just mean what is up. He wants to know how I have been, how is work, how is life going on and what’s the latest news! That is how he is. A person of few words. I have been good, pretty much enjoying. I guess that covered all his questions with few words again :). What about you?
H: I am cool, rocking here in Mumbai. Well, you know what I mean. :P
Me: No I don’t know what you mean, but I did not say that of course. That’s nice.
H: So, how much did you lose?
M: huh? What do you mean? This donkey, does he mean how much weight I lost?
H: Money due to the U.S recession?
M: Oh like that. Nothing atall because I did not invest.
H: What? You never invested?
M: Oh yeah I never invested in stocks. I never felt courageous enough to do so. Does he not have any other question to ask? Talking after three since completing MBA and all he can think of is STOCKS.
H: Why? Didn’t you manage stocks well at school? He is referring to the portfolio I managed gaining a return of 7 percent in three weeks as a part of my MBA program. That is nothing compared to using real money.
M: It was not involving actual cash. It was just an academic project which was stress free. Plus in real life you have to use your hard earned money.
H: Surprising! I thought you must be minting money with stocks.
M: Well, I still have the passion for stocks and…I also play fantasy stock exchange. Oops why did I give away that info?
H: What?? You play that game? That timepass game?
M: What’s wrong with that? It is a good way to play with stocks without actually investing real cash.
H: Ok, here’s hoping you will get the courage to actually invest in stocks someday. :P
M: Thanks and no kidding I will do that someday when I feel confident enough.

It really did make me wonder why I never took the initiative to invest in stocks. I know I did seriously consider investing all of the Rs 5000, which I received as salary for my summer internship job. However, I ended up giving the money to my dad. After I got my job which anyway paid more than Rs 5000, I still never got the guts to invest. Then I thought I will wait for my bonus. The bonus came and went but it did not happen. One fine day, I decided that I would ask for a really huge pay hike in my salary and if it works out then I will invest. It was an inner tactic of avoiding to do it, since I knew my company would not give me that much of a hike. Something like convincing myself on it. To my surprise, they did. They gave me exactly what I asked but as usual nothing happened on the stock front.

I used to give information on what stocks to buy and what to sell, to my friend who used to sit next to me. He appreciated the gesture and took all the risk and gained robust returns out of it. I wonder how he could rely on my advice and go for those stocks. What if those stocks crashed? For one sure thing, I know he would not have hated me but he still took the risk. It is like he believed in me and was sure that he would not lose money. Wonder how much time it would take me to believe in myself and take the plunge? Well, for the time being I know I AM JUST NOT READY. :) And for the record, I do enjoy playing the game, you know what I mean. :P