“In 1930 not yet at the nadir of the stock market crash that began in 1929, a book by Fred C. Kelly hit bookstores, “Why You Win or Lose, The Psychology of Speculation.”
All good books usually have a preface and this one is no exception.
“The why of losing evades us because we do not wish to face up to the problem. We don’t want to struggle against crowd behavior patterns. We don’t care to compel thinking and observation. We are unable to contest the popular view. We are misled by propaganda, untimely in our opinions, and just plain wrong in our actions.
“Conformity fits us until the stresses of our age exceeds our capacity to think. Then we expect the things to happen that we hope will happen. We watch TV and become puppets.
“We bring defense mechanisms into action. We make excuses for our individual behavior by relaying on collective behavior. We alleviate stock market fears by utilizing nuclear fears or any other mass emotion that is available. We interpret business data too mechanistically and lull ourselves into believing our own wishes.
“Fred C. Kelley understood. He knew the weaknesses of men, the human gullibilities that are a constant contributory to speculation. The human behavior patterns that existed in Kelley’s day exist today.
“They will exist tomorrow, for they rarely change. Our allusions may change, but they will never disappear. Kelley wrote a light and convincing book on our universal proclivity to indulge in superstitious behavior. It comes down to our errors being based on our extraordinarily effective ways of latching on to mistaken beliefs.
“You may say that in the technocracy of today popular delusions are no longer applicable. True, machines may not react to emotional stresses, but the masses will surely react to the machines. Crowd reactions occur faster, thus opinions shift quicker, and jumping-to-conclusions becomes an unprofitable pastime. The activities of mass media have increased the popularity of fads and fashions until you are forced to sit and read this book in order to preserve your sanity—and your fortune.
“Kelley explains that crowds are wrong in themselves—simply because they behave normally. Every natural human impulse seems to be a foe to success in the market. We all want to conform, to congregate as a herd. And yet we win by understanding human psychology and by thinking ahead and creating possible courses of action to today’s conformity.
“We have a portrait of a mobile nation, of America on the go, so busy moving and adjusting that there is no time left for serious thought. The homogenized world f the middle class has much to learn and here is one of the best possible primers. just read on and let the thought penetrate. Patience is the enemy as much as fear, greed or any other emotional word.
“Fred C. Kelley’s own world was an individual one where broad experience and a love of life existed beyond the role of a specialist in organized society. His charm and wit were the result of being an individual in a changing era. Technolgy and human crowding have now won out.”
This preface was penned by James L. Fraser, a book collector and seller in Vermont in 1993, the book’s Tenth printing.
It might seem farfetched to many, but these examples apply to your dreams and goals and your success to whatever you’re seeking in life not the stock market.
Dare to be yourself.