The Powerful Message Behind the '$100 Challenge'

The powerful message behind the '$100 Challenge'... Chatting with the genius behind this unusual idea... Burning ships and crossing the Rubicon... You're just wasting $100 if you don't do this, too... This challenge isn't for everyone... [Stansberry Research Logo] Delivering World-Class Financial Research Since 1999 [Stansberry Digest] The powerful message behind the '$100 Challenge'... Chatting with the genius behind this unusual idea... Burning ships and crossing the Rubicon... You're just wasting $100 if you don't do this, too... This challenge isn't for everyone... --------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's note: As the final days of 2023 tick away and our team takes time off for the holiday season, to close our weekly Digest fare for the year, we're sharing a classic piece from regular Friday essayist Dan Ferris, editor of the Extreme Value and The Ferris Report newsletters. Originally published here in February 2020, this essay is a favorite of many folks in our offices. As I (Corey McLaughlin) think you'll find, Dan shares timeless investing lessons, tied to a perhaps surprising and unexpected action to take that just might make you rich... --------------------------------------------------------------- Want to get rich? Throw $100 out the window... That's right. If you're really committed to getting rich, you need to throw $100 out of the car window. The next time you're driving down the highway, give it a try. Just so we're clear, though... You didn't get this idea from me. I (Dan Ferris) don't want a horde of angry Digest readers hunting me down to get their Ben Franklins back. This outside-the-box idea comes from master trader Mark Minervini... You might recognize Minervini's name... He's one of more than a dozen elite trading geniuses profiled in Jack Schwager's 2001 best-selling book, Stock Market Wizards (an inspiring must-read for traders). I interviewed Minervini for [an episode]( of [the Stansberry Investor Hour podcast](. Before the interview, I did my usual homework to prepare for the episode. While doing that, I went to his blog. And that's where I discovered his "$100 Challenge"... If you are going to be a big success, then in the big picture $100 is meaningless. Tossing it out the window is a declaration to yourself that you've moved beyond scarcity thinking. That $100 is nothing in comparison to the financial success you are going to manifest. Do you believe in yourself? When you release it out the window, make a wish for the person who finds it. Imagine it going to someone who really needs it – or someone who receives the money as an affirmation of their own worthiness and success around the corner. Do it with the intention of becoming part of something far bigger that connects all of us. Before I go any further, I have a confession... When I read this, I immediately thought Minervini was nuts. I e-mailed our podcast producer and considered canceling the interview. But instead, I let myself calm down... and thought about it for an hour or two. And you know what? Minervini is a genius. In fact, there's ample historical precedent for the logic behind Minervini's suggestion to throw $100 out the window... It's just like when Alexander the Great burned his ships in 334 B.C... Young Alexander hadn't earned his famous nickname yet. But like Minervini, he was on his way to big success... In 334 B.C., Alexander set sail with his men on a fleet of Greek and Macedonian ships. They aimed to cross the Hellespont – a narrow waterway in the northwestern part of modern-day Turkey that's known today as the Dardanelles. It's recognized as a piece of the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia. For an ambitious guy like Alexander, crossing the Hellespont was a big deal... His empire would eventually stretch all the way to India – more than 3,000 miles east. But before Alexander could get there, he needed to defeat one of his greatest enemies... Persian emperor Darius III. So Alexander sailed across the Hellespont. And as he came ashore, he took a $100 bill out of his pocket and tossed it out the window... so to speak. Alexander immediately ordered his men to burn all their ships. He told them, "We will either return home in Persian ships or we will die here." Alexander needed ships... but he needed to conquer the Persians more. Alexander needed his men to understand one thing... Failure was not an option. It's also like the famous moment when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 B.C... Fearful of coups, the Roman Senate had forbidden Imperial Roman Army generals from bringing their armies across the river... therefore, making it impossible for them to reach the capital city of Rome. But Caesar hungered for power. And he was willing to toss his $100 bill out the car window – or defy the Senate's orders, leading to the Roman Civil War – to get it. According to the ancient Roman historian Suetonius, Caesar crossed the Rubicon with the 13th legion and uttered the famous phrase, "The die is cast." The crime of bringing his legion of soldiers into the Italian republic was punishable by death... for both Caesar and any soldier who obeyed his orders. Having crossed the river, he and all his men would either need to win or die trying. And of course, as history shows... Caesar eventually won. As Minervini and I spoke, he stressed the symbolism of the $100 bill... If you don't accompany the act of throwing out the money with a deep emotional commitment to becoming a success, then you're just wasting $100. You must make that $100 count. You must burn your emotional ships... cross the emotional Rubicon... and totally commit to winning at trading – or whatever other endeavor you've decided to embark upon. Without that commitment, throwing the money out the window won't mean a thing. I know what you're probably thinking... It's all well and good for a guy with millions to spare to throw $100 out the window. But what about the rest of us... for whom $100 is a lot of money? Well, this isn't something Minervini came up with after he became rich... In fact, he took his own advice while driving down the road many years ago... before he became a rich and famous trader. He recounted the story during our interview last week... Many years ago, Minervini and a friend – another aspiring trader – were driving. The two young men liked to tell each other how successful and wealthy they would become one day. During the drive, Minervini asked his friend how good of a trader he intended to become. Knowing Minervini's total dedication to learning to trade stocks successfully, the friend said... "Even better than you, Mark. I'm going to be one of the greatest traders in the world." On this particular day, as they drove down the road, Minervini wanted to up the ante. He wanted to put his money where his mouth was... and he wanted his friend to do the same. So Minervini took all the cash out of his pocket – about $400, a substantial sum to him at the time – and he threw it out the window. His friend was shocked. Then, Minervini asked his friend how much money he had on him. "About $200." "Well, throw it out the window." Minervini said. "If you're so committed to being such a great trader – better than me, one of the best in the world – $200 is nothing to you. If you can't throw $200 out the window, maybe you're not that committed." The $100 Challenge obviously worked for Minervini... He dropped out of junior high school, enjoyed a brief career as a musician, and then devoted a decade of his life to developing a successful trading system. And it paid off... During one five-year period in his career, Minervini generated a total return of more than 33,000% – 220% per year, compounded – with only a single down month. That kind of success would turn $100,000 into more than $30 million! And his friend? He didn't throw his $200 out the window that day. Nor did he ever become a wealthy, successful trader. Decades later, he met up with Minervini. And he told him, "Mark, I'm so proud of you. You really did it. Congratulations... and I wish I'd thrown the money out the window." As I spoke with Minervini, he said the $100 Challenge has 'gone viral'... People have sent him videos of themselves – or their friends or family members – throwing $100 bills out of all kinds of vehicles in all kinds of places all around the world. According to Minervini, some folks have even thrown their money off of rickshaws in Asian backwaters. My chat with Minervini was one of the most enjoyable interviews I've done on the Stansberry Investor Hour podcast over the years. And to think, I briefly considered canceling on him after hearing about the $100 Challenge. I'm sure glad I didn't do that. Talking with Minervini made me think about a book I'd read recently... It's called Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World. In the book, author David Epstein discusses the difference between "kind" and "wicked" learning domains... In kind learning domains, Epstein writes, "Patterns repeat over and over, and feedback is extremely accurate and usually very rapid." He uses playing a musical instrument or just about any sport as examples. Just keep doing them... and you'll likely make progress. But in wicked domains, Epstein writes, "The rules of the game are often unclear or incomplete, there may or may not be repetitive patterns and they may not be obvious, and feedback is often delayed, inaccurate, or both." For most investors, the financial markets constitute one giant, devilishly wicked domain. But for a guy like Minervini, the stock market seems more kind than wicked... His trading approach combines fundamentals like revenue and earnings with technical indicators. (I asked Minervini if he had read Epstein's book. He hadn't, but he ordered it from Amazon as we spoke. He's a voracious reader... with a library of more than 4,000 books.) And one item in Minervini's Stock Market Wizards interview sticks out in my mind... Schwager asked, "How do you know when you are wrong in a position?" Minervini's answer was crystal-clear... "The stock goes down. That's all you need to know." In other words, though the fundamentals play a part, the rubber meets the road at the stock's price action. Once the position is open, the fundamentals no longer matter. If the stock goes down, he's out... For him, the stock price is an accurate, readily available source of feedback. If it's not doing what he wants, he either exits the trade or avoids it. Minervini's years (decades, really) of learning to interpret the market's price signals have transformed price from an unreliable source of feedback – like it is for many casual investors – into an extremely accurate one for his highly skilled mind. You could say that Minervini has tamed the market... and turned a wicked learning domain into a kind one. Even for many seasoned professionals, price action isn't always reliable... At least not in the way it is for Minervini. John Burbank, the macro trader behind San Francisco-based global investment firm Passport Capital, likes to say, "Price is a liar." He obviously takes a totally different approach to the markets than Minervini... one that has worked well for him over the long term, too. But for Minervini and other master traders like him, price is not a liar. For them, it's the gospel truth. Of course, these trading experts have spent decades focused entirely on learning to read and interpret prices with insight that most folks never achieve. Now, I'm only human... When an insanely successful, wealthy guy makes a case for throwing $100 out the window, it gets under my skin. And every day that passes seems like one more in which I still have this $100 bill in my pocket, itching to be set free. But in reality, I doubt I'll ever take Minervini's $100 Challenge. I made my own lifelong commitment years ago, while recuperating from my first back surgery at my parents' house. Before my injury, I led a bohemian lifestyle... I played music in restaurants, coffeehouses, and the occasional music theater orchestra throughout Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia. I also played a bigger gig at the Kennedy Center, back when Placido Domingo was the artistic director of the Washington National Opera. (Talk about intimidating... When he looks at you, you'd better get your act together, pronto!) One day, as I recovered on the bed at my folks' place, I realized that I needed to get serious. I needed to start making a stable income. That decision eventually led me to the markets... and then to Stansberry Research. I'm already all-in and have been for years. And I'm glad I have been. Among other things, I have hosted the Investor Hour for years, where I've gotten to interview hundreds of savvy investors like Minervini. Since 2002, I've been writing the Extreme Value newsletter... recommending stocks and researching businesses from the "bottom up," and warning subscribers about the possibility of calamities like the great financial crisis in 2008. (If you don't already receive Extreme Value, you can learn more about my research and track record, and subscribe for a special price – for a short time only – [right here]( Last year, I also launched a new newsletter, The Ferris Report, that covers the world from the "top down." But if I weren't already committed, I would be driving down the highway right now... chucking $100 bills out the window... and swearing up and down to become a roaring success or die trying. It's not something I would recommend for everyone... The idea of throwing $100 away to seal a commitment to excellence is personal. You must decide for yourself to do it or not. But on his blog, Mark explicitly recommends it... Liberate yourself from attachment. Toss that $100 bill into the wind and the unknown. Let go of labels of this act being wasteful or crazy. This is how you learn to control your own perception and the meaning you assign to life's events. Declare your life of abundance. If you do, your thinking may change, and what you thought was a burden will become powerful and motivating. However, he spends a lot more time telling his story and explaining the meaning behind the gesture. It's a powerful message... The guy obviously made a huge impression on me. One last thing before we wrap up today's Digest... If you take Minervini's $100 Challenge, don't hide your light under a bushel. We'd love to hear your story. You get extra points if you send a video to prove it. Or if you think it's crazy and would rather keep every last penny you make, tell us that, too... As always, send your comments to feedback@stansberryresearch.com. Answering Your Questions In this week's episode of the Stansberry Investor Hour, Digest editor Corey McLaughlin and I answer listener questions, covering topics from the green-energy movement to the state of homebuilders, farmland, the U.S. national debt, and more... [Click here to listen]( to this episode right now. For more free video content, [subscribe to our Stansberry Research YouTube channel](... and don't forget to follow us on [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [LinkedIn]( and [X, the platform formerly known as Twitter](. --------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended Links: [Scratch the 184-Win Streak... We Just Hit 188 Wins]( Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig has an update to the recent announcement he made – about the 184 straight wins that his readers had the chance to enjoy in the last 3.5 years. In short, this win streak has grown, yet again, to an incredible 188 winning trades – all within days of Doc filming his first announcement. So don't wait till New Year's Day for this win streak to keep growing without you. This holiday week ONLY, Doc has arranged for you to access this 94%-win-rate strategy with the cheapest offer we've made in 13 years. [See Doc's original announcement here now](. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Sell Your Stocks by January 1, 2024?]( It doesn't matter if you have money in the markets right now or if you're waiting on the sidelines. The early days of 2024 could have the power to make – or destroy – fortunes. And what you do with your money before January 1 could determine your wealth for the next decade. [See what's happening and how to prepare immediately](. --------------------------------------------------------------- New 52-week highs (as of 12/28/23): Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), Ansys (ANSS), A.O. Smith (AOS), American Express (AXP), CBRE Group (CBRE), Commvault Systems (CVLT), iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Fund (EMXC), Fidelity National Financial (FNF), Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), ICON (ICLR), Iron Mountain (IRM), JPMorgan Chase (JPM), KraneShares MSCI Emerging Markets ex China Index Fund (KEMX), Oshkosh (OSK), Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology Fund (RSPT), SentinelOne (S), S&P Global (SPGI), SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value Fund (SPYV), ProShares Ultra S&P 500 (SSO), and Textron (TXT). A housekeeping note before we get to today's mail... The markets and our offices will be closed Monday for New Year's Day... You will receive our Masters Series essays this weekend, then we'll pick things back up here on Tuesday. In today's mailbag, an endorsement of Dr. David "Doc" Eifrig's options-trading strategy in Retirement Trader, which he wrote about in the Digest earlier this week... Do you have a comment or question? As always, e-mail us at feedback@stansberryresearch.com. "I would like to share my thanks to Doc for his Retirement Trader service. I was looking for another source of low-risk retirement income when I joined the Retirement Trader service. The training materials that Doc has provided with the service proved very, very valuable. These training materials gave me the confidence to also sell options on stocks and ETFs that I already owned within my investment accounts. "This year, I spent about 2 hours every other month selling options on recommendations from Retirement Trader along with stocks/ETFs that I own. The 12 hours of work that I invested this year generated over $60,000 in options premiums for retirement income. I would also share that I didn't have any options trading experience before I started. "So, I would highly recommend this service to anyone looking for a low-risk investing alternative. I only wish I had discovered this before retirement. Given what I have learned from the Retirement Trader service, I can't say thank you enough. But a big thank you to Doc, Jeff [Havenstein], and the rest of the Retirement Trader team. Your work is truly appreciated and I look forward to the New Year with Retirement Trader." – Stansberry Alliance member Scott P. Corey McLaughlin comment: Scott, thanks for your note and for sharing your glowing experience with Retirement Trader, and Happy New Year. It sounds like you are getting the most out of the service, and we appreciate you sharing your endorsement. As we said earlier this week, if anyone else is interested in giving Doc's options-trading service a try, right now is the perfect time. Doc's strategy has produced 188 straight winning trades and counting... And not only does he expect it to be successful again in 2024, but for just a little while longer, you can access Retirement Trader for the best price Doc has offered the 13-year history of the service. For more details about the strategy and how to get started today, [just watch this brief video from Doc](. Good investing, Dan Ferris Eagle Point, Oregon December 29, 2023 --------------------------------------------------------------- Stansberry Research Top 10 Open Recommendations Top 10 highest-returning open positions across all Stansberry Research portfolios Stock Buy Date Return Publication Analyst MSFT Microsoft 11/11/10 1,286.3% Retirement Millionaire Doc MSFT Microsoft 02/10/12 1,186.7% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter ADP Automatic Data Processing 10/09/08 843.9% Extreme Value Ferris wstETH Wrapped Staked Ethereum 02/21/20 771.1% Stansberry Innovations Report Wade WRB W.R. Berkley 03/16/12 638.2% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway 04/01/09 534.0% Retirement Millionaire Doc HSY Hershey 12/07/07 448.4% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter AFG American Financial 10/12/12 414.4% Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter BTC/USD Bitcoin 01/16/20 375.1% Stansberry Innovations Report Wade PANW Palo Alto Networks 04/16/20 324.8% Stansberry Innovations Report Engel Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 10 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the model portfolio of any Stansberry Research publication. The buy date reflects when the editor recommended the investment in the listed publication, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if a security is still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber to that publication and refer to the most recent portfolio. --------------------------------------------------------------- Top 10 Totals 4 Stansberry's Investment Advisory Porter 3 Stansberry Innovations Report Engel/Wade 2 Retirement Millionaire Doc 1 Extreme Value Ferris --------------------------------------------------------------- Top 5 Crypto Capital Open Recommendations Top 5 highest-returning open positions in the Crypto Capital model portfolio Stock Buy Date Return Publication Analyst wstETH Wrapped Staked Ethereum 12/07/18 1,701.2% Crypto Capital Wade ONE/USD Harmony 12/16/19 1,156.9% Crypto Capital Wade POLYX/USD Polymesh 05/19/20 1,060.2% Crypto Capital Wade BTC/USD Bitcoin 11/27/18 1,034.0% Crypto Capital Wade MATIC/USD Polygon 02/25/21 891.5% Crypto Capital Wade Please note: Securities appearing in the Top 5 are not necessarily recommended buys at current prices. The list reflects the best-performing positions currently in the Crypto Capital model portfolio. The buy date reflects when the recommendation was made, and the return shows its performance since that date. To learn if it's still a recommended buy today, you must be a subscriber and refer to the most recent portfolio. --------------------------------------------------------------- Stansberry Research Hall of Fame Top 10 all-time, highest-returning closed positions across all Stansberry portfolios Investment Symbol Duration Gain Publication Analyst Nvidia^* NVDA 5.96 years 1,466% Venture Tech. Lashmet Microsoft^ MSFT 12.74 years 1,185% Retirement Millionaire Doc Band Protocol crypto 0.32 years 1,169% Crypto Capital Wade Terra crypto 0.41 years 1,164% Crypto Capital Wade Inovio Pharma.^ INO 1.01 years 1,139% Venture Tech. Lashmet Seabridge Gold^ SA 4.20 years 995% Sjug Conf. Sjuggerud Frontier crypto 0.08 years 978% Crypto Capital Wade Binance Coin crypto 1.78 years 963% Crypto Capital Wade Nvidia^* NVDA 4.12 years 777% Venture Tech. Lashmet Intellia Therapeutics NTLA 1.95 years 775% Amer. Moonshots Root ^ These gains occurred with a partial position in the respective stocks. * The two partial positions in Nvidia were part of a single recommendation. Editor Dave Lashmet closed the first leg of the position in November 2016 for a gain of about 108%. Then, he closed the second leg in July 2020 for a 777% return. And finally, in May 2022, he booked a 1,466% return on the final leg. Subscribers who followed his advice on Nvidia could've recorded a total weighted average gain of more than 600%. You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to Stansberry Digest. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from Stansberry Digest [click here](. Published by Stansberry Research. You’re receiving this e-mail at {EMAIL}. 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