Taking Advantage of Chaos

Every time I'd deploy for war, I'd be sent to training along with a mixed class of servicemembers...most of whom were reservists who'd never seen war. Every class always had a "Rambo". In all cases it was a male Navy Lieutenant.  He'd talk about his prowess with weapons. He'd show everyone the special knives he'd brought with him. However, when the day came and we were flying in route to Iraq or Afghanistan....everyone on the plane...and most especially, these "showoffs" were very quiet. You see, the anticipation is worse than the arrival.  You see, in war, business, and investing...the real training comes with experience. In investing, I can't tell you how many "financial advisers" I've met that had the same simple formula of buy mutual funds or ETFs...sit...and wait...the underlying assumption of course being that their investments would increase in value. But what if they didn't? Their response....wait...in time they will rebound. But what if they didn't...can you short? Silence. What if this downturn happens when I'm about to retire. Silence. You see....your money...your life...your family's future.... is too valuable to simply park into the lap of amateurs. You have to learn to be able to take advantage of "adverse conditions" and make them profitable, and you can't just figure this out at the last minute either. If you do, when adversity strikes you will have a competitive advantage. That which is normal for the wolf is chaos for a sheep.