I gained a lot of perspective at work running a real money portfolio for The Motley Fool. What started out as a nervous experiment turned into a great experience and it gave me the confidence that one day if/when I choose to do so I can manage money. It'll be on my terms and in line with how I invest.
I shut that portfolio down a little while back as it was eating into too much time that I needed to devote to Motley Fool One and, to a lesser extent, Stock Advisor. Those are what bring home the bacon and I couldn't let 'em slip. But I did well up to that point running neck and neck with the market and chalking up absolute returns of better than 25% for the two years I ran the portfolio.
This is me making sure I keep myself in check. Learning more, embracing my mistakes, finding some great ideas, having fun, and hopefully helping some good people out along the way. I may very well be talking to nobody. But if anyone out there is keeping up, I hope you enjoy.
JMo