SMOL: Sometimes it is better to ask those coming down the mountain than those who are still climbing the mountain. On Wednesday, 31 December 2008 Read? Who Took My Wealth? What did you sense from his blog post on 31 Dec 2008? Despair, Regret, Frustrated, Demoralizing, Feeling of stupidity of setting Goals that he has no control, Shattered dream, .... So Gloomy! The future of his investing looked so bleak! It looked like he was not going to meet his goal of Financial Independence. He should stop dreaming and get real! (Hmm ... Grasshopper wasn't around at that time in the cyber world to poke him. Yeah!) But, now in 9 Jan 2016 .... What Uncle8888 has been posting in the last few years? See the difference? Despair? Regret? Frustrated? Demoralizing? Feeling of stupidity of setting Goals that he has no control? Shattered dream? ..... What is the Moral of The Story? ......