EJ, what is your motivation?

[stanley2008]

Mr. Janszen,
You have an impressive track record in predicting the path of the US economy, perhaps second to none.
The motivation for many who sell their financial predictions and advice is profit. What is yours?

If I may speculate, I would guess that you are largely motivated by 2 factors:
A) profit from subscriptions
B) gratification from being "right"

I suspect that like many brilliant individuals B plays a larger role in motivating you than does A, especially as I assume you are quite wealthy.

I am interested in your motivations because the reason a person does something is often very valuable in evaluating their analysis.

[lektrode]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

my .02 (J6p) - after reading most - well, a lot of Mr J's stuff - as well as the audience (primarily the paying subscribers, ie: the ones that put their money where their mouths/typing fingers are at) comments/contributions ?

is that an altruistic philosophy is Mr J's primary motivation to enlighten the subscriber base (as to how the FIreM 'industrial complex' - that is the 'political economy' - and how it is screwing The Rest of US)

and theres plenty of evidence around here to corroborate my opinion/observation.

not the least of which are the subscription rates, which are a fraction of what some others are getting - without nearly the voluminous data that Mr J assembles/documents to substantiate/backup his output.

[BK]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

Why does the artist paint?
Why does the guitarist play?
Why does the singer sing?
Why does the writer write?
Most of the time they get payment for their services.

I'm curious why Stanley2008 asks about motivation behind i-tulip?
Is the melody of the musician less sweet or the painting less breathtaking or the passage from the great book less captivating when you learn the creator has been paid?

[shiny!]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

stanley, you forgot the most evident reason, which is a genuine desire to be helpful to others. I know this from personal experience.

EJ is not a media hound. He could just as easily make all the fortune he needs while keeping his theories to himself.

[stanley2008]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

BK, the melody is no less sweet if the musician has been paid.
But we aren't dealing with art here.

If a genius tells me that he has genetically engineered a medicine that will cure a previously incurable disease, there is no point in me learning molecular biology and genetics to try and find a flaw in his reasoning. Imagine 2 scenarios, one in which he tells me that a family member died from this disease and he has spent his life trying to find a cure, and another in which he tells me he owns a significant number of shares in a startup which is going to market his new medicine. Would you treat his analysis as equally valid in both cases?
My point is that why a person produces something is very important in judging that production.

[jk]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

BK, the melody is no less sweet if the musician has been paid.
But we aren't dealing with art here.

If a genius tells me that he has genetically engineered a medicine that will cure a previously incurable disease, there is no point in me learning molecular biology and genetics to try and find a flaw in his reasoning. Imagine 2 scenarios, one in which he tells me that a family member died from this disease and he has spent his life trying to find a cure, and another in which he tells me he owns a significant number of shares in a startup which is going to market his new medicine. Would you treat his analysis as equally valid in both cases?.

yes, the former's judgement is as likely to be distorted by hope as the latter's, but for different reasons. i wouldn't believe either one until the study was examined by other experts in the field.

[stanley2008]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

You are right, I was not sufficiently generous to EJ in that he might be an altruist. This very well may be his motivation.

[verdo]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

If he wanted to, i'm pretty sure EJ could run circles around the guys on wall street and pretty much become one hell of a rich guy by taking advantage of the rules in place which favours wall street. Instead though, he's here making a lot less money on a site that on the surface, does not have the glitter/glamour that would real you in. It takes a lot of work to do what eric does, so he should be compensated well for that. But I think an equally important thing for him is to share the truth about the markets. He would be a lot richer if he lied

[jiimbergin]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

You are right, I was not sufficiently generous to EJ in that he might be an altruist. This very well may be his motivation.

IMHO that is exactly his motivation. He does not need our praise or our money. I believe he has a very generous heart.

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

...Why does the guitarist play?...

To meet girls.
Oh wait, that's me, not EJ; sorry...never mind...

[thriftyandboringinohio]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

IMHO that is exactly his motivation. He does not need our praise or our money. I believe he has a very generous heart.

More seriously, I agree with that, Jim. EJ shows a great generosity by sharing much of his work.
There are financial benefits to EJ as well.
By cultivating this site as carefully as he has for tone and demeanor, he gets access to much good thinking from the member community.
He has also attracted a nice set of accredited investors to participate in things like TruTouch and Eastham Capital Fund.

[lakedaemonian]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

Having a strong altruistic streak, doesn't preclude the ability to generate profit.

I like Thrifty's theory.

I reckon EJ gains a fair bit from SME knowledge from individual members of the iTulip community as well as the possibility of leveraging iTulip "wisdom of crowds".

While I think EJ clearly gives more than he takes.......I think the community he has shaped is a 2 way street.

For some people, integrity is worth more than a larger net worth.

[jpetr48]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

Having a strong altruistic streak, doesn't preclude the ability to generate profit.

I like Thrifty's theory.

I reckon EJ gains a fair bit from SME knowledge from individual members of the iTulip community as well as the possibility of leveraging iTulip "wisdom of crowds".

While I think EJ clearly gives more than he takes.......I think the community he has shaped is a 2 way street.

For some people, integrity is worth more than a larger net worth.

While I understand the intent of the question, and at first appreciate the intent, it places Eric or anyone who provides a service or product in a difficult spot. Will you form an opinion based on what i say or what i do? I can say all the right things but if my walk does not match my talk, I have an integrity problem.

One of the best ways to assess the genuineness IMO and experience is look at the angles and catches to what someone says. Are they trying to bait you in with a great diagnosis so you then buy their prescription.

From my close to 4 years here Eric has shared much more than his commentaries. he has shared his professional contacts and entrusted the itulip community with due diligence. I am speaking of Hinds Howard who spoke about MLPs. Though i did not go with Hinds, i did end up investing in 3 MLPS and made a nice profit. He introduced us to Eric Silverman who i have also gotten to know and am in Fund 3. And what about the TruTouch intro?

So yes listen to the words most important watch the actions.
Many thanks to EJ for what he has shared!

[stanley2008]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

By cultivating this site as carefully as he has for tone and demeanor, he gets access to much good thinking from the member community.
He has also attracted a nice set of accredited investors to participate in things like TruTouch and Eastham Capital Fund.

Great points, I know that sharing one's ideas with a community always helps to clarify and improve them. It didn't occur to me that EJ probably gets a lot of great feedback here too.

[lektrode]

Re: EJ, what is your motivation?

Great points, I know that sharing one's ideas with a community always helps to clarify and improve them. It didn't occur to me that EJ probably gets a lot of great feedback here too.

this is likely the most understated benefit of being a subscriber - the input/feedback from such a large base of very educated/knowledgeable people (myself not included ;) on a fairly vast spectrum of topics (sometimes a plus, sometimes a distraction, but ALWAYS interesting) with - at times - SERIOUSLY aggressive discussion - the benefits of which cant possibly be overstated.

personally - i've learned more in a few years here than in the past few decades about the workings of the economy/finance/investment/politix as well as a number of other topics one wouldnt normally find on any other sort of forum - mixing it all up with people from not only The US, but around the world, certainly adds to the value.

bottom line?

one can learn more about any given topic, on any given day, around here than one might absorb from years of other sources.

all that and some of the BEST one-liner comments, to boot - an artform in itself - make it worth the time for me.

LD sums it up nicely here:

Having a strong altruistic streak, doesn't preclude the ability to generate profit.

I like Thrifty's theory.

I reckon EJ gains a fair bit from SME knowledge from individual members of the iTulip community as well as the possibility of leveraging iTulip "wisdom of crowds".

While I think EJ clearly gives more than he takes.......I think the community he has shaped is a 2 way street.

For some people, integrity is worth more than a larger net worth.

precisely.