Author_Institution :
Electr. Eng. & Comput. Sci., Colorado Sch. of Mines, Golden, CO, USA
Abstract :
Do you have the ability to pick the right moment to do something? If you do, then you have good timing. Many years ago, shortly after we married, my wife worked with a colleague who had a knack for buying stocks, bonds, and precious metals at a high and selling at a low. His amazing blunders decimated his savings in no time: he had bad timing. In contrast, I was lucky when I sold all my stocks in August 1987 and September 2007, right before the market crashed. I had good timing. Knowing the right time to take action is a skill that is not only useful in the stock market, but applies to many important life decisions. Good timing implies careful planning and decision making. Sometimes life does not allow for this convenience, though.