I am the worst negotiator on the planet. It is not even funny how bad I am. (Do not worry, this is going to get to stock picks: just relax and enjoy the ride.) Some examples: when I was making a living by creating websites for entertainment companies, New Line Cinema wanted us to do theirs. I figured I could charge about $50,000 for the main website and then another $10,000 for each film. Then the negotiation began. Final result: $2,500 for the website and about $1,000 for each film website. I really wanted to do their websites so I was prepared to take anything.

Another example. The first hedge fund I traded for, I agreed to trade for a zero per cent management fee (ie no fixed salary) and 10 per cent of the profits, much lower than the industry average. Or when I was faced with a big redemption in my fund of funds. I started taking in money at a zero per cent management fee (there goes that salary again) and 10 per cent of profits but only on profits above 10 per cent of the capital, a very high hurdle for a fund of funds. I really wanted the money in the fund so I took what I could get. Or even another example: I was starting a business recently and wanted to give away 20 per cent of the equity to a larger partner who was going to be involved. I ended up giving away 50 per cent. Again, no problem. I really wanted them involved.