A few lessons learned from my first options experiment:

1.) Long term holders add little volatility to price action.

2.) Markets are moved by rational people doing rational things (making and taking profits).  

These rational people are mostly experienced market makers manipulating traders and retail acting predictably.

3.) Traders and retail rationalize the irrational.  

Hope, fear, and greed are the main drivers of our behaviors.  

Yet, these emotions are minimized, discounted, and rationalized away as we defend and pretend our decisions to mostly/solely be rational because of our:

- thousands of hours of study and years of experience
- technical analysis
- knowledge of historical market performance and macro events
- scheduled events and what we believe to be a fair and just response in the markets
- our positive memories and constant highlighting of past successes

4.) Experienced market makers are masters of taking advantage of this "Crisis of Confidence."  

This "Crisis of Confidence" leads to the bottom falling out, and keeps us in the bottom for longer unless we learn our lessons.  

5.) I believe, this is responsible for more of $MSTR's "confusing" price action over the past four weeks, than the ATM being used aggressively.  

6.)  People tend to want to blame others rather than ourselves for losses.  

$MSTR veterans are die-hard Bitcoiners.  

Yet, rather than losing confidence in their own decision making (which is rational as that would be detrimental to our survival), many lost confidence in our company for accumulating 200,000 bitcoin in four weeks. 

7.)  Even as an expert in human behavior and a former financial advisor, it is difficult to trade a stock I am emotionally invested in, such as $MSTR.

8.) $MSTR is literally the only stock I'm invested in and the only company I care about.  I have less than ZERO interest in any other company.  And I only invest in what I understand, and work daily to keep up and learn more so that I fully understand.  

9.)  However, as my conviction grows, so does my sense of urgency to stack as many shares as possible, and the same with sats in Bitcoin.  I truly believe Bitcoin and $MSTR will soon be understood by the masses and valued appropriately.

This urgency, being human, all of the positive catalysts coming, our $MSTR echo chamber, and my inexperience and still learning when to exit positions and take profit, made me stay in positions longer than I otherwise would have.  

I made a few (very small) bets with shorter time preference and higher strike price away from my intended conservative approach to amplifying shares.  

So today, I'll learn my lessons, exit positions at 100% profit (hopefully) rather than 300-400% profit weeks ago, in order to exercise 9 contracts of my 250 options in my taxable account, and call these "losses of paper profit," tuition.  

10.) We have a wonderful core community on X of curious, positive, truth-seeking people who have/had flexible minds willing to challenge the status quo that brought us together.    

However, our flexible minds might have become inflexible to other possibilities as we grew in conviction, discounted emotions, underestimated market makers, and attached to specific outcomes by specific dates.  

Many are (likely) right in the trade, but wrong in the timing. 

Long story, longer:

1.)  Most people will do better buying and holding shares of $MSTR and Bitcoin on cold storage.

2.) For those of us in options, most will benefit by making conservative bets (strike prices at the money or slightly out of the money), and with as much time as we can afford.

3.) Options people should consider holding a big, non-negotiable foundation of shares in their portfolio regardless of the desirability of bigger, faster returns.  

4.) Stay away from margin, especially if using margin to buy option contracts.  

5.) Have a plan to exit positions when you are at significant profit, especially if you are at 1-3x, regardless of all the hype, incoming good things you believe will lead to greater returns, and/or your beliefs that soon people will understand the importance of Bitcoin and $MSTR in transforming our capital markets.  

Market makers are counting on this, learn to play their game better.  We are the tourists in their world, they make the rules.  

Better to get rich a little bit at a time, than poor all at once.

6.) Do not underestimate global instability and the instability of our US government and the fear of the oligarchy losing control of power.  

There's plenty we know about that should concern the markets (regime change, drones, censorship, propaganda, divide among the rich and the poor, misappropriation of money, debasement of our dollar, etc.), imagine all that we don't know about and then times that by an order of magnitude.  

Be sure to have Bitcoin in cold storage.  

7.) Stay curious, humble, and truth-seeking.  

Be careful about broadcasting your huge returns, low cost basis, "expertise," and risky positions, because in "good times" this crisis in confidence is problematic and contagious and will lead to bigger bets and bring many others with you because of hope, fear, and greed. 

8.) Keep teaching and learning from each other.  

Life lived well requires us to be both students and teachers.  These roles are interchangeable, fluid and dynamic.   

Be kind and compassionate, especially to those suffering (which quite honestly is most of us).  

There's no need to be rude in this community.

Bitcoin is hope for a better way of living.  Stay cheerful and constructive.  

If we continue to learn in both good times and bad, we're winners, and we can learn to play this game better.  

Eventually, with patience and together, all of our portfolios will reflect true freedom.