To fall on the sword that is your idea takes conviction.

The use of the word ‘bucket’ in Bucket Copy comes from a story I read years ago.

Titled ‘Reminiscences of a Stock Operator’, author Edwin Lefèvre tells the story of a character inspired by Jesse Livermore, a renowned stock trader from the early 20th century.

One of the places he trade was in bucket shops, the speakeasies of stock trading.

Putting one foot infront of the other, Bucket Copy came about.

With this newfound interest in stocks, I occasionally tune into the markets to see how they’re doing.

I also tune into the stocks that I dislike.

Not because I’ve invested money into them and have lost a fortune.

But because I don’t believe in the problem they’re trying to solve.

Back in 2020, when rates were cut to zero and everyone felt like the world was about to end, a lot of companies went public.

Quick econ lesson: when rates are low, it’s easier to borrow money. When more people have more money, it makes it easier to spends, invest and all-around drive prices upward. The same goes for the opposite, when rates are high.

This means everyday people like you and I would be able to invest our hard-earned dollars into companies we believed we would get a return in.

Peleton is one of these companies.

While Peleton’s current stock chart looks like a pump and dump, I read they hired a new CMO who claims she’s there to help increase demand.

Side-note: It’s neither here nor there, but I’d argue you can’t create demand but only use existing demand.

The reason I’m explaining all this is because I did some quick research on who this new hire is and found a podcast where she’s featured.

While I’m hesitant of whether she’ll be able to succeed at Peleton, and not through her lack of experience—she’s more than qualified for this role, previously coming over from Square Payments—but simply that I believe the company, Peleton, will file for bankruptcy in the near future.

One thing in the podcast that she was featured on that made me pause it, write it down and then write these train of thoughts here was when asked, “What values are important to you?”, she said:

“I look for curiosity and courage and those who are not afraid to challenge the status quo…then really having that conviction to push back to challenge the norms.”

There’s one word in this quote that is essential: conviction.

You could be curious and courageous, but without conviction—willing to fall on the sword that is your idea—then what’s the point?

Because all ideas get shared before ever being taken seriously, your conviction—a firm belief in something, anything—plays a role in convincing others.

Imagine two people pitching you their ideas.

Both ideas are decent, plausible.

One was presented monotonously and to the point.

The other with enthusiasm, excitement, and confidence in the idea.

You’d more than likely choose the one who's got a small fire in their belly.

Courage is nothing without conviction.

It’s probably one of the most important traits to have when working with a team.

Do you want to be around a bunch of people who will allow you to do the wrong thing or something poorly?

Or do you want to be around those who have conviction in what they say, willing to point out what’s being done inefficiently and offer a better way of doing it?

Conviction is king.

— George