--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only a dreamer or a fool would pick a…" description: "\"Only a dreamer or a fool would pick a stock at random and expect it to take off like a space ship from its launching pad. Certainly this has happened -..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/catherine-crook-de-camp-52361_alive_only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-st_716195.jpg" --- # Only a dreamer or a fool would pick a stock at random and… ![“Only a dreamer or a fool would pick a stock at random and expect it to take off like a space ship from its launching pad. Certainly this has happened - about as often as a dime-store clerk has become a Hollywood star or a boy born in a log cabin has been elected President of the United States…” quote by Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/catherine-crook-de-camp-52361_alive_only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-st_716195.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/catherine-crook-de-camp-52361_alive_only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-st_716195.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/catherine-crook-de-camp-52361_alive_only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-st_716195.jpg) > “Only a dreamer or a fool would pick a stock at random and expect it to take off like a space ship from its launching pad. Certainly this has happened - about as often as a dime-store clerk has become a Hollywood star or a boy born in a log cabin has been elected President of the United States - just often enough, that is, to keep alive the Great American Dream.” [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Investing randomly is foolish; success stories are rare and often mythologized. **In simple terms:** Random stock picks rarely succeed; success stories are rare. Key Takeaway Invest wisely, avoid random bets. Themes finance risk myth dreams Mood skeptical pragmatic Type cautionary analytical When to use this quote - stock investing - entrepreneurship - financial planning Key Concepts probability bias expectation Questions to Reflect On - Are you relying on luck? - What research can replace randomness? A Different Perspective Random picks can lead to huge losses. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [American dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-dream/) [Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boys/) [Cabins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cabins/) [Dream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dream/) [Dreamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dreamer/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Hollywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood/) [Hollywood stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hollywood-stars/) [Investing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investing/) [Log cabin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/log-cabin/) [Log cabins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/log-cabins/) [President](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/president/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) [United states](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states/) ## Related quotes > [I'm not gonna do the same, tired, standard 'I was born in a log cabin...' kind of book. There's so much more I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/i-m-not-gonna-do-the-same-tired-standard-i-was-born-in-a-log-cabin/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [But when I am around strangers, I turn into a conversational Mount St. Helens. I'm dormant, dormant, quiet, quiet, old-guy loners build log cabins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-vowell/but-when-i-am-around-strangers-i-turn-into-a-conversational-mount-st/) [Sarah Vowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-vowell/) > [A log cabin symbolized the embrace between civilization and nature, humans literally wrapping the trees around them as they might draw on a coat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-logsdon/a-log-cabin-symbolized-the-embrace-between-civilization-and-nature/) [Gene Logsdon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-logsdon/) > [A man on a hiking trip through the Blue Ridge Mountains came to the top of a hill and saw, just below the crest,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-keller/a-man-on-a-hiking-trip-through-the-blue-ridge-mountains-came-to-the/) [James Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-keller/) > [The life of Lincoln should never be passed by in silence by young or old. He touched the log cabin and it became the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-swing/the-life-of-lincoln-should-never-be-passed-by-in-silence-by-young-or/) [David Swing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-swing/) > [When I started out in public life there used to be a saying we'd hear from time to time, that every man who runs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/when-i-started-out-in-public-life-there-used-to-be-a-saying-we-d-hear/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The reason I'm here today, the reason I own a brand new Harley-Davidson motorcycle and the reason I have a big log cabin and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-aykroyd/the-reason-i-m-here-today-the-reason-i-own-a-brand-new-harley/) [Dan Aykroyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-aykroyd/) > [I had daydreams and fantasies when I was growing up. I always wanted to live in a log cabin at the foot of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-mccartney/i-had-daydreams-and-fantasies-when-i-was-growing-up-i-always-wanted/) [Linda McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-mccartney/) > [A lot of writers ... sit in a log cabin by the lake and put their feet up by the fire in the silence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-auchincloss/a-lot-of-writers-sit-in-a-log-cabin-by-the-lake-and-put-their-feet-up/) [Louis Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-auchincloss/) > [The gateway to freedom...was somewhere close to New Orleans where most Africans were sorted through and sold. I had driven through New Orleans on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-berry/the-gateway-to-freedom-was-somewhere-close-to-new-orleans-where-most/) [Chuck Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-berry/) > [If you look at the Earth without architecture, its sometimes a little bit unpleasant. So there is this basic human need to do shelter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-zumthor/if-you-look-at-the-earth-without-architecture-its-sometimes-a-little/) [Peter Zumthor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-zumthor/) > [Edward Abbey said you must brew your own beer; kick in you Tee Vee; kill your own beef; build your cabin and piss off…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernd-heinrich/edward-abbey-said-you-must-brew-your-own-beer-kick-in-you-tee-vee/) [Bernd Heinrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernd-heinrich/) > [I like Alaska for the salmon fishing - it's fantastic there. I usually stay in a log cabin with no one around for miles.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinnie-jones/i-like-alaska-for-the-salmon-fishing-it-s-fantastic-there-i-usually/) [Vinnie Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinnie-jones/) > [There are elements of intrinsic beauty in the simplification of a house built on the log cabin idea. First, there is the bare beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustav-stickley/there-are-elements-of-intrinsic-beauty-in-the-simplification-of-a/) [Gustav Stickley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustav-stickley/) > [“I wanted to stay here, too, but angry dragons in log cabins seemed like a bad idea.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/i-wanted-to-stay-here-too-but-angry-dragons-in-log-cabins-seemed-like/) [Julie kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) ## More by Catherine Crook de Camp > [We Americans tend to be a prodigal lot. We are as careless with our personal resources as we are with the resources of nature,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/we-americans-tend-to-be-a-prodigal-lot-we-are-as-careless-with-our/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [Take good care of the things you have. Careless people spend more for a given standard of living.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/take-good-care-of-the-things-you-have-careless-people-spend-more-for/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [ \[On retirement savings:\] Gone today, here tomorrow. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/on-retirement-savings-gone-today-here-tomorrow/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [Money that may never be spent is nothing but a miser's toy. Saving as an exercise in self-denial is an invalid goal, a sick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/money-that-may-never-be-spent-is-nothing-but-a-miser-s-toy-saving-as/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [The way in which we manage the business of getting and spending is closely tied to our personal philosophy of living. We begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/the-way-in-which-we-manage-the-business-of-getting-and-spending-is/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) > [If, instead of playing the horses, an individual chooses to play the market, that is his own affair. Only he must understand that speculating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/if-instead-of-playing-the-horses-an-individual-chooses-to-play-the/) [Catherine Crook de Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) [Explore all 7 Catherine Crook de Camp quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only a dreamer or a fool would pick a stock at random and expect it to take off like a space ship from its launching pad. Certainly this has happened - about as often as a dime-store clerk has become a Hollywood star or a boy born in a log cabin has been elected President of the United States - just often enough, that is, to keep alive the Great American Dream.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Catherine Crook de Camp" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-stock-at-random-and-expect-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-stock-at-random-and-expect-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/catherine-crook-de-camp-52361_alive_only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-st_716195.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/catherine-crook-de-camp-52361_alive_only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-st_716195.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/42d/catherine-crook-de-camp-52361_alive_only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-st_716195.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only a dreamer or a fool would pick a stock at random and expect it to take off like a space ship from its…” — Catherine Crook de Camp", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Catherine Crook de Camp", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-crook-de-camp/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only a dreamer or a fool...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-stock-at-random-and-expect-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-crook-de-camp/only-a-dreamer-or-a-fool-would-pick-a-stock-at-random-and-expect-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```