To The Moon

In investing, there's always that one stock that makes you think, "If I catch this one, I’ll be financially free." We’ve all seen stories of traders who made life-changing money on a single trade. Just two weeks ago, a WallStreetBets investor timed the dip in SMCI perfectly and walked away with £289,384.58 (about $357,000) in profit. But for every success story, there are countless traders who mistime their moves—because let’s be honest, dip buying isn’t always the right move.

Peter Lynch famously said, “Trying to catch the bottom is like trying to grab a falling knife.” That’s the reality of stock investing—timing is hard, luck plays a big role, and most people don’t get it right every time.

My Perspective: Why I Don't Believe in "One Big Win"

Personally, I don’t think I could ever retire with a single big win from stock investing. Here’s why:

1. I Don’t Invest Large Sums – I only put in what I can afford to lose. For me, investing and trading are more about fun and learning rather than betting my financial future on a single stock.

2. I’m Risk-Averse – When I have unrealized profits, I often sell too early because I fear those gains turning into losses. While this protects me from huge losses, it also means I rarely hold onto stocks long enough for massive gains.

The "Retirement" That Only Exists in Paper Trading

Ironically, I can “retire” in the not-so-real world—paper trading. Without real money on the line, I take much bigger risks. I have a Moomoo paper trading account where I test different strategies, and surprisingly, it performs way better than my real account.

For example, my paper trading portfolio had multiple stocks with 100%+ returns. One of my biggest wins was KULR Technology, which gave me an unrealized gain of 558.54%!

KULR Technology Group, Inc. (KULR)

The difference? In my paper trading account:

• I take riskier trades without hesitation.

• I don’t sell early when I see profits.

• I let my winners run instead of selling too soon.

Of course, in real-life investing, these habits are harder to maintain because emotions and financial consequences are real.

What Does It Take to Retire on One Big Win?

For someone to truly retire off one stock, I think they’d need a mix of:

Enough Starting Capital – Small wins don’t cut it if you’re only investing a few hundred bucks. Big gains require big money in play.

Not Being Risk-Averse – You have to be willing to hold through volatility and not cash out too early.

Insane Luck – Catching the right stock at the right time, like buying Apple, Amazon, or Tesla years ago and holding. Or stumbling into a meme stock rally at the perfect moment.

Some people actually did it—early Bitcoin investors, early Tesla shareholders, and those who bet big on Nvidia, AMD, or Shopify at the right time. But for most of us? It’s easier said than done.