I am fully aware that Cardano is one of the most divisive coins in this sub, and that this post will either be buried with dislikes or completely ignored but I think this post can show a different way of investing. Firstly, it is important to say that I only invest in the long term, I believe that the market is much more predictable when predicting a larger time frame.

My investment journey started in stocks in 2019 and my only pick was AMD, I went against trend of investing in ETF's, and thought it would be more efficient and would give more returns to identify a good company than playing safe with the boring SP500, with long-term-potential, luckily amd was one of those companies.

Then I joined Crypto in 2021 I followed the same approach, which led me to invest most of my money in BTC and ETH, but as much as I think these currencies are excellent investments, I wanted to find my optimal investment, minimizing the risks to invest in altcoins and looking to outperform BTC/ETH i found ADA. This was the factors I looked for:

Leadership

There are no metrics to measure leadership, there are no statistics that say how good a leader is, and in the Crypto world where currencies are supposed to be decentralized there shouldn't even be a leader right? After all, cryptocurrencies are not private companies managed by an individual or group so it shouldn't apply. But let me make a point, a leader is not an owner or a dictador, a leader is the one who inspires and sets the path, a leader doesn't even have to be popular, fair, or good, but he has to have the ability to influence, a good leader, even if he is not present, can guide us forward and we have no better example of this than Satoshi Nakamoto.

Lisa Su was the main reason I invested in AMD and Charles Hoskinson is the reason I choose the Cardano network, I know what you're thinking, "Charles is a charlatan, a prick, scummy..." I heard this too a million times and I'm the first to admit that Charles is never going to be unanimous, he's always going to be a divisive figure, and the reason is that a lot of what Charles says is controversial, and that's not a bad thing, matters worth talking about will always offend or hurt someone, the truth can be hard and raw, and when the people who you bother the most are people with power, you can be sure you will be an enemy, and this is reflected in the media coverage, public opinion, and even here in this sub. This is why i did my due diligence, decided i needed more than a headline or quote to form my opinion of him, and to my astonishment i was amazed at his coherence, eloquence and competence not only technically but in dealing with difficult problems. But my objective here is not to say what you should think of it, but to emphasize the importance of listening and analyzing the leaders of the projects you like, because no project survives without strong leadership, think of Elon Musk, Zuckerberg, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, have you seen the hate they carry, how divisive they are? But they still manage to create some of the most successful companies in the world, there is no reason to believe that Crypto is different, business is made of people and crypto is people.

Strategy

how many monopolies have failed due to poor planning? Or due to sudden growths that were not sustainable? Blockbuster, Nokia, Kodak and many other companies were not ready for a world in constant evolution, we have examples of more recent companies that are doing everything in their power to adapt to changes in the market that they failed to foresee, Zoom, Netflix, Gopro for example, grew abruptly during the pandemic only to be pulled back to reality. These are not the kind of companies you want to invest in for the long term, and again crypto is no different. Perhaps BTC does not need to adapt, but we have seen how difficult it has been for ETH to adapt to the chaotic world of cryptocurrencies, (I am not attacking Ethereum) as I even think that Ethereum is one of the few coins with a clear and well defined vision, but this is another point that made me choose Cardano, the Roadmap is clear and adjustable, there are 5 phases taking place simultaneously to create what I believe to be the objective of a layer 1 a decentralized, autonomous and sustainable blockchain. I have not found any project with such solid foundations and prepared to adapt to the market while prioritizing governance and the democratic process, not even Charles himself can decide anything by himself, of course if we look at metrics we see more developed projects, with better numbers, but the security of having solid fundamentals is something non-negotiable in my opinion, this are systems that will interact with entire financial markets, we need guarantees that the blockchain is not only prepared for anything but will not be corrupted or manipulated by people or groups bad intentions.

X Factor

I know it's weird to talk about an x ​​factor in this context but think with me... why are people obsessed with Apple products? When you imagine an expensive watch, do you remember Rolex? When it comes to photo editing, do you remember Adobe photoshop? Probably yes. We human beings are emotional beings, and not recognizing this is just lack of rationality, if brands or even products can awaken feelings and sensations and this leads people to buy or use, how would this be different in Crypto? Many projects have unique characteristics, but few have the X factor. It is undeniable that BTC transmits security in the chaotic world that are alternative investments, the fact that we do not know who created Bitcoin was a great impetus to make BTC the people's currency , a symbol of resistance, the first crypto, the "grandfather" and depending on who you ask, a cult. This is the real reason why no coin is going to replace BTC, emotion. ETH has its X-factor, Vitalik and his vision, the first smart-contracts blockchain, it's hard to imagine a future where ETH is not here. This brings me to Cardano, where a strong community has come together with a focus on democracy and decentralization and freedom, even if it means falling behind AKA (turtle ap roach) how much will these foundations and Predictability be worth in the future? Cardano is often called a cult, and in part those who say it are not wrong, but devaluing the importance of community and sentiment is.

These were the factors I used to invest in the markets and pick winning projects, both in stocks and crypto. I'm not saying to think like me, but to use critical thinking to identify the best investments, we often end up clinging to metrics that tell us little about the future, people control the market, numbers are just a reflection of that.

I know it was a long post, so thanks for reading until the end. Good investments.

TLDR from ChatGPT

The author invests in long-term stocks and cryptocurrencies, and chooses Cardano (ADA) as an investment for the long term. The author believes that strong leadership, clear and adaptable strategy, and an "X Factor" are important in choosing investments. The author sees these qualities in Charles Hoskinson, the founder of Cardano, and the Cardano network's roadmap. Additionally, the author values the security of solid fundamentals in a cryptocurrency project. The author suggests that the emotional aspect of a cryptocurrency, or its "X Factor," is also important in attracting investors.