Winning with Individual Stocks

This is the rule for buying individual stocks.  It's only one rule because if you are really a moron, you can only handle one rule, okay maybe two.

But the one rule for buying an individual stock is that you have to be willing to swim in it, to buy it over and over again until you are sick of it and then buy it for people for Christmas.

So if I wanted to buy stock in iRhythm technologies it would be not only that I have a problem with finding and diagnosing my heart's rhythms, or even that I am a Doctor who wants to diagnose them better, but that I want to give everyone in the world for Christmas the Zio monitoring system.  That would mean:

1.  I have enough cash flow to buy not only ZIOs for lots of people (I think they are free), but to pay for the intensive reports iRhythm technologies gives doctors.  Maybe if I am an insurance company who plans to make it standard for everyone and anyone on my plan to have a ZIO and get the reports, then I should buy iRhythm stock.

2.  Even if the stock went belly up, I would be in more trouble because the company doesn't support the product than I would be if the stock dies.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1EODB_enUS511US512&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=irhythm+stock

Another option would be if you really like Pie Five Pizza Co. and I was toying with buying RAVE stock because that was who owned Pie Five.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1EODB_enUS511US512&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=pie+5+pizza+stock

How much do I really like it?  Will I not only eat it every day but give gift cards as the only gift I ever give anyone ever?  Will I have my kids birthday parties there?  Will I ask them about bottling parfum so that I can smell like pizza all day and all night?  Moreover, will I make it my religious belief that all humans should not only be able to but be required to eat Pie Five Pizza?  Oops, I forgot to ask, do you also like Pizza Inn?  If you don't you just bought it and may soon smell like it.  If you will not feed your dog Pie Five Pizza, forget about buying the individual stock!

So should you buy an individual stock?  Should you make sure that you house is all wood?  Wood beams, wooden nails, wooden faucet, wooden toilet, wooden sheets (I hear they will be in in 2049).

Putting all your eggs in one basket is the idea of buying an individual stock.  That is when investing is called gambling.