I’ve always said that the stock market doesn’t make anybody any money. Only people make money in the market. The market doesn’t lose anybody’s money either. People lose money depending on how they invest in the market.

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal reported on some firms that made a great deal of money on Bear Stearns, the trading house that nearly tanked and was acquired by J.P. Morgan. The company was once worth $20 billion and was valued at $236 million at the time of sale; the stock had plummeted to $2 a share.

How did anybody make money on that investment? The winners shorted the stock; that is they sold stock in the company they didn’t own anticipating that it would go down in value at which time they could purchase the stock to cover their position and make money.

And boy did they make money.

It doesn’t matter if you invest in stocks or not; there is a bigger lesson here. Many tend to think that winners win because of circumstances. The reality is that the consistent winners in life often win despite circumstances.

There’s always a way to win. Find it.