I didn't say it will take 3-5 years or longer. I just asked if you had planned for the possibility that your 'waiting as long as it takes' investment strategy excedes your lifespan. Also, are you saying a "bad stock" is one where investors have to wait 3-5 years or longer? Because you've been invested longer than that now. Do you consider the past 5 years invested here 'wasted'?

I know you don't want to believe this, but the stock market does not function by simply rewarding those who are willing to wait it out. Because there are more variables to the equation to making a profit from an investment than TIME.