25 Golden Rules to Investing: Part II

I wrote about the first 5 golden rules to stock investing yesterday. I'm actually put off by the number (25!) as well as the myriad qualities you must have to become a good investor. For example, you must have an eye for detail as well as have an overview of the entire business. Perseverance, patience, determination, rational action, discipline are high sounding theoretical words and look very daunting to me. And all of them in one single person!!

So I'm putting them all together here (6-25) since I promised. Academic interest only, since I don't expect you and me to be a bundle of all 25 qualities!!

6. Successful traders buy into bad news and sell into good news.
7. Successful traders are not afraid to buy high and sell low.
8. Continually strive for patience, perseverance, determination, and rational action.
9. Limit your losses - use stops!
10. Never cancel a stop loss order after you have placed it!
11. Place the stop at the time you make your trade.
12. Never get into the market because you are anxious because of waiting.
13. Avoid getting in or out of the market too often.
14. The most difficult task in speculation is not prediction but self-control. Successful trading is difficult and frustrating. You are the most important element in the equation for success.
15. Always discipline yourself by following a pre-determined set of rules.
16. Remember that a bear market will give back in one month what a bull market has taken three months to build.
17. Don't ever allow a big winning trade to turn into a loser. Stop yourself out if the market moves against you 20% from your peak profit point.
18. Expect and accept losses gracefully. Those who brood over losses always miss the next opportunity, which more than likely will be profitable.
19. Split your profits right down the middle and never risk more than 50% of them again in the market.
20. The key to successful trading is knowing yourself and your stress point.
21. The difference between winners and losers isn't so much native ability as it is discipline exercised in avoiding mistakes.
22. Speech may be silver but silence is golden. Traders with the golden touch do not talk about their success.
23. Dream big dreams and think tall. Very few people set goals too high. A man becomes what he thinks about all day long.
24. Accept failure as a step towards victory.
25. Have you taken a loss? Forget it quickly. Have you taken a profit? Forget it even quicker!

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