“loss is not as bad as wanting more.”
– Lao Tzu
When it comes to greed, the best advice anyone can give is to always take your profits too early. Why? Because the biggest mistake people make is to stay too log and then lose. This doesn’t only apply to traders either, poker player and other types of investors are guilty of it, even the most experienced of them. There is on major emotion that gets the better of them, and that is greed. If you are apart of the rare breed that has full control over this emotion, then you are a better speculator than 95% of people out there scrambling after wealth.
This however, is a difficult act to pull of successfully. It is a part of the human psyche that is heavily ingrained within each of us. It is not something that can be deleted or exercised from our personality. Greed is essentially a paradox , by reducing it, your chances of getting rich greatly improve.
Greed means wanting more, more, and always more. It’s like going to a buffet table and filling your plate to the maximum in the fear on your return, the table will be empty. Greed is the self-destructive cousin of acquisitiveness. Acquisitiveness is characterised by a strong desire to gain and possess, which is not a bad thing in itself. But acquisitiveness that’s impulsive, acquisitiveness that is out of control to the point that it defeats its own purpose; that is greed. Fear and loathe it, it’s your worst enemy.
The biggest problem with greed is that sometimes it works, sometimes holding on leads to major wins, and when this happens, you’ll want to ride the winning trades forever. Hopefully, you’ll have good sense and be in the right frame of mind ti realise that winning trades cannot last forever. However, if greed has you by the collar, you will whisper sweet nothings to yourself to keep yourself in the trade, but eventually, inevitably, your position will turn against you, and the intoxicating illusion which you created will quickly fade, and reality will slap you across the face.
There will be times, undoubtedly, when your early exited position continues to sky rocket in the direction you were previously in. in hindsight, your early exit will seem like terrible mistake, it can be enough to bring a grown man to tears. But there is hope, the law of averages will be your saving grace; there will be a dozen or two trades when it turns out to be right. As previously stated, you make more money when you control your greed.
The solution? Always assume that any combination of events that are in your favour, are going to be short-lived. And your profits therefore, won’t be outrageously big.
In short, always take your profits to early.
– Lao Tzu
When it comes to greed, the best advice anyone can give is to always take your profits too early. Why? Because the biggest mistake people make is to stay too log and then lose. This doesn’t only apply to traders either, poker player and other types of investors are guilty of it, even the most experienced of them. There is on major emotion that gets the better of them, and that is greed. If you are apart of the rare breed that has full control over this emotion, then you are a better speculator than 95% of people out there scrambling after wealth.
This however, is a difficult act to pull of successfully. It is a part of the human psyche that is heavily ingrained within each of us. It is not something that can be deleted or exercised from our personality. Greed is essentially a paradox , by reducing it, your chances of getting rich greatly improve.
Greed means wanting more, more, and always more. It’s like going to a buffet table and filling your plate to the maximum in the fear on your return, the table will be empty. Greed is the self-destructive cousin of acquisitiveness. Acquisitiveness is characterised by a strong desire to gain and possess, which is not a bad thing in itself. But acquisitiveness that’s impulsive, acquisitiveness that is out of control to the point that it defeats its own purpose; that is greed. Fear and loathe it, it’s your worst enemy.
The biggest problem with greed is that sometimes it works, sometimes holding on leads to major wins, and when this happens, you’ll want to ride the winning trades forever. Hopefully, you’ll have good sense and be in the right frame of mind ti realise that winning trades cannot last forever. However, if greed has you by the collar, you will whisper sweet nothings to yourself to keep yourself in the trade, but eventually, inevitably, your position will turn against you, and the intoxicating illusion which you created will quickly fade, and reality will slap you across the face.
There will be times, undoubtedly, when your early exited position continues to sky rocket in the direction you were previously in. in hindsight, your early exit will seem like terrible mistake, it can be enough to bring a grown man to tears. But there is hope, the law of averages will be your saving grace; there will be a dozen or two trades when it turns out to be right. As previously stated, you make more money when you control your greed.
The solution? Always assume that any combination of events that are in your favour, are going to be short-lived. And your profits therefore, won’t be outrageously big.
In short, always take your profits to early.
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