First Rule Of Investing:Cutting Losses(5)

Q: How long did it take you to become successful at investing?

O’Neil:

It took me two to three years to figure out how to put the whole system together.

It doesn’t happen overnight.

For most people the learning curve is about the same.

As the years go by, you should get better and better at stock selection, and the number of individual 7% or 8% losses should drop.

Plus, these small losses will be offset by much larger profits from your winners.

Think of a number of controlled losses as your tuition to Wall Street.

Most people think that investing in a college degree is a sound decision.

They don’t think of it as a waste of money because they have hopes of having that degree pay off in future success.

Why should success in the stock market be any different?

Anything worth succeeding at takes time to learn. Professional ballplayers aren’t made in three months, and neither are successful investors.

The only difference between the successful person and everyone else is determination and persistence.


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