Pain

When the pain grows bit by bit, the natural tendency is to do nothing and wait for an improvement. A sleepwalking trader gives his losing
trades “more time to work out,” while they slowly destroy his account.----Dr. Alexander Elder

Human Nature

That is the reason why I say that the man who is right always has two forces working in his favor—basic conditions and the men who are wrong. In a bull market bear factors are ignored. That is human nature, and yet human beings profess astonishment at it. -----------REMINISCENCES OF A STOCK OPERATOR by Edwin LeFevre

Crowd Mentality

Crowd mentality changes slowly, and price patterns recur, albeit with variations. Emotional swings provide trading opportunities, while efficient markets chop up and down, offering no edge to traders, only piling up their costs.----Dr. Alexander Elder

Obvious

If it is obvious, it is obviously wrong. ----Joseph Granville

Exits

One of the key differences between professionals and amateurs is their planning for exits.----Dr. Alexander Elder

Tape Reading

This matter of tape reading is not so complicated as it appears. Of course you need experience. But it is even more important to keep certain fundamentals in mind. To read the tape is not to have your fortune told. The tape does not tell you how much you will surely be worth next Thursday at 1:35 p.m. The object of reading the tape is to ascertain, first, how and, next, when to trade—that is, whether it is wiser to buy than to sell.----REMINISCENCES OF A STOCK OPERATOR by Edwin LeFevre

Fear

There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear. ----General George S. Patton, United States Army

Feelings

Feelings are not facts. Always question whether your emotions accurately reflect reality.----Jimmy

Emptying Yourself

By emptying yourself of ego and fear, you make room to use your untapped potential to trade in terms of a larger objective, independent of the concerns of others. Mastery focuses around the process of change, and becoming what you are capable of becoming. That means entering the realm of the unknown.----Trading to Win, Ari Kiev

Mistakes

If you don’t profit from your investment mistakes, someone else will.— Yale Hirsch

Do Your Homework

If you are not willing to study, if you are not sufficiently interested to investigate and analyze the stock market yourself, then I beg of you to become an outright long-pull investor, to buy good stocks, and hold on to them; for otherwise your chances of success as a trader will be nil.
— Humphrey B. Neill (Tape Reading and Market Tactics, 1931)

Loss

A bad loss feels like a nasty comment— most people just want to cover up, walk away, and never be seen again. Hiding doesn’t solve anything. Use the pain of a loss to turn yourself into a disciplined winner.----Dr. Alexander Elder

Human Weakness

There is no mind so machinelike that you can depend upon it to function with equal efficiency at all times. I now learned that I could not trust myself to remain equally unaffected by men and misfortunes at all times. -----REMINISCENCES OF A STOCK OPERATOR by Edwin LeFevre