Mark Minervini Quotes Page 2

“Four very dangerous words: 'Just this one time'.”

“Hope is not a strategy.”

“I want to be at a profit immediately. If I don’t see a profit very soon after I buy the stock, I’m inclined to just get out.”

“I went from mediocre to a stellar performer when I told myself: To heck with worrying about the money and obsessing over the scoreboard. I’m just going to focus on being the best trader I can be and sticking to the rules. Then the money followed.”

“If you don’t have a plan, you will surely experience paralyzing emotions and second-guess yourself at key decision-making moments.”

“If you want success in the stock market, before you do anything, you should develop a plan.”

“If you want to mitigate risk effectively, you simply must acknowledge that stocks don’t manage themselves. You’re the manager, and it’s up to you to protect your hard-earned capital.”

“In the stock market, those who are not humble are destined to be humbled.”

“In the stock market, you can make money or you can make excuses, but you can’t make both. Do whatever it takes to eliminate your own personal excuses. Your road to success starts by taking responsibility. Don’t blame outside factors for your lack of success.”

“Investing styles may differ among successful market players, but without exception, winning stock traders share certain key traits required for success. Fall short in those qualities and you will surely part ways with your money.”

“It doesn’t feel great breaking even on a trade that was once a profit, but it feels a lot better than when you let a good-size gain turn into a losing trade.”

“It’s better to lose correctly than to win incorrectly.”

“Long-term success in the stock market has nothing to do with hope or luck. Winning stock traders have rules and a well-thought-out plan. Conversely, losers lack rules, or if they have rules, they don’t stick to them for very long; they deviate.”

“Luck is a short-term phenomenon. In the long run, luck is for losers.”

“Never stray from the basics of rule number one of always going in with a plan.”

“Not losing big is the single most important factor for winning big. As a speculator, losing is not a choice, but how much you lose is.”

“Once I make a profit, that money belongs to me. Yesterday’s profit is part of today’s principal.”

“Potential and possibility reside in the fertile field of the unknown.”

“Specialists get paid well, while those who know a little about many things make good conversation at parties.”

“The CLUM principle; comfortable equals less and uncomfortable equals more.”

“The key is to see things as they are—operating in the now—without seeing things as worse than they are out of fear, or better than they are out of greed.”

“The reason most investors fail to sell and cut their loss short is because they fear that after they sell the stock might go back up and they will be wrong twice. It’s driven by the fear of regret, which stems from pure ego!”

“There are many distractions that can cloud your judgment when trading. Your job is to keep your thinking pure and focused on what matters within your own circle of competence. The hallmark of a pro is to operate within this circle and ignore everything else.”

“Those who succeed big at anything all have the same attitude: You keep going until it happens or you die trying. Quitting is not an option.”

“To compound your money, and not your mistakes, your goal is to buy on the way up—not on the way down.”

“Trading is serious business with real money on the line. Why would you go into it without a well-thought-out plan of action? Yet, most people do.”

“Trading without a stop-loss is like driving a car without brakes. Maybe you could make it around the block a few times, but if you did drive without brakes, how far do you think you could go before you crash?”

“Welcome to the slippery slope. When you tell yourself, I’m going to break my rule just this once, you open the door to losing discipline, because it’s never just “one time.” It’s like an alcoholic saying “Just one drink!”

“What exactly are you trying to accomplish? Do you want to make money, or are you engaged in an exercise in ego to prove that, somehow, you know more than the market?”

“Whatever gifts or ability someone might have been born with, success in the market comes from a concerted effort and a willingness to allow the learning curve to unfold, no matter how long it takes.”