Do you have the top 3 qualities of a successful investor?
Do you have what it takes to be a successful investor? Here are the three must have attributes of a successful investor, patience, optimism, and education. Without these three attributes you are doomed to failure.
1. Patience
In the short term, stock prices go up and down. In the long run, stock prices go up and dividends go up. Recessions come and go, nothing lasts forever. We may have a small downturn in the economy that lasts a few months to a recession that could last a year or two. As an investor, you must have patience to ride out the downfall. You must have the patience to stay invested even when the media tells you to sell. Selling when prices are low is exactly the wrong time to sell; this only solidifies your losses. Be patient to ride out any dips and be prepared to reap the rewards when stock prices rise.
2. Optimism
A successful investor is an optimistic investor. He must believe and have faith that the world is getting better and that the economy will get better. Otherwise, he doesn’t make sense in investing if he believes the world is headed for a recession, a depression or just down the toilet. If he thinks things will continue to get worse, he better keep his money under the mattress. Believe that things will get better, be optimistic about the future and invest for yourself. How do I know things will get better? I can’t predict the future, but I do know that the economy has survived recessions, depressions, wars, natural disasters, the tech bubble, the credit crunch, the national debt, and oil shocks in the past. After each disaster, the world has continued to move forward, the economy has continued to grow. Be optimistic that the economy will continue to prosper in the long run, and you will prosper along with it.
3. Education
A successful investor is an educated investor. No one cares more about your money than you do, so you owe it to yourself to learn how to invest responsibly. Learn to minimize your risk and learn to maximize your profits. Without investing knowledge, you are just guessing and speculating, you better buy a lottery ticket. It’s easy to sit back and do nothing, relax and let the “experts” handle your money. But an easy life will actually lose you money in fees and missed opportunities. Learning to invest is not difficult, it just requires you to take the first step and start your journey to success.