Jesse Livermore

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre, a biography of terrific trader Jesse Livermore, who built his fortune and lost it several times. He stated:

We know that prices move up and down. They always have and they always will. My theory is that behind these major movements is an irresistible force. That is all one needs to know. Don't be too curious about all the reasons behind the price movements. You risk the danger of clouding your mind with non-essentials. Just recognise that the movement is there and take advantage of it by steering your speculative ship along with the tide. Do not argue with the condition, and most of all, do not try to combat it.

I find the above quote quite interesting and decide to surf more on Jesse Livermore and found more interesting quotes from him. (i esp like some of the quotes and bold it)

"The game of speculation is the most uniformly fascinating game in the world. But it is not a game for the stupid, the mentally lazy, the man of inferior emotional balance, or for the get-rich-quick adventurer. They will die poor."

"...the fruits of your success will be in direct ratio to the honesty and sincerity of your own effort in keeping your own records, doing your own thinking, and reaching your own conclusions."

"There is nothing new in Wall Street. There can't be because speculation is as old as the hills. Whatever happens in the stock market today has happened before and will happen again."

"There are times when money can be made investing and speculating in stocks, but money cannot consistently be made trading every day or every week during the year. Only the foolhardy will try it. It just is not in the cards and cannot be done." -- ok..this quote makes me feel better.. haha.. i cant take losses to well.

"The point is not so much to buy as cheap as possible or go short at top price, but to buy or sell at the right time."

"I am tired of hearing the public and papers blame Wall Street for parting fools from their money... It's the successful business man who is the biggest sucker of the lot. He has made a fortune in his own line. How? By being on the job for years; by learning all there was to know about it; by taking reasonable chances; by utilizing his knowledge and experience to anticipate probabilities. He wants to increase that fortune at a faster rate and with less effort."

"It took me five years to learn to play the game intelligently enough to make big money when I was right."

"Speculation is far too exciting. Most people who speculate hound the brokerage offices... the ticker is always on their minds. They are so engrossed with the minor ups and downs, they miss the big movements."