I love reading about successful traders and investors. I do it because I am interested but I also want to learn from them too. The one thing that makes these people stand out against the rest is their stock picking ability.
I have come to the conclusion that the only thing that these great traders have in common is their stock picking ability. Other than that, most of them seem completely different. Not just their backgrounds but also the way they think about the markets and how they interact with them.
As someone who was reading these books to improve my own stock picking, I was actually quite disappointed. I was disappointed because I wasn’t able to find a pattern with these traders and then implement it myself. If they are all different then how can I do that? Was there anything I could learn from the books other than having a good read?
I then had a burst of inspiration. If each of these traders are using their own system to be successful then may be I could too. In fact if more than one system could be successful then perhaps I have a better chance at being successful. So I didn’t waste my time with these books in the end.
Followin that thought I went back to the books to read them again. I reasoned that I should be able to learn more now that I have that understanding. I think that I did. I learnt that each of the traders was using a stock picking system that fitted their personality. A trader that was a more calm than others had a less active system in place.
I hope that this has helped you believe that you have the ability to have a successful stock picking system yourself. All you need to do is find a system that suits your personality and you should be on the right lines.