Would you like to be a successful investor? Most people would say yes. After all, who doesn’t want to build wealth and achieve financial independence? We will cover the most important traits of a successful investor in this post!
What many people don’t realize is that being successful as an investor is much more than just a money game. It’s not about being ballsy, taking big risks, striking it lucky, or having lots of money to start with. It’s all about having the right mindset and traits that allow you to succeed in the long run. The money is simply the result of getting the first part right.
If you want to become a successful investor, it’s important to understand that successful investing is nothing less than an ongoing character test!
Stay with me, and by the end of this post, I promise you’ll have a better understanding of what it truly takes to be a successful investor.
After having invest my own money since 1995 and having helped hundreds of wealthy investors with their portfolios over two decades, here are the most important traits of a successful investor!
1. Patience
One of the most important traits of a successful investor is patience. This doesn’t mean being patient in the sense of waiting for the perfect time to invest; rather, it means being patient in the sense of being willing to hold onto your investments and your investment strategy for the long haul.
The stock market is notoriously volatile, which means I can guarantee you there will be ups and downs even in the best of times. If you’re not prepared for that volatility and you sell your investments every time there’s a dip, then you’re never going to make any real progress. On the other hand, if you’re willing to weather those storms and hold onto your investments for years or even decades, then you stand to make a lot of money.
The stock market is a device for transferring money from the impatient to the patient.
Time in the market beats timing the market.
Learn to Marshmallow Test Yourself!
2. Discipline
Probably the second most important of all traits of a successful investor is discipline. This means staying disciplined in both good times and bad. When the stock market is going up and everyone else is buying, it can be tempting to throw caution to the wind and buy whatever stocks are hot at the moment. However, this is often when investors get themselves into trouble.
You get recessions, you have stock market declines. If you don’t understand that’s going to happen, then you’re not ready, you won’t do well investing in the markets.
It’s just as important to be disciplined when the market is going down. This is when panic selling often occurs and investors end up selling their stocks at a loss. If you can stay disciplined during these times and resist the urge to sell, then you’ll be in good shape.
The Most Important Traits of a Successful Investor Click To Tweet3. Persistence
A third important trait of successful investors is persistence. This means that even when things are uncertain – and they will be at most times – you keep moving forward and don’t give up on your long-term goals.
The real key to making money in stocks is not to get scared out of them.
Read more here just about how scary managing money can get and how to avoid some of the traps.
Remember that investing is a marathon, not a sprint; there will be ups and downs along the way but as long as you stay focused on your long-term goals, then you’ll eventually reach them.
Know your why and you can take anyhow!
4. Determination
A fourth important trait of successful investors is determination. This means having the fortitude to stick with your investment strategy even when it’s not popular or fashionable to do so.
There will always be new investing strategies that come along and promise big returns in a short period of time but more often than not, such “get rich quick” strategies rarely pan out in the long run.
More money is lost anticipating the changes in the overall stock market than any other way of investing.
If you want to be a successful investor then you need to be determined enough to stick with proven strategies even when everyone else is doing something different.
5. Confidence
A fifth important trait of successful investors is confidence – not only in themselves but also in their investment strategy. Remember that no investment strategy is ever 100% foolproof; there will always be some risk involved.
Successful investing starts with courage.
However, if you’re confident in yourself and your chosen investment process then you’ll be more likely to stick with your strategy even when things get tough.
6. Managing Emotions
Of all traits of successful investors, the ability to managing your emotions . As an investor, you’ll experience all sorts of ups and downs along the way, and you must be able to stay calm and level-headed through these changes.
The good, the bad, and the ugly.
Read “The Art of Not Shitting Your Pants”, or how to master fear and greed like a pro.
Emotions are your worst enemy in the stock market.
This means setting clear goals for yourself and making smart decisions based on your long-term investment strategy, rather than letting your emotions get the best of you.
You can’t manage the markets or the direction stocks or other investments are taking, the only thing you can truly manage is yourself.
Learn and internalize this and win!
7. Positive Thinking
A successful investor must have a positive mindset! This means being optimistic about potential gains while also remaining realistic about risk factors involved with investing.
By focusing on the positives and maintaining a healthy level of optimism, you can stay motivated to continue working towards your long-term investing goals despite any setbacks or challenges that you may face along the way.
Successful investing is simple, but not easy.
Most successful investors do nothing most of the time.
It helps to be an optimist to become a successful investor with a positive long-term track record.
8. Tuning Out Noise
A successful investor must be able to tune out the noise of the media, the emotions around him, short-term market fluctuations, and other outside distractions. It can be tempting to get swept up in the excitement of stock market surges or panic over sudden drops, but it’s crucial to stay grounded and focused on your long-term investment strategy.
Buy low and sell high. It’s pretty simple. The problem is knowing what’s low and what’s high.
Understand journalists and the financial media need to produce clickbaity headlines and sell their products to their readers daily. They don’t necessarily have your financial well-being and long-term success in mind while doing so.
By tuning out the noise and staying laser-focused on your goals, you’ll be better able to make smart decisions that will help you reach success as an investor.
9. Focus on What Matters
Without focus and commitment, even the best investors will fail to achieve their long-term goals. To focus means to keep your eyes on what matters: Focus on the big picture!
Whether you’re evaluating investment opportunities or making decisions in response to market changes, understanding what really matters will help you make the best possible choices for your financial future. The investors’ world is a busy space, I get it, there are so many, too many, distractions.
Avoid the temptation of chasing every new trend or fashion, sometimes you need to learn how to ignore potential short-term gains at the expense of your long-term investment strategy.
Click here to read more on focus and how to eliminate unnecessary distractions.
10 Stay the Course
Successful investors know how to stay the course. This means resisting the temptation to adapt or abandon your investment strategy every few months or when times get tough, and instead continuing to make smart decisions that will help you reach your long-term goals.
Even the intelligent investor is likely to need considerable willpower to keep from following the crowd.
By staying focused on the big picture and following through with your end goal, it’ll be easier to weather any storms that come along on your investing journey and ultimately achieve financial success.
11 Accepting Uncertainty
Successful investors know volatility and uncertainty are part of the journey. They manage to remain calm – or even take advantage – during market fluctuations or unexpected events. While it can be difficult to focus on long-term goals in the eye of a storm, successful investors know that sometimes you take a step back before advancing two more.
The worse a situation becomes the less it takes to turn it around, and the bigger the upside.
So if you want to succeed as an investor, remember that there will always be some degree of uncertainty involved – but with the right mindset, you can overcome any obstacles along the way and achieve your financial goals.
Read here about how lobsters have to overcome uncertainty in order to grow further.
12 Calm During Storms
As a successful investor, it is crucial to stay calm and level-headed during periods of market volatility or economic instability. By maintaining a clear head and avoiding rash emotion-driven decisions, you will be better able to weather the storms and make smart choices that will ultimately help you achieve your financial goals.
Exposure therapy – learn by doing – is the best way to grow this skill.
Learn how to ride the waves of fear and greed.
13 Curiosity and Learning
To succeed as an investor, it is essential to be curious and constantly seek new knowledge and facts about the world of finance. This means researching market trends, staying up-to-date on financial news, and speaking with other successful investors who can share their valuable insights.
Learn every day, but especially from the experiences of others. It’s cheaper!
Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced investor, having a curiosity for learning and a willingness to continue growing your knowledge will help you become successful over time.
14 Doing Your Homework
Along with curiosity and learning, successful investors also make it a point to do their homework by reading financial publications, researching new investment opportunities, and staying up-to-date on the latest market trends.
By taking the time to learn about investing and conduct thorough research on potential investments, you can build wealth and become a successful investor in your own right.
The most important investment you can make is in yourself.
Warren Buffett spends 80% of his daily working time reading and doing homework.
Trust me, it eventually pays off!
15 Risk Management
To be successful as an investor, it is important to manage your risk effectively by keeping a close eye on your portfolio. By understanding the level of risk associated with each potential investment, you can make smart decisions that will help you achieve your long-term goals without taking unnecessary risks along the way.
Successful investing is about managing risk, not avoiding it.
As an investor, managing risk is essential for achieving success. Whether you’re just starting out or have been investing for years, remember that smart risk management is key to building wealth and growing your investments over time.
Sometimes it might be a bigger risk not to take any risk at all, get your assets off their asses!
16 Self Awareness
While successful investing is about many things, at its core it is an ongoing test of your own character and mindset. As such, successful investors are aware of their strengths and weaknesses, make use of the resources available to them, and have the confidence to keep moving forward even in the face of challenges or uncertainty.
Risk comes from not knowing what you’re doing.
Self awareness is one of the most important traits of a successful investor.
You can get to know yourself better by doing trial runs or playing games. By staying grounded, taking risks wisely, and being willing to learn from your mistakes along the way, you can build wealth, grow your investment portfolio, and achieve financial success.
Conclusion
Do you have what it takes to be a successful investor? If you can cultivate the above key traits, then there’s no doubt that you’ll be able to build wealth and achieve your investing goals over time.
Whether you are a beginner or an experienced investor, I trust this post about the most important traits of a successful investor managed to showcase how managing yourself rather than understanding numbers and data matters.
To build wealth and become a successful investor, it is important to be highly self-aware, keep the big picture in mind, develop a passion and curiosity, maintain a willingness to learn, stay disciplined, and be patient. Lastly, never forget about risk management.
With the right mindset and approach, you will achieve financial success and build lasting wealth as an investor in today’s ever-changing landscape! If you consider to embark on this journey yourself but like some coaching along the way, consider booking me for a free 30 min consultation to get started!
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Live long and prosper!
Matt
