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Edwin Lefèvre quotes
10 quotes from 1 of Edwin Lefèvre’s books on this site, book by book. Each quote is copied exactly from the book’s text in this site’s reader (the Project Gutenberg e-text named under each book) and links to its passage; when this page was built, every quote was checked word for word against that text. Quotes we could not find in a book we host are not listed.
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator
Another lesson I learned early is that 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 to-day has happened before and will happen again.
They say there are two sides to everything. But there is only one side to the stock market; and it is not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side.
And right here let me say one thing: After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It was always my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight!
A loss never bothers me after I take it. I forget it overnight. But being wrong--not taking the loss--that is what does the damage to the pocketbook and to the soul.
The market does not beat them. They beat themselves, because though they have brains they cannot sit tight.
The desire for constant action irrespective of underlying conditions is responsible for many losses in Wall Street even among the professionals, who feel that they must take home some money every day, as though they were working for regular wages.
A stock operator has to fight a lot of expensive enemies within himself.
No man can always have adequate reasons for buying or selling stocks daily--or sufficient knowledge to make his play an intelligent play.
A man must believe in himself and his judgment if he expects to make a living at this game.
Always sell what shows you a loss and keep what shows you a profit.