7 Investor Traits You Need in this Market for Mind-blowing Success

I’m not here to teach you how to be a great investor. On the  contrary, I’m here to tell you why very few of you can ever hope to achieve this status.
It doesn’t matter how intelligent you are, how many books you’ve read or how good you are with numbers. The truth is that you may never be as good as you think.

Don't want to believe it? Well this was a speech given by Mark Sellers of Sellers Capital to Harvard MBA student’s in 2007. It is a speech that helps to expose weaknesses and build on your strengths.

You can read all of Berkshire’s letters, Buffett’s words of wisdom but when it comes to crunch time, the majority of people end up buying high and selling low.

The past 11 trading days has proved just that. If you survived so far, well done, but expect to see more red and be excited about it.

"You make your money during bear markets; you just don't know it at the time." - Shelby Cullom Davis

Trait #1 – Ability to buy and sell stocks against the market

Everyone thinks they can do this…[when] the market is crashing all around you, almost no one has the stomach to buy.

Trait #2 – Obsession

The second character trait of a great investor is that he is obsessive about playing the game and wanting to win.

Trait #3 – Willingness to learn from past mistakes

What sets some investors apart is an intense desire to learn from their own mistakes so they can avoid repeating them.

Trait #4 – Inherent sense of risk based on common sense

I believe the greatest risk control is common sense, but people fall into the habit of sleeping well at night because the computer says they should. The thing about common sense is that it isn’t very common.

Trait #5 – Confidence and Conviction

Great investors have confidence in their own convictions and stick with them, even when facing criticism.

Trait #6 – Get both sides of your brain working

If you don’t think clearly, you’re in trouble. There are a lot of people who have genius IQs who can’t think clearly.

Trait #7 – Ability to live through volatility

The most important, and rarest, trait of all. To make money, you have to cope with volatility. Volatility is not risk. If you ignore what the market does every day, the end points can be joined by one straight line.

Good luck during this difficult period. I hope to see you on the other end victorious.

Jae Jun runs Old School Value where he helps you to invest confidently in difficult times with the stock valuation spreadsheets. He writes a weekly Tuesday column for Benzinga.