I like this sentence (bolded) in The New Market Wizards:
He gave me the name of his broker, and I opened up an account. Then the greatest tragedy happened: My first trade was an absolute winner. My second trade was also a winner. My third trade was breakeven. My fourth trade was another winner. On my fifth trade, I gave it all back. Then on my sixth trade, I lost more money than I had made in all my previous winning trades put together.
I like that turn-of-phrase. It tells how psychologically deceiving the stock market can be. My fledgling understanding of trading is that having a high level of introspection and understanding of how your mind works (and doesn't work) is a force multiplier for your performance.
