1. Self-Reliance. A man must think for himself,must follow his own convictions. George MacDonald says: “A man cannot have another man’s ideas any more than he can another man’s soul or another man’s body.” Self-trust is the foundation of successful effort.
2. Judgment. That equipoise, that nice adjustment of the faculties one to the other,which is called good judgment, is an essential to the speculator.
3. Courage. That is, confidence to act on the decisions of the mind. In speculation there is
value in Mirabeau’s dictum: “Be bold, still be bold; always be bold.” (more…)
Today afternoon once again read small book from the late 1800s written by Dickson G. Watts and reprinted by Traders Press. Entitled “Speculation as a Fine Art and Thoughts on Life”, the book begins with a description of the “qualities essential to the equipment of a speculator” (p. 8). Here is the author’s perspective, written well over a century ago:
1)Self-reliance :A man must think for himself ,must follow his own convictions.Self-trust is the foundation of successful effort.
The power of measuring the danger, together with a certain alertness and watchfulness, is very important. There should be a balance of these two, Prudence and Courage;Prudence in contemplation, Courage in execution.Lord Bacon says: “In meditation all dangers should be seen; in execution one, unless very formidable.”Connected with these qualities,properly an outgrowth of them, is a third, viz:promptness. The mind convinced, the act should follow. In the words of Macbeth; “Henceforth the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.” Think, act, promptly.