Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

The speculators deadly enemies are: Ignorance, greed, fear and hope. All the statute books in the world and all the rules of all the Exchanges on earth cannot eliminate these from the human animal.

There is nothing like losing all you have in the world for teaching you what not to do. And when you know what not to do in order not to lose money, you begin to learn what to do in order to win. Did you get that? You begin to learn!

A stock operator has to fight a lot of expensive enemies within himself.

People who look for easy money invariably pay for the privilege of proving conclusively that it cannot be found on this sordid earth.

The game taught me the game.

If a man didn't make mistakes he'd own the world in a month.

But if he didn't profit by his mistakes he wouldn't own a blessed thing.

History repeats itself all the time on Wall Street.