20 Quotes To Invest By

The general public is better at investing than all of the investment greats, including Warren Buffet, Peter Lynch, William O'Neil and Benjamin Graham. At least that's the way it looks, considering how often investors ignore these successful investor's advice. I firmly believe that you can't be successful on your own, you need someone to act as a mentor, so that you can learn and one day become even better than they were. Just look at some of the richest people in the world, they all learned from someone else. Warren Buffet learned to invest from Benjamin Graham, Donald Trump's father was also a real estate investor (Coincidence? I doubt it) and I could go on. The point is, even someone as successful as Warren Buffet needed a mentor to steer him out of trouble and keep him from making the mistakes that his professor (Benjamin Graham) made. If Warren Buffet was willing to take advice shouldn't you? This is why I feel that finding a few of your favorite investors' quotes can be very beneficial. Here are some of my favorite quotes, which I try hard to follow.

"We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful." – Warren Buffet

"Go for a business that any idiot can run – because sooner or later, any idiot probably is going to run it." – Peter Lynch

"Although it's easy to forget sometimes, a share is not a lottery ticket… it's part-ownership of a business." – Peter Lynch

"I spend about 15 minutes a year on economic analysis. The way you lose money in the stock market is to start off with an economic picture. I also spend 15 minutes a year on where the stock market is going." – Peter Lynch

"The whole secret to winning and losing in the stock market is to lose the least amount possible when you're not right." – William O'Neil

"Since the market tends to go in the opposite direction of what the majority of people think, I would say 95% of all these people you hear on TV shows are giving you their personal opinion. And personal opinions are almost always worthless … facts and markets are far more reliable." – William O'Neil

"Even the intelligent investor is likely to need considerable willpower to keep from following the crowd." – Benjamin Graham

"The investor's chief problem – and even his worst enemy is likely to be himself." – Benjamin Graham

"If you have formed a conclusion from the facts and if you know your judgment is sound, act on it – even though others may hesitate or differ." – Benjamin Graham

"Only buy something that you'd be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for 10 years" – Warren Buffet

"If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would be librarians." – Warren Buffet

"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price." – Warren Buffet

"The investor of today does not profit from yesterday's growth." – Warren Buffet

"Our favorite holding period is forever." – Warren Buffet

"If you are shopping for common stocks, choose them the way you would buy groceries, not the way you would buy perfume." – Benjamin Graham

"The underlying principles of sound investment should not alter from decade to decade, but the application of these principles must be adapted to significant changes in the financial mechanisms and climate." – Benjamin Graham

"Time is your friend; impulse is your enemy." – John C. Bogle

"I don't want a lot of good investments; I want a few outstanding ones" – Philip A. Fisher

"What we try to do is take advantage of errors others make, usually because they are too short-term oriented, or they react to dramatic events, or they overestimate the impact of events, and so on." – Bill Miller

"I know of no long-time practitioner who regrets adhering to a value philosophy; few investors who embrace the fundamental principles ever abandon this investment approach for another" – Seth Klarman

The people who have quotes above are a diverse group. None of them invest exactly alike, in fact most would completely disagree with another's investing style. At the end of the day all of these people have valid points that have helped them become successful. I tried to make sure no two quotes contradicted each other which was hard considering how differently each views investing. For me, these are my favorite quotes to remember and I believe that every aspiring investor should read them. Maybe you have quotes that you prefer, then I would recommend that you follow those, because in the end it isyou that determines your success. It is you that picks your investments and most importantly – it is your motivation and commitment that will decide your future success.