The New Market Wizards: Conversations with America's Top Traders

As a summary of Schwager's two extraordinary books on top traders, here's my take on the most important elements that contribute to trading success:

(1) Stringent Risk Control
(2) Hard Work & Tenacity
(3) Know Thyself: Identifying Areas Of Competence & Weakness
(4) Know Thy Investment As Crap Begets Crap
(5) Open-mindedness To New Ideas & Unexplored Angles
(6) Willingness To Acknowledge Defeat & Change Tack When Proven Wrong
(7) Resilience, Courage & Conviction When Markets Go Against You In The Short-Term
(8) Humility To Accept That 'The Market Is Always Right'
(9) Patience To Let Profit Run But Resolution To Run When Proven Wrong
(10) Discipline: Setting Exit & Entry Points/Targets
(11) Defensive/Offensive Behavior: 'Preserving Equity First, Making Money Second'
(12) Fire To Succeed: Total Involvement, Not Haphazard Approach

As a humble contribution, I would like to add two cents as to what defines sound trading mindset:

(a) Investment Is Counter-Intuitive: Obvious Bets Rarely Make Good Investments and vice versa.

(b) On-Going Process Of Analysis & Lateral Thinking: Importance of Leaving No Stones Unturned.

(c) Generosity of Spirit: The More That Is Given To You, The More Is Expected Of You. The common thread that reverberated throughout the books was the interviewees' generosity in sharing their secrets of success and their philanthropic works, along the lines of what George Soros is striving to achieve through his many charitable foundations and for Eastern Europe.

A key thing you will learn from these interviews is best exemplified by Mike Carr a Turtle: Don't care what the market will do, Care what you will do when the market does it.