Firstly, realise you are now in an extraordinary time, a major commodity bull market that has risen dramatically. Don't assume 5-10% gains a day or week are normal because they aren't. I cut my teeth on the dot com boom, just be aware of the hype, try to stay objective.
Secondly, as previously mentioned read everything you can get hold of, I found the contrarian sites most enlightening. They give a different perspective. www.dailyreckoning.com is an interesting site.
Thirdly, patience. Learn it. I've traded my way out of a lot of money purely because my stock was boring. As soon as you think something else is more interesting and you jump into it, it will stop moving and the stock you just sold starts going up. It's uncanny! Know why you bought the stock in the first place.
Find a trend, find a good stock that will benefit from that trend and sit, just sit. At 23 you want it all tomorrow just like I did however 5 years is not so far away, if you invest for 5 years you will be much more successful than trying to double your money every month.
