jessie livermore quote.

The following is a direct reproduction of a post on the LYC list today from omgwen3rds so thanks to him/her and I hope they don't mind.
I thought it might be current and appropriate for this list.


Born in 1877, Jesse Livermore is one of the greatest stock speculators that few people know about. While a book on his life written by Edwin Lefèvre, "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" (1923), is highly regarded as a must-read for all traders, it deserves more than a passing recommendation. Livermore, who is the author of "How to Trade in Stocks"(1940), was one of the greatest traders of all time. At his peak in 1929, Jesse Livermore was worth $100 million, which in today's dollars roughly equates to $1.5-13 billion, depending on the index used.


(Chapter 5)

"The reason is that a man may see straight and clearly and yet become IMPATIENT or DOUBTFUL when the market takes its time about doing as he figured it must do. That is why so many men in Wall Street, who are not at all in the SUCKER class, not even in the third grade, nevertheless lose money. The market does not beat them. THEY BEAT THEMSELVES, because though they have brains THEY CAN NOT SIT TIGHT"

“And right here let me say one thing: After spending many years in Wall Street and after making and losing millions of dollars I want to tell you this: It never was my thinking that made the big money for me.

It always was my sitting. Got that? My sitting tight! It is no trick at all to be right on the market. You always find lots of early bulls in bull markets and early bears in bear markets. I’ve known many men who were right at exactly the right time, and began buying and selling stocks when prices were at the very level which should show the greatest profit. And their experience invariably matched mine – that is, they made no real money out of it. Men who can both be right and sit tight are uncommon.

I found it one of the hardest things to learn. But it is only after a stock operator has firmly grasped this that he can make big money......”