I don't have a software background nor a finance background. I...

I don't have a software background nor a finance background. I do have a general business/accounting background. I will also say that I am very much commercially aware. I do an extensive amount of reading of the financial/business press. I am actually fairly new to investing. This is my second year as an active participant in the stock markets. What I lack in experience, I have tried to make it up through learning from some of the teachings of other investors (some well known, some others lesser known). I have also learn quite a bit through my own failings. What I have learned so far is that successful investing is very hard. Successful investing is more about having the ability to truly understand various business models and more importantly what makes them both highly profitable and durable. Successful investing is more of a mental game than a technical game.

As far as markets ups and downs are concerned, I used to worry about them. I have come to learn that every company is its own market so to speak. Some companies may experience a one day double digit price correction/appreciation midway through a bull/bear market. The reality is business activity and price fluctuations are two completely separate things. I am willing to hold on to the shares of a company through thick and thin for as long as the fundamentals of the business look healthy. In the short term, the market value of a company is heavily influenced by speculations. In the long term, the market value of a company is ultimately determined by business performance.