The more I think about clients, friends, etc. who have made money, there are a lot of things that I keep learning. Here are some of the rules which have helped people:

1. Temperament to invest: Investment is like raising an orchard – with a variety of fruit trees. It takes a lot of time and worse does not adhere to too much of rules and regulations. If you had a tree which was going to yield fruits after 12 years…what would you do? Just wait. However at least botany has its rules better than investing science. How do you judge companies like Hindustan Oil Exploration or Deccan Gold? Both of them do not have any cash flow for you to judge by. You have to look at the valuation that a company does on a regular basis and decide whether to hold or sell. You also need to understand that your ability to stick with one investment is a function of how your total portfolio is doing.
2. Having a long term orientation in your mind: While eating and while investing having the long term orientation is the most important requirement. Short term pleasure – like eating sugar – is completely useless for the long term gain. So the long term gain is NOT a series of short term gain. Surely there is trading, but that is for the professional not for the amateur.
3. Know your personal investment history and Inv history of the instruments: You should learn your ability to handle investments – the pleasure, pain, risk,..etc. You should know that debt funds will ALSO see losses, interest rate risk, etc. You should know that equity will see one year 49% return, huge falls – of 30%, a grind down for a few years, etc. If you do not know all this you will panic, and destroy your wealth. Read. Read. Read.
4. Stop watching TV, and ignore Guru Forecasts: you do not need any explanation, right?
5. Check your ability, willingness, need and mental strength to take risks. Of course you need to understand risk to do this. If you take less risk than what you can take you will earn less (perhaps) and if you take more risk than what you are mentally ready to take (or need to take) you will panic and sell and ruin your portfolio (or life).
6. Good strategies can have bad outcomes, and sometimes the outcomes can be sheer luck!
7. Stop looking at the portfolio so regularly.

I am sure there are more…