To succeed in the stockmarket, you need quite a variety of skills. You need to have the ability to focus on a particular detail with such intensity as if it were the only determining factor and then at the snap of your fingers focus out and see the bigger picture.
You need to be analytical, technical, yet realise heck the four most dangerous words in finance is "this time it's different". I could go on - for example independent thinking, filtering out junk, correctly putting weights on certain information etc. but the MOST important quality is honesty.
Honesty to yourself. It is natural for an individual to have a bias but you need to be able to see through your own bias (to be honest, a stronger word is in order - think bull). If you can't even see through your own 'bias' you are useless and you are just sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Surprisingly people think they know their bias, but when the heat is up and the stress is on, they can't smell their own b..ias for their life. This is true of many professionals!
Julian Robertson the legendary hedge fund investor I believe calls it "pure salmon honesty".
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