Make common sense judgements about companies, their managers and their shares. Do you understand the business? Do you believe it will succeed? If it doesn't seem real to you, or it doesn't feel right, trust your judgement.
There are always going to be good shares that you miss. Rather than looking back on the lost plums, rejoice in the lemons that you wisely turned down. The most important part of investing is not to lose money, so keep tabs on the shares you consciously avoided and cheer your escape if the shares go down.
Is the company profitable? Do people buy its products? If not, how is the business funded and when will the money run out? Questions like these tend to get overlooked by many investors in the rush to buy into 'the latest thing'. They argue that if the shares are going up, who cares. That's fine unless you are still holding them when they stop going up.
Everyone makes them, but not everyone learns from them. When an opportunity arises which mirrors past experience, act on your knowledge from the past. You may turn out to be wrong, but how stupid would you feel if you made the same mistake twice? Consider cutting your losses quickly when you know you are wrong.
Making money from shares is not as easy as shelling peas. Sometimes it can take ages for other investors to latch on to an undervaluation that you spotted and acted upon months or even years ago. The problem is that if you wait for the herd, you will inevitably be too late. This requires patience, but may ultimately bring rewards.
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