"You can't always get what you want," sings Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones. This phrase was also uttered to me as a child by my parents and older sister alike. While neither they nor the now 78-year old English rockstar invented the phrase, it is most certainly one of life's hardest lessons learned.
When it comes to cryptocurrencies and investing, greed comes to mind. I see greed as "not knowing when enough is enough." This is one of the most difficult aspects of trading for me. The advice I was given was simple -- "buy fear, sell greed." Simple, but certainly not easy to follow.
The truth is that it is utterly impossible to "sell the top" or "buy the bottom," especially when you consider a long-term time horizon. My trading career in stocks and cryptocurrencies has been brief comparatively, just shy of three years. However, I have learned a few things that have helped me:
1. If I'm up over 100% on a position, I will sell half too secure profits and re-evaluate from there. This takes significant risk off the table and guarantees return of initial investment.
2. I never go "all-in" on any position. I will "scale-in" and gradually build in case of a significant drop in price. If I start a small position and the prices starts moving up significantly, I will gladly watch it grow and not add any more.
3. I try very hard not to "chase" a token or stock that has already risen more than 5% on a given day. I have fallen victim to "FOMO" (fear of missing out) on more than one occassion and gotten burned. In general, I try to buy on red days and sell on green days.
"If you try sometimes, you get what you need," concludes Jagger. Risk and greed are difficult to manage. I am still learning and certainly don't have a master control over those. But I always try to make a conscious effort to consider those two factors in every trade. It's a journey.
This blog post represents my opinion and is not financial advice. I am not a financial advisor, just a rocket enthusiast. Always perform your own due diligence and any trades/investments you do is at your own risk.
