Never invest in any idea you can't illustrate with a crayon

When you start to confuse Freddie Mac, Sallie Mae and Fannie Mae with members of your family, and you remember 2,000 stock symbols but forget the children's birthdays, there's a good chance you've become too wrapped up in your work.

If you can find a company that can get away with raising prices year after year without losing customers (an addictive product such as cigarettes fills the bill), you've got a terrific investment.

The list of qualities (an investor should have) include patience, self-reliance, common sense, a tolerance for pain, open-mindedness, detachment, persistence, humility, flexibility, a willingness to do independent research, an equal willingness to admit mistakes, and the ability to ignore general panic.

Everyone has the brain power to make money in stocks. Not everyone has the stomach.

Visiting stores and testing products is one of the critical elements of the analyst's job.

If you go to Minnesota in January, you should know that it's gonna be cold. You don't panic when the thermometer falls below zero.