One of the tricks of this business is, keep your losses down.
I'm a passive investor. There are people who are very aggressive; they try to buy companies.
Try not to let your emotions affect your judgement.
Be aware of the level of the stock market. Are yields low and PE ratios high?
Fear and greed tend to affect one's judgement.
If there are not too many value stocks that I can find, the market isn't all that cheap.