First of all, successful investing doesn’t require more money, a higher IQ or great market timing. No, the secrets are simply timing and temperament. 

Timing 

To invest in stocks, you need a time horizon of at least five years. Think of it as sending some of your money away to work abroad for a while. You can call it in to check up on it, but you really just need to let it do its own thing. 

The success of an investment isn’t measured in minutes, months or even a year. If you take a look at history and study how investors made a fortune, you’ll find that they didn’t get in and out of stocks out of fear and greed, but by buying great companies and investing in them for the long term. 

Then you can expect to be rewarded over time through stock price increases, dividends, and share buybacks. 

Temperament 

Even when everyone around them is freaking out, successful investors remain calm and level-headed. This attitude makes the difference between investors who constantly outperform the market and investors who only get lucky once in a while. 

If you can keep your emotions in check and ignore the occasional (and inevitable) market panic, you’ll be able to hang in there instead of selling at the worst times. 

Make all investment decisions with a cool head after internalizing new information or temporary market fluctuations.  

In summary, time and temperament are important in investing for the following reasons. 

• The success of an investor does not depend on the number of minutes, months, or even years. 
• Successful investors remain calm when everyone around them is freaking out. 
• They cultivate a temperament that resists the urges that get other people into trouble.