What ordinary people should learn is the clumsy way of "defeating talent with rules".
Every cycle of bull and bear markets, some people earn a lot, while others lose and question their existence.
But if you observe carefully, you will find that only two types of people can truly make money in the long term.
What ordinary people should learn is not the flashy skills of "talent-based" traders, but the humble principles of "principle-based" traders.
First, see the reality clearly: 99% of people cannot learn to be talent-based winners.
Talent-based traders are like the "Flash" in the market: they can stare at 1-minute candlesticks at 3 AM to capture hot narratives, precisely picking the "true logic" from a pile of good news, decisively cutting losses during short-term pulls, and immediately pulling out after profiting hugely. But this type of person has three "fatal thresholds" that ordinary people can never cross.
Extreme talent: Sensitivity to market emotions and insight into capital flow are innate "market instincts"; just like some are naturally good at math, you can't catch up by burning the midnight oil.
Fully dedicated: They can spend 12 hours a day studying the market continuously for six months, thoroughly reviewing the white papers of every coin, memorizing funding rates and long-short ratios; ordinary people have jobs and lives and simply don't have that time.
Stress resistance: During short-term volatility, they can calmly increase their position when down 20%, and decisively take profits when up 50%; this "anti-human nature mindset" is something 99% of people won't achieve even after ten years of training.
So don’t envy them — the money of talent-based winners is earned by "heaven’s favor + relentless struggle"; ordinary people trying to learn will only become "Dongshi imitating the beauty", chasing highs and lows and suffering even more losses.
What ordinary people should learn is to be a "principle-based winner": using rules to turn "clumsy methods" into "winning logic".
Principle-based traders may seem "boring": not chasing hot topics, not showing off their operations, and seldom staring at the screen, yet their accounts can steadily grow. The core is not talent, but engraving "anti-human nature rules" into their bones, which is precisely the path ordinary people can replicate.
The core of principles: Use the "four no principles" to filter out 80% of pitfalls.
Don’t invest in incomprehensible assets: They only focus on 5-10 coins they have thoroughly researched (like BTC, ETH, or familiar leading coins) and remain indifferent to incomprehensible "new concept coins" or "hot coins", even if they soar. Last year, when AI concepts were booming, some chased unknown AI coins and lost 50%, while principle-based traders only bought leading coins in the "AI + L2" sector, steadily earning 30%.
Not being led by emotions: When prices rise, they don't greedily think "let's hold on for more", and when they fall, they don't panic and think "let’s cut losses quickly"; it all relies on rules. For example, set rules like "reduce half your position when up 20%, and unconditionally stop loss at down 5"; no matter how stimulating the market is, just execute the plan. Ordinary retail investors lose because they think "let’s grab more when it rises, and hope for a rebound when it falls", while principle-based traders lock up their emotions with rules.
Do not act too much, but endure more: They spend 80% of their time waiting and 20% of their time executing. During a bear market, they reduce their position to below 30%, or even watch from the sidelines; in a bull market, they only enter after "trend confirmation" (like breaking above the 60-day moving average with increased volume), never "guessing the bottom or chasing the top". Ordinary people think about "grabbing opportunities" every day, but end up being repeatedly harvested in volatility, trading 50 times a year, with 40 of those being ineffective trades.
Don't be greedy for quick money; earn slow money: They do not pursue "doubling in a week", but only aim for "10%-20%" monthly compounding. By using fixed positions (no more than 10% per trade) and reasonable stop losses (2%-3% per loss), even if they are wrong 5 times in a row, their capital only retraces 10%, and catching one trend to earn 30% can cover all losses. Ordinary retail investors always think of "making back all at once", heavily investing for quick money, resulting in total loss with one liquidation.
The biggest pitfall for ordinary retail investors: treating "emotional tokens" as opportunities and considering "principles" as nonsense.
Are you like this too?
Seeing someone in the group shouting "100x coin is starting", you impulsively jump in without knowing what the project is about.
When the coin price drops by 5%, you comfort yourself with "it's just a pullback", only to end up selling at a 20% loss, becoming more anxious as losses mount.
After finally earning 10%, you feel "it's too little" and stubbornly hold on until profits evaporate, even incurring losses, then cursing "the market is targeting me".
These are typical manifestations of "emotion-driven trading". The strength of principle-based traders lies in using rules to kick "emotion" out of trading: being able to hold back when waiting, daring to act when buying, and not hesitating when selling.
Remember this 8-character mantra, and ordinary people can also become "principle-based winners".
Understand trade-offs: Only pursue opportunities you can understand; among 100 hot topics, you might only understand 3, and capturing these 3 is enough.
Avoid emotional tokens: Stay away from coins that experience "sudden surges, lack logic, and are driven by hype"; these are emotional speculations that rise quickly but fall faster.
Winning steadily: Control your position (no more than 10% per trade) and follow stop-loss rules (exit if down 5%) to preserve capital; living gives you a chance.
Slow is fast: Don't pursue "getting rich overnight"; earning 10% a month can triple your capital in a year, which is 100 times more reliable than "betting to double".
Finally, I want to say: The market does not reward "cleverness", it rewards "awareness".
Talent-based winners rely on heaven's favor, which ordinary people cannot replicate; but principle-based winners rely on "keeping rules, controlling emotions, and being able to endure"; these are all trainable skills.
The market never runs away; only your capital and uncontrolled emotions can run. Instead of envying the talent-based "lightning operations", it's better to learn the principle-based "clumsy methods": understanding trade-offs, avoiding emotions, maintaining a steady pace, and earning slow money.
Remember: In the market, those who survive the longest are the ones who deserve to make big money. The secret to long survival is never talent; it's principles engraved in your bones.