Back when I first began investing I built a strategy that I believed (and still do) could make me the most money, and best fit my investing style. It was a mash-up of the many investing strategies and concepts I had read in books and researched before putting my hard earned money to work in the markets. It was developed with no personal investing experience, but was based on the ideas and concepts of professional, successful, experienced investors. I had $5,000 at the time and my goal was to turn it into $1,000,000. The strategy was built on a set of rules that would help me minimize risk and stay focused on the baby steps towards my end goal. I called the strategy "The 6% Solution".

Fast-forward to today, and not only have I not reached that goal, but I was never able to successfully implement the strategy. The problem lies with what I consider to be the most important and difficult part of investing, discipline. The strategy would have worked as long as I stuck to the plan and focused on my goal. It turns out that was extremely difficult and boring. I found myself chasing the big winners, taking bigger risks and essentially attempting to prove my rules wrong.

I spent the last few years avoiding discipline only to learn that you simply cannot be a successful investor without it. So here is my pledge to being a disciplined investor:

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I will review my investing strategy before every trading day.
I will never break the rules of my strategy under any circumstance.
I will not let the excitement of the market interfere with my strategy.
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Remember, it is not so much the strategy. In fact, you can change and develop the strategy if need be, It is sticking to the strategy that counts. For an example of a strategy, check out the one that I use. The 6% Solution.