Mark Minervini on discipline

Other than selling stocks short, I don’t know of any long-side method that works that great in a bear market. Very few stocks, even value stocks, can survive the wrath of a true bear decline.

The best leading stocks generally see their big performance a year or two into a bull market. I focus on those stocks in order to make a huge return in a relative short period of time. There is no need to be in the market all the time; in fact, I think there is grave danger in doing so. It’s like going out on a boat trip: you want to go out when the sky is blue and the seas are calm. Sure, you could stay out there and brave a hurricane and there would be a chance you’d make it through, but why would you want to do that, and how many times would you survive those conditions?