Discipline and patience often matter more than luck.

Some time ago, a friend working in the crypto space came to me and talked about the recent altcoin market. He looked particularly exhausted and said, "My account now only has 2000U left, I've been messed around so badly." This guy isn't a newbie in the crypto world; he’s studied technical analysis and put in effort. But once he starts trading, he can't control himself—when the market rises, he rushes in; when it falls, he gets scared and runs out. His emotions get the best of him, and in a single day, he can lose two or three thousand dollars, leaving his account battered.

He chuckled self-deprecatingly: "If I keep playing like this, I’m afraid I’ll have to leave this market for good."

I didn’t say much and just replied, "The 2000U you have now isn’t for making a comeback; it’s for survival. This isn’t a desperate gamble like a gambler, but the initial capital for a professional trader."

At the time, he thought I was joking. But a few months later? His account grew from 2000U to 140,000U. There’s no legendary overnight wealth story—just a set of simple principles that most people overlook.

**01 Learning not to trade is already winning**

The biggest problem with my friend, frankly, is FOMO—fear of missing out on any opportunity.

He gets itchy at every price fluctuation, afraid to miss a chance. The result? Chasing highs and getting hurt, cutting losses and developing psychological shadows. His principal shrinks little by little through frequent trades.

My first advice to him was: stay out of the market and observe. When the trend isn’t clear, don’t act. Doing nothing seems simple, but in reality, it tests one’s mental strength. Overcoming the impulse to "must participate" and avoiding trades without certainty—that’s real skill.

In a downtrend market, many retail traders simply can’t do this. They’re used to constant trading, as if not trading makes them uncomfortable. Frequent entries and exits, constant trial and error, and their accounts gradually shrink amid this restless activity.

He later gradually understood this: not all fluctuations are worth participating in, and not every opportunity needs to be seized. Sometimes, the biggest gain comes from doing nothing. It sounds counterintuitive, but in practice, it really works.

**02 Waiting + choosing > frequent trading**

True experts often appear very relaxed. They spend a lot of time observing, learning, and thinking, and only act at the right moment. Conversely, those whose accounts are shrinking are usually busy every day—trading daily, always thinking they can make it back this time.

This is a difference in mindset. One trades for the result; the other trades just for trading.

My friend later changed his strategy. He set some strict rules for himself:

- Don’t enter a position without a clear technical signal
- Before entering, plan the risk points and set stop-losses
- When emotional fluctuations occur, decisively refrain from making decisions

It sounds simple, but very few can truly stick to it. Most people understand these principles but can’t resist market temptations.

In a few months, he grew from 2000U to 140,000U—not because he made a huge winning trade, but because he accumulated small, steady gains over time. No sensational story, just plain execution.

**03 The market is always there**

The biggest psychological pressure in crypto is the panic that "if I miss this one, there will never be another chance." But the truth is, opportunities are never only once. Mainstream coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum are always volatile. Altcoins also offer continuous opportunities—so long as the market exists, trading opportunities will always be there.

The real risk isn’t missing out; it’s impulsively risking what you already have. Preserving your principal is more important than anything else.

My friend is now very calm. He says his biggest takeaway isn’t how much his account has grown, but that he finally understands: trading is fundamentally a game of probabilities. You don’t need a very high win rate; as long as you can control your hands, avoid big mistakes, over time, small wins will accumulate into big results.

Discipline and patience—these two are more valuable than anything else.