21 Things I’ve Learned as an Investor Over 21 Years

Approximately 21 years ago, when I turned 18, I dove headfirst into the investing world. But before that, I knew very little about investing... other than the fact that this Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) stock always seemed to go up.

My love for the market was fueled by a government/economics class I took as a senior in high school. With zero personal knowledge of the stock market, my classmates and I were enrolled in the Stock Market Game 2000 by our teacher. Rather than diversify, I chose to bet all of my fictitious money on a company called Oregon Metallurgical, which supplied titanium products to Boeing (NYSE: BA), a company I'd heard of maybe once or twice in my short life. Two months into the contest, Allegheny Teledyne purchased Oregon Metallurgical for what I recall was a greater than 80% premium. When I realized I could do this with real money, I was hooked, and I couldn't wait to turn 18 to begin investing with cold, hard cash.

While investing, for me, has largely been a success, it's not been without its educational moments. Here are 21 things I've learned over the past 21 years as an investor.