{"id":39959,"date":"2026-05-22T23:56:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T15:56:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/?p=39959"},"modified":"2026-05-23T17:13:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T09:13:37","slug":"select-stock-by-yourself","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/05\/22\/select-stock-by-yourself\/","title":{"rendered":"Select stock by yourself, average person should not"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_83 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #ffffff;color:#ffffff\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/05\/22\/select-stock-by-yourself\/#Select_stock_by_yourself_is_too_difficult\" >Select stock by yourself is too difficult<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/05\/22\/select-stock-by-yourself\/#Character_is_paramount\" >Character is paramount<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/05\/22\/select-stock-by-yourself\/#Most_investors_shouldt_do_active_investing\" >Most investors should&#8217;t do active investing<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/05\/22\/select-stock-by-yourself\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/05\/22\/select-stock-by-yourself\/#Related_articles\" >Related articles<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Select_stock_by_yourself_is_too_difficult\"><\/span>Select stock by yourself is too difficult<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In my latest book, <em>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/08\/26\/investors-beautiful-heaven\/\">Investors Beautiful Heaven<\/a>&#8220;<\/em>, I devoted a significant portion to presenting numerous facts, statistics, and my own thirty years of experience\u2014the conclusion being that &#8220;most investors&#8221; are not suited for active investing; in other words, self-selecting stocks will only lead to the loss of your hard-earned money. Detailed arguments, facts, and statistics will not be repeated here; please refer to the book for more information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Of course, I know that most people disagree with this view; but this is the main reason why only a very small number of investors succeed, and why only a minority make big money in the stock market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, for the vast majority of investors, the difficulty of self-selecting stocks is simply too high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Character_is_paramount\"><\/span>Character is paramount<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Warren Buffett often says that emotional control and a long-term perspective are more important than IQ or how hard you work. Gladwell\u2019s \u201c10,000-hour rule\u201d focuses on <em>skill accumulation<\/em>, but Buffett\u2019s philosophy focuses on <em>behavioral consistency<\/em>.<br>He once said:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>\u201cSuccess in investing doesn\u2019t correlate with IQ once you\u2019re above the level of 125. What you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Most_investors_shouldt_do_active_investing\"><\/span>Most investors should&#8217;t do active investing<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are three main reasons why the vast majority of people should not participate in the stock market through active investing, meaning that most investors are not suited to self-selecting stocks:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Stock market investing is a highly specialized field.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Only a very small number of people are personality-suited to the stock market and will succeed; and personality is ultimately the most important factor determining your success.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Most people are unwilling or unable to dedicate more time each day than an eight-hour workday to researching fundamental investment work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Unless you are willing to dedicate the same amount of time as a regular job to active investing, have a strong grasp of a particular industry in your area of \u200b\u200bexpertise, and have a suitable personality; if all three conditions are met simultaneously, I personally believe that the odds of success with individual stock investing are relatively high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Buffett acknowledges the importance of luck, timing, and environment\u2014for example, being born into a capitalist society, studying under Benjamin Graham, and having early access to investment opportunities. However, the book <em>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Outliers-Story-Success-Malcolm-Gladwell\/dp\/0316017930\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Outliers: The Story of Success&#8221;<\/a><\/em> simplifies practice equals success&#8221; into a simplistic formula, ignoring these subtle differences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"90\" height=\"119\" src=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/03\/Select_stock_by_yourself-Custom.jpg\" alt=\"select stock by yourself\n\" class=\"wp-image-39962\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Related_articles\"><\/span>Related articles<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2026\/05\/22\/select-stock-by-yourself\/\">Select stock by yourself, average person should not<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/11\/14\/power-of-index-etf\/\">The power of index ETFs underestimated<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/08\/11\/a-table-comparing-index\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A table comparing S&amp;P 500, Nasdaq, Dow Jones, Philadelphia Semiconductor Index over the years since its inception and annualized returns<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/07\/25\/stock-worth-holding-forever\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Investors should care annualized rate of return (IRR), How to calculate?<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/12\/04\/u-should-invest-etfs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Most investors should invest ETFs tracking broader market<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/02\/08\/etfs-tracking-us-market\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">US issued ETFs tracking US market is your best bet<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/12\/13\/top-10-etfs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Top 10 ETFs and important major US stock market index<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/07\/10\/etf-regulations\/\">Consequences of Index Fund and ETF Regulations and Restrictions<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/12\/29\/procter-gamble-pg\/\">Stocks Better than the S&amp;P 500, Procter &amp; 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great finding on 10000 hours<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/02\/20\/statistics-can-be-deceiving\/\">Statistics can be deceiving<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2022\/05\/04\/investor-temperament\/\">The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect&#8221;<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2025\/05\/11\/memory\/\">Memory is an edge to investment success<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2023\/02\/26\/personality-impact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Personality has a decisive impact on investment success or failure<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/05\/17\/investors-disc-test\/\">Investors&#8217; DISC test to assess your traits<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/2021\/08\/31\/circle-of-competence\/\">The importance of circle of competence<\/a>&#8220;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Disclaimer<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><em>The content of this site is the author\u2019s personal opinions and is for reference only. I am not responsible for the correctness, opinions, and immediacy of the content and information of the article. Readers must make their own judgments.<\/em><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><em>I shall not be liable for any damages or other legal liabilities for the direct or indirect losses caused by the readers&#8217; direct or indirect reliance on and reference to the information on this site, or all the responsibilities arising therefrom, as a result of any investment behavior.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Select stock by yourself is too difficult because it&#8217;s extremely difficult. You won&#8217;t succeed at something you&#8217;re not good at, no matter how hard you try. What you need to do is find your own path to success.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,392,66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-etf","category-circle-of-competence","category-successful-investor-traits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39959"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":42343,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39959\/revisions\/42343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.granitefirm.com\/blog\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}