"Nobody ever lost money taking a profit. It is one thing to make money and another thing to keep it. In fact, making money is often easier than keeping it." There is an old saying that you can make a profit as a bull or bear but never a pig. Baruch is also saying once you take a profit it can be hard not to spend it. The more you spend the more you feel pressure to push the edge of the envelope which can lead to mistakes. I’ve never found that more expensive stuff makes you any happier.
"When beggars and shoeshine boys, barbers and beauticians can tell you how to get rich it is time to remind yourself that there is no more dangerous illusion than the belief that one can get something for nothing." There is a big difference between investing and speculating. Investors are focused on value whereas speculators are focused on how the changing psychology of large numbers of people impacts price. In order to buy a stock at a discount to value you must do the work. Of course, if it is not work but fun to understand businesses then you have what Warren Buffett likes so much- something that is both profitable and fun.
https://25iq.com/2016/05/07/a-dozen-things-ive-learned-from-bernard-baruch-about-investing/
