Trading is all about winning through self-discipline and losing through impulsiveness.

Last month, I brought in a friend who was new to the market. He started with 1200U, and in less than two months, his account peaked at 21,000U, but then he took a huge hit right after. This whole experience made me rethink a lot of things.

When he first came to me, he had already blown up his account twice in a row. The typical newbie path: following signals blindly, aping into any coin rumored to have potential, and within half a month, he lost almost all his principal—even put his rent money in. The more he lost, the more he wanted to make it back, and the more impatient he got, the more mistakes he made.

At that time, I set three rules for him—rules I’ve developed myself over the years for survival.

**Rule 1: Separate your funds, don’t put all your eggs in one basket**

With 1200U, I told him to split it into three parts: 400U for short-term testing, 500U to keep on the sidelines for new opportunities, and 300U as untouchable "lifeline money."

For the short-term portion, take profit at just 4% and get out—don’t get greedy. At first, he thought this approach was too slow. Later, after seeing some people in the group go all in and blow up their accounts in one shot, he finally understood what I meant by "the crypto space isn’t about who runs the fastest, it’s about who stands the longest."

**Rule 2: If you don’t understand the market, stay out**

"When the market is moving sideways, no matter how itchy your hands are, hold back and wait for a clear signal."

There was a time when SOL was consolidating at a certain price for almost ten days. He wanted to get in several times, but I stopped him. We waited until the day it broke out with high volume, then jumped in and made 20% on one trade. That’s when he realized that sometimes, doing nothing is the best move.

**Rule 3:**

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