On Victor Niederhoffers home page, there are many good stories and arguments. I strongly advise any aspiring trader/speculator to scroll through his page once in a while. To give you one abstract, read this:

"There was a big upset in European soccer May 26 as FC Porto took the Champions League title. The most interesting aspect was the approach of their coach, Mourinho.

Before every match he feeds his computer with all the statistics of the opposing side. He and his scouts spends considerable time analyzing their opponents -- like U.S. a football team and very unlike the average European soccer team.

A defender will be told: Your direct opponent goes left 75% of the time, is left-footed, not strong in tackles, dribbles 25%, etc.

This approach is unique in soccer and the main driver behind a relatively poor Portuguese team taking on the giants of Arsenal, Real Madrid and Man. United.

Lesson:
Discipline, hard work and a firm game plan are more important than size, image."

In my opinion, discipline is the most important asset in trading. Talent and intelligence is worthless without discipline (in any speculating endeavour).