As we all grow our investing skills, there are several investing rules that I follow. After thinking about these rules for a while, it occurred to me that these would be great principles to apply to our everyday lives, especially our business lives.

Here’s what I came up with:

1. Quit while you’re ahead. This could also be stated as “all things in moderation,” but it is very important to take some profits before the luck runs out and things turn south. Take John Elway for example, retiring after winning back-to-back Superbowls as well as Superbowl MVP.
    
2. Respect the markets. Usually, when you are in the gutter, this is a very easy principle to remember. It’s when we start catching a break that we begin to think that we know everything and that we are in complete control of things. WRONG! The best way to stay on top is to constantly respect the markets and stay humble.
    
3. Take a break. This is one rule we can all relate to. Finding ourselves completely exhausted and burnt out from work really takes a toll on the quality of work we produce. Prevent this by taking a couple days off to sleep a little more, get a fresh perspective on things, and do some reading to improve your life.
    
4. Never stop learning. I know this can be a hard one to do with all the work that has to be done, but never underestimate the power of reading a chapter in a book or checking up on things online. By continuing your education throughout your life, you can always improve the quality of your life and get better and better at everything you do.
    
5. Learn from your mistakes. If you never take the time to learn from your mistakes, you will continue to make those same mistakes. If you make a mistake, take the time to analyze what happened and how you could have changed the outcome. This is very simple, but when you are incredibly busy, it isn’t hard to skip over this vital process. 

These are just several of the many principles that you can incorporate into your life. If you have any others, please share them!