[BayMoWe335]

I've made some quick/easy money on XOM, V, CSCO, VZ, DIS, BAC, GLD, WFC, RIG, BP, LVS, YHOO, HPQ, AAPL, and others. I enjoy investing and have very black/white rules to keep emotion out of trading. I make 20-25%, I take some or all off the table. I also separate my short and long term investing strategies. Sometimes, I take it off the table even sooner (maybe at 10%). That hurts when the stocks you were in keep going up after you sell, but protects you from being too piggish and losing your profits. You have to stay zen about the whole thing and remember any profit is good. You also need to know when to admit you're wrong, unless you can hold for a long, long time.

A word of warning: This market has been extremely bullish for the last 6 or so months. It was even better from about Mar09 to Mar10; everything was up. Dipped a little, now same story. Basically every company made you money if you were long, so it would appear you are a genius stock picker during those times. Be careful. This market has run up a lot and might even run up more. I am struggling with the prospect of getting too deep in at these levels because a pullback seems to be imminent. Not a crash, but maybe a 10% pullback. I am roughly 50% in and 50% out at the moment. The above companies are examples of solid, large companies that had success in the past and were beaten down during the last recession. You just have to have confidence they'll turn it around and become great again. Many of the above did just that.