3M's Run May Not Stick

This column was originally published on RealMoney on Oct. 26 at 8:32 a.m. EDT. It's being republished as a bonus for TheStreet.com readers.

As many of you know by now, we recently acquired two poodle puppies and my education with them mirrors what many of you are going through (or went through) with your trading education. The trick, I believe, is to know where you are on the learning curve, so you know best how to proceed.

Phase 1: You pick up one or two things and you think you know it all. That pretty much described many "traders" from 1998 through 2000.

Phase 2: You realize you don't know that much, so you start getting knowledge any way you can: books, the Internet, seminars, etc. Every time you learn something new, you think, "That's the answer!" ...