After years of navigating the crypto world, I am increasingly convinced of one principle: the people who truly make money are not the smartest, but rather the most "foolish"—foolish enough to stick to discipline and never gamble with their mindset.

I still remember when I first entered the contract market, I was fixated on leverage multiples, eyes shining. 100x, 50x, or even higher. The flickering candlesticks on the screen made my heart race, as if turning around and getting rich was just a matter of minutes. A one percent fluctuation could double the account or wipe it out. How addictive is this rush? Try it and you'll know. Unfortunately, the market eventually slapped me in the face. The principal was like ice cubes roasted by the sun, melting away rapidly.

The turning point came when I saw my friend's account. In four months, he grew his account from 3,700U to 410,000U. This isn’t a miracle story of overnight wealth, but rather a slap in the face of reality—my previous understanding of the true logic of making money was completely wrong.

**High leverage is an illusion**

At first, I couldn’t understand. Why does the amplification not only apply to gains but also to the human psyche? Under high leverage, even small market fluctuations can cut you to pieces. The crypto market has no circuit breaker mechanism, trades 24/7, and when a black swan suddenly appears, there’s no time to react.

What’s even more painful is those "long and short" double plays. Just after you stop loss, the market reverses. Just after you open a position, it suddenly turns against you. Over time, you start to suspect that the market is specifically targeting your tiny chips. Trading like this, what’s the difference from gambling?

Until I realized one thing: whether you gamble or not is entirely a mindset issue. Correcting your mindset and sticking to discipline, contract trading is actually a business, not a gamble.

**What three "foolish" principles changed**

When my friend came to me with only 3,700U left, I gave him three pieces of advice that many people mocked endlessly. The result? Using these three "foolish" principles, his account grew to 410,000U in four months.

First: Don’t chase hot topics, only eat the food on your own plate.

This is the easiest to overlook. The biggest flaw of beginners is envy. When a certain coin suddenly surges, or a track suddenly explodes, they want to jump on the bandwagon immediately. Little do they know, hot topics are like mirror gardens—look like opportunities everywhere, but in reality, full of traps. By the time you chase in, you’re often the one taking the transfer.

My friend’s approach was to select two or three coins he deeply researched and only trade within those. No matter how lively the outside market is, he sticks to his "vegetable garden." It sounds boring, but boredom is discipline, and discipline is money.

Second: Stop-loss must be executed immediately.

This is the most painful, because most people die here. When opening a position, they boast about setting a 10% stop-loss, but when it hits 15%, they still pray for a reversal. Let me tell you, the market won’t reverse because of your expectations. It will only keep hitting you in the face because of your cowardice.

Here’s how I do it: before opening a position, calculate the stop-loss and take-profit points, set them, and then don’t look at it anymore. When the time comes, the system automatically executes the trades, with no human intervention. Whether your mindset is stable or not doesn’t matter, because discipline makes the decision for you.

Third: Control risk positions, always leave yourself a chance to turn things around.

This is the easiest to overlook but the most important. Many people risk 50% of their account on a single trade, and as a result, one mistake forces them out. As for me? I only risk up to 10% of the account on a single trade. What does that mean? Even if I make five wrong trades in a row, I still have 50% of my principal left. Having capital means having a chance to turn things around—that’s the fundamental difference between professional traders and gamblers.

**Why discipline is more valuable than predictions**

The rarest thing in the crypto world is not insider information or divine predictions, but the ability to stick to discipline until the end. Look at those big influencers shouting signals every day—if their hit rate is 50%, that’s considered good. But some people, who aren’t as good at "reading the charts," make much more money. What’s the difference? It’s in trading execution.

One truth is: most people fail because of their mindset and discipline, not because of their predictions. If you misjudge the market? No problem, if you follow discipline and stop loss, your principal remains. If your mindset collapses or discipline breaks down? No matter how right your judgment is, it won’t save you, because you lack the courage to execute.

So if you’re currently messing around in the contract market, instead of obsessing over some magical indicator every day, spend time building your own trading discipline. Choose your target coins, set your stop-loss and take-profit, control your position size, and then keep executing. Sounds "foolish"? Yes. But being "foolish" enough to persist is the smartest way to live.