If your goal is to have a well diversified mix of assets, ETFs let you do this simply and cheaply. No need to trust anyone's stock picks either. Of course, you'll miss out on the stock-specific gains, but you'll also miss out on the stock-specific losses. For many investors, that's a worthwhile tradeoff.

Create a portfolio and paper trade using my step-by step instructions and investment guidelines. When you get comfortable, open an account and reap the benefits of self-directing your investments. It's easy and you will appreciate to have taken your financial future into you own hands - I know, I did!

Don't swing for the fences or put it all on red. Never, ever let one trade determine your profit and loss for the year, don't put your capital at risk. In most cases, margin should be avoided and “doubling down” a bad trade is a sucker's bet. Most times it just pays to take the loss and move on. The good thing about being a trader is that every day there are new opportunities to make money. Just make sure you can stay in the game.

When the market is bad, it's time to be more cautious. It sounds obvious, but when the market is below key moving averages, unless that trade looks really enticing, it is probably better to sit on your hands.

Most times you won't find the perfect entry or exit, so don't worry about it. Many traders waste too much energy looking for that perfect trade. What I like to do is “partial buy and partial sell,” that is, when a stock looks good, buy some and you can average up and down as warranted. When you have a gain, you can take profits on the way up or down likewise.

Keep your emotions in check. Don't get too up when things are going well and too down when you hit a bad streak. If trading were easy, it would be called winning, not trading. It's important to keep your emotions in check on a daily basis to grind it out longer term.

Don't get caught up in guruism or CNBCitis. We all like to both hear and give predictions and prognostications about next week, next month, next year or next decade, but that doesn't help the trader make money. All it does is possibly freeze your decision-making process when there is a trade to be made. The market will tell you when to be bullish or bearish, not some loudmouth in the media.

Invest for success, anything that can lead you to trade better is vital. Trading is hard enough with all the proper tools at your disposal. Buy a comfortable chair, get as many screens as you need, buy enough memory for that computer, deal with a reliable online brokerage firm, and occasionally review your investment strategy and maybe refine it to meet your trading preferences.

Take breaks. Trading is very stressful on both the body and mind. Sitting in one place staring at six screens for hours on end is not easy on the eyes or back, so take frequent walks and stretch. It's also good sometimes just to get away from trading for a while to rejuvenate yourself, so don't be afraid to take that vacation. The market will be there when you get back.