Mastering Mindset, Methods & Markets: Key Lessons from Gary Stone for Self-Directed Investors
Roger Ruzzier
Markets move quickly, headlines change daily and there’s always another “hot” idea competing for your attention. For self-directed investors, the challenge isn’t just knowing what to buy, it’s having a framework that keeps your decisions clear, consistent and aligned with your long-term goals.
That’s why I partnered with Gary Stone, founder of Share Wealth Systems, for a four-part livestream series on our YouTube channel: Mastering Mindset, Methods & Markets. As a Relationship Manager at Selfwealth, and speaking to thousands of self-directed clients over the years, I recognised that many traders and investors go in blindfolded. That’s why, in this series, we explored mindset, market context, portfolio design and trading process, and how they fit together to support investors’ success in the long term.
Below, we’ve summarised the key ideas from each episode, with links to watch the full sessions on demand if you’d like to go deeper. You can also find details of an exclusive offer from Gary, available to Selfwealth clients who want to explore his rules-based trading approach in more depth.
Lesson 1: Mindset and execution matter more than forecasts
The first episode tackled a common belief:
“If I can analyse the markets, I can make money.”
Gary’s view is that this belief fails because it blends two very different activities:
Analysis – everything that happens before you place a trade: studying charts, indicators, news and price action. It’s flexible and intellectual.
Execution – everything that happens after you place a trade: following your rules, managing risk and closing positions while money is on the line.
Many traders spend far more time on analysis than on the mental skills required to execute consistently.
Why forecasting doesn’t create consistency
Gary also drew a distinction between forecasting and objective decision-making. Markets are complex and can’t be predicted with precision. An over-reliance on forecasts can sometimes lead traders into patterns such as:
trying to be right rather than following their rules
seeking confirmation for an existing view
protecting the ego when a trade moves against them
avoiding short-term discomfort instead of accepting normal risk.
The result is often inconsistent decisions – not because the analysis was wrong, but because execution drifted away from the plan.
The five mental skills traders need to develop
Gary outlined five mental skills that support consistent execution:
Acceptance of risk – fully acknowledging that losses, drawdowns and uncertainty are a normal part of trading, not something to be avoided at all costs.
Objectivity – defining clear, non-negotiable rules so decisions aren’t continually re-argued in the heat of the moment.
Trust – trusting a tested edge and set of rules even when short-term outcomes are uncomfortable.
Confidence – confidence in your ability to follow the plan, rather than confidence in any single prediction.
Consistency – the outcome of practising the first four skills until your behaviour becomes stable across different conditions.
These skills are developed through structured practice and repetition, much like any other professional discipline.
Lesson 2: Use long-term market cycles as your backdrop
In the second episode, Gary zoomed out from individual trades to look at long-term market cycles using almost a century of data.
Rather than trying to time every short-term move, the focus was on recognising broader patterns that repeat over time – long bull and bear markets, major expansions and contractions, and the way they interact with inflation, interest rates and valuations.
Key ideas included:
Adopting a multi-decade perspective – understanding that markets tend to move in long waves, not straight lines.
Identifying the phase of the cycle – using that phase as a backdrop for expected returns and volatility, rather than reacting to every headline.
Aligning strategy to life stage – combining where markets are in the cycle with where you are in your own financial journey, so risk and return expectations make sense for your timeframe.
The practical message: let long-term cycles and your personal time horizon guide the kind of strategies you use, instead of allowing short-term noise to dictate your decisions.
Lesson 3: Structuring your portfolio with a Core & Satellite framework
With the long-term backdrop in place, Episode 3 turned to how to structure a portfolio to navigate changing market conditions.
What is the Core & Satellite framework?
The Core & Satellite approach divides your capital into two parts:
a Core portfolio – long-term holdings designed to be held through multiple cycles
a Satellite portfolio – active, higher-turnover strategies that sit around the core.
Instead of every position being treated the same way, the framework assigns each investment a clear role.
Why use it?
Gary highlighted several reasons this structure can help self-directed investors:
It creates clarity: you always know whether a position is part of your long-term foundation or a more tactical idea.
It helps manage risk: more speculative strategies are contained in the satellite, so they don’t quietly take over core capital.
It supports discipline over time: you can periodically direct profits from active strategies back into the core, steadily building long-term wealth.
The balance between core and satellite can change with your life stage and risk appetite. Earlier in your investing journey, it may make sense to have a larger satellite allocation; later, the core usually becomes more dominant.
What sits in the Core – and what sits in the Satellite?
Gary described typical components of each:
Core portfolio (long-term foundation)
broad, diversified index or sector ETFs
listed investment companies and managed funds
income or defensive assets such as bonds and cash-like holdings
other long-term investments that align with your goals and tolerance for risk.
Satellite portfolio (active strategies)
active trading in individual shares
rotating between sectors or thematic ETFs
using leveraged ETFs in a rules-based way
other tactical strategies designed to add return above the core.
The key is not the specific product, but the rules, sizing and time horizon attached to it.
Lesson 4: Turning ideas into a repeatable trading process
The final episode focused on implementation: how to turn all of this into a process you can actually follow.
Treat trading like a business
Gary suggested thinking of trading more like running a small business than placing isolated trades. That means having a written trading plan that covers:
Purpose (why) – the role trading plays alongside your other investments.
Objectives (what) – the type of returns and risk characteristics you’re aiming for.
Method (how) – clear rules for entries, exits, position sizing and risk management.
Process – the daily and weekly routines that put the method into action.
Without this structure, trading can easily drift towards instinct-driven and inconsistent behaviour.
Practice, probability and process
A major theme of the episode was skill development through practice. Gary encouraged traders to:
test rules in simulation or on historical data
start with small position sizes when going live
keep records of trades and review them in batches to see whether the plan is being followed.
He also highlighted three guiding ideas:
Repeatable behaviour – doing the same thing the same way builds skill and makes results measurable.
Probability over single outcomes – judging a method over many trades, rather than attaching too much meaning to any one result.
Process over ego – focusing on following the plan, not on proving a view right or wrong.
Drawdowns and uncomfortable periods are inevitable, even for robust systems. The question is whether your behaviour remains aligned with a sound process while they unfold.
Where to from here? Watch the series and explore Gary’s offer
Across all four episodes, a consistent thread emerged:
successful trading relies on mindset and execution, not just analysis
long-term market cycles provide an essential backdrop for expectations
a Core & Satellite structure helps keep long-term wealth building and active strategies in balance
and a documented, practised process is what turns good ideas into consistent behaviour.
If you’d like to explore these concepts in more depth, you can watch the full series on our YouTube channel. Each episode builds on the last, so watching the series in order provides the most context.
Exclusive offer for Selfwealth clients
Alongside the series, Gary is also giving Selfwealth clients an exclusive offer; now is your chance to access Share Wealth Systems' full Learn To Trade Properly program for 4 months with nothing to pay upfront.
Created and refined over 30 years, for the full 4-month experience, you’ll receive:
Full access to a rules-based mechanical trading system
Daily signals and clear, mechanical entry/exit rules
Step-by-step implementation support so you’re never confused about what to do next
Tools to build a repeatable trading process based on market principles
Training in trading execution skills and habits
The complete training program not a cut-down version.
You experience the actual program first.
At the end of the 4 months, you decide whether it’s worth paying for and continuing.
Learn more about Gary Stone’s offer for Selfwealth clients
*No Endorsement: This offer is for 4 months access to Share Wealth Systems' Learn to Trade Properly program, with no upfront payment. Selfwealth has no commercial arrangement with Share Wealth Systems regarding this series or their offer and receives no financial benefit from sign-ups. Selfwealth does not endorse, recommend, or warrant the strategies or views expressed by Share Wealth Systems. Please refer to Share Wealth Systems' disclaimer which you can view via the above link.
General advice only. This content doesn’t take into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance. Selfwealth does not warrant that future forecasts are guaranteed to occur. Selfwealth does not endorse, recommend, or warrant the strategies or views expressed by Share Wealth Systems.
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