You have to find individuals who have a curious blend of ego. You clearly need to have people who have a very strong self-confidence, who have a very strong ego. In some cases, you’ll find individuals who manifest that as a kind of arrogance which can rub people the wrong way at times. Sometimes that arrogance can be very important because, after all, you are going to be a loser more often than you’re right. And if you have to have that arrogance or courage, then that’s alright.
However, it is not courageous to say, ’I am going to make this one big bet even though everyone else says I am wrong.’ That is the home-run scenario and that is not what we are talking about. We are talking about the courage and self-confidence and ego not just to go against the crowd but to be wrong, a lot.
– Alpesh Patel, The Mind of a Trader