Market analysis, also known as fundamental analysis; trading strategy, also known as trading system.

A lot of people mistakenly believe that market analysis is the same as trading strategy, and that is not correct. To put it bluntly, the former is about discussing grand geopolitical events, while the latter asks: do you have an army?

Fundamental analysis is precisely about discussing the broader landscape—how Cao Cao is acting, what Yuan Shao is doing, Yuan Shu’s latest moves, or how Sun Ce mortgaged his troops by pawning the imperial seal. What does all that have to do with actually commanding a specific battle? Nothing.

So what guides your day-to-day investing decisions? Your trading strategy. A trading strategy does not rely on grand geopolitical trends; if it did, I wouldn’t be an investor—I’d be a gambler.

If you guess right, you win big. But if you guess wrong, do you lose everything? What kind of investing is that? That’s not investing; it’s gambling.

A trading strategy is nothing more than a simple habit: when such-and-such condition is met, you do such-and-such thing. It’s mechanical, like a robot.