Nicholas Darvas - the path of a recognized dancer to recognition on Walt Street

Nicolas Darvas is a prime example of a self-taught individual who managed to cement his name in the history of the stock market. He is the author of five renowned books , all of which have been translated into Russian.

Anyone who has read his personal books can certainly say that there is no boring or incomprehensible terminology there, and all the information about his success and achievements is an autobiography that is read in one breath.

However, Darvas is famous not for his books, but for his astonishing stock trading results, which few can boast. The story of Nicolas Darvas's success will be relatable to those traders who strive to achieve success on their own, step by step.

Nicolas Darvas was born in Romania back in 1920. Little is known about his childhood and youth; all that is known is that he graduated from the University of Economics in Bucharest.

Since childhood, Nicholas and his sister were very good at dancing, so a successful career as a dancer was on the horizon, and financial matters were a secondary priority.

However, with the onset of the Second World War, Nikolos was forced to flee his country. To do so, he acquired forged documents and first migrated to Turkey with his family, before moving to the United States in search of stability.

First acquaintance with shares

Upon arriving in the United States, Nicolas Darvas fully realized his talent. While this talent was far from marketable, his remarkable dancing ability allowed him to earn thousands of dollars. Forming a duo with his sister, Nicolas became the highest-paid dancer in the United States and spent years touring.

One day, one of the club owners offered to pay him with stock for a future performance at the restaurant. Nicholas was unfamiliar with stocks, so all he knew was that stocks could rise as well as fall in value. However, after consulting with his financial advisor, Nicholas was persuaded to perform.

However, Nicholas simply couldn't show up on the scheduled date due to health reasons, so to preserve his reputation, he decided to offer to buy back the shares. The client was satisfied with this solution, and the deal went through.

One day, while strolling down the street, after a long time, he decided to inquire about the value of his assets. Nicholas was pleasantly surprised to learn that his fee had risen from three thousand dollars to eight thousand in such a short time. This moment became a turning point for Nicholas Darvas, who decided to invest his accumulated capital in stocks.

First Deals: The Fool's Way

Nikolaos had virtually no idea about stock investing. So he resorted to rumors and inquiries. His line of work often required him to speak to wealthy individuals. So, whenever he could, he'd always ask various wealthy individuals which stocks were worth investing in. 

Actually, listening to various rumors from fairly wealthy people, Nicholas begins to buy various shares, and, as he himself said in his autobiography, he did not even understand which companies he was investing in.

After unsuccessful attempts to work with rumors and more successful, wealthy clients, he decided to delve deeper into the matter. To do this, he found a successful speculator recommended by all his clients and contacted him.

When he entered the broker's , he was immediately immersed in the world of statistics and fundamental analysis. Seeing the companies' positive performance, he quickly invested. In fact, disappointment awaited him here, too, so he realized he finally needed to think with his head.

Healthy thoughts that lead to success

Nicholas began actively analyzing his trades, studying stock market literature in depth, and conducting his first experiments. It became clear that most trades based on rumors, statistics, and news were disastrous for him.

However, technical analysis yielded more promising results, so he gradually came to the development of a universal approach. From then on, Darvas saw the market as consisting of so-called boxes or ranges, the breakouts of which should be traded.

The technical analysis method developed by Nicholas Darvas allowed him to turn his initial capital of $36,000 into two million, after which he decided to retire and pursue a safer, more traditional business. Having written a number of successful books, Nicholas passed away at the age of 57.