If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?

I've asked myself this question a lot lately.  Having missed cashing in on the dot-com bubble and also missed cashing out before the precipitous collapse of 2008, what was I thinking?  Over the years of managing our personal investments with a goal of financial security and eventual retirement -- while it was relatively easy to maintain awareness of my motivations, plan trade entries and exits scientifically, and manage money carefully -- it seems that in the grand scheme of things, I blew it.  In my case, I discovered that getting into something (with due consideration) was always easier than getting out.  This particular flaw caused me to delay acting decisively ("Get out NOW!) when the bottom dropped out.  "Live and learn" doesn't seem very comforting at the moment.