Oh, so you wanna make money, eh?

I recently read this list of advice given by a mathematician, Peter. With his permission, I am reposting it because it made me wonder how much of it is true, and, well, don't we all wanna know "the secret??" (At least this is free of charge, unlike the Suze Orman crap, right?)

Well, please feel free to comment, as I want to know what you think of how much of this is applicable.
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Here are a few rules of thumb for spotting opportunities to make money:
1. Don't lose money.
2. Don't take big risks. I have heard many people say you have to to make money, but none of these people actually had any (nor do I). People who make a lot of money sometimes seem to be taking risks to others, because they knew something others did not.
3. Reject without examination any opportunity brought to you by somebody else. It is in their interest, not yours. This goes double for pyramid schemes, where you recruit others into business rather than sell the product.
4. Avoid following the crowd in booms and busts. People buy when others buy, sell when others sell. Thus, they buy high and sell low--a formula for poverty. This happens a lot in real estate, where the bubble just burst. To buy low and sell high you may have to go against the trend.
5. Do your own research and find out something other people don't know, then go with that.
6. Avoid doing things you don't like. Most people, for example, hate selling real estate; they can't make money that way. A few people love it and do well. It is not true that if you do what you love the money will follow--only sometimes (how many poor actors or writers are there?). But if you do something you dislike, you will fail.
7. Save. There's a book "The millionaire next door" that describes how frugal most American millionaires are.
8. Get assets that earn money but are not too risky.
9. If you can be a middleman when large sums of money change hands, and you get a cut, you will have money. Stockbrokers do this.
10. If there's a gold rush, don't prospect for gold. Instead, open a general store and sell supplies to the prospectors.