Early Success Sets Up Next Lesson: Check Ego.(THE SMART INVESTOR)(IBD INVESTOR PROFILE)

Byline: JONAH KERI

In 1997, John Ritacca started an office pension plan for himself and his staff. Shopping for brand names, the Medford, Ore., dentist tapped six tech titans for himself and his office: Cisco Systems, Dell Computer, Microsoft, Gateway, Intel and Lucent Technologies.

Perfect timing for Ritacca's wallet. Investors' thirst for techs launched his picks to dizzying heights. Within three years, Dell zoomed more than 800%, Cisco 600%.

Crummy timing for his ego. Ritacca's early success fueled what became his greatest weakness: greed. As the market kicked into overdrive in early 2000, Ritacca's wife suggested he start taking profits. They had more than enough money to pay off their house and her car, she hinted.

Instead, Ritacca let it ride. Bad move. He lost 40% of his portfolio in the last 20 months.

"The issue is, when is enough enough?" said Ritacca, 51. "That's the challenge. There's no question you can make money, it's just a matter of whether you can be satisfied with what you're making."

The March 2000 top and subsequent bear market forced Ritacca to change his approach. A 10-year IBD subscriber, he's only recently begun learning the paper's core tenets.