The first step in trading is not learning how to make money, but learning how to control risk.

Many people have been trading for years without learning to manage risk; controlling risk allows you to survive, and only by surviving do you have the chance to make money.
Most bankruptcies are caused by a lack of risk awareness, relying entirely on intuition to gamble.
Controlling risk is difficult; only after experiencing several major ups and downs can you truly understand it.