you can make a gambling website, promote the hell out of it, and earn steady income off of the house edge. I think its more reliable than trading; at least you know for certain that you are more statistically likely to win.
trading is definitely a lot harder than some people make it out to be. It takes a lot more practice than people think and successful traders usually have an experience mentor as well as many years of experience. You have to be really good to be able to make a steady income off of trading. buying and holding is definitely the way to go if you want to make capital gains steadily.