Quotes from "Trading for a Living" by Alexander Elder and my love for trading

“The market does not know you exist. You can do nothing to influence it. You can only control your behavior.”
“The ocean does not care about your welfare, but it has no wish to hurt you either. You may feel joy on a sunny day, when a gentle wind pushes your sailboat where you want it to go. You may feel panic on a stormy day when the ocean pushes your boat toward the rocks. Your feelings about the ocean exist only in your mind.” 


“A sailor cannot control the ocean, but he can control himself. He studies currents and weather patterns. He learns safe sailing techniques and gains experience. He knows when to sail and when to stay in the harbor.”
“When joy sweeps you off your feet, you will make irrational trades and lose. When fear grips you, you’ll miss profitable trades. A professional trader uses his head and stays calm. Only amateurs become excited or depressed because of their trades.”
I still need to control my emotions, thus I am still an amateur trader. No matter how much I try to pretend to myself to not get excited or fearful, its impossible. You just cant lie to yourself… This is the one other skill I need to work on psychology wise. 
On a side note I would like to share with you what attracts me about trading
1.Freedom- The freedom to earn your own money, with no bosses telling you what to do. The freedom to choose your own hours, the freedom for great profits if done right. The freedom to work from anywhere in the world, which will go very well with my dream of backpacking around the world.
2. Puzzle/Game- I have always loved games as a kid. I always tried to be the best at any game and would go through endless strategies to have the best hand. Solving puzzles also brings out some kind of intellectual orgasm.The only downside was that as time went by, these games such as pokemon and Yugioh would become “unpopular” and no one would want to play it anymore. By not having any other players to play with, you also have to stop playing…..But I don’t think this will happen with markets =] 
3. Truth- To trade markets, you need to be a truth seeker.  You need to have the stamina to take the truth, regardless of how much it distorts your perceived reality. 

4. Despise Mainstream- In my childhood, I would only do what everyone was doing. I would try to wear what everyone was wearing and do the same as everyone…However in my teenage years after my parents divorced…although a sad situation…it allowed me to really think and wake up from the illusion. I started to hate the mainstream and found so many beautiful things from the underground. Whether it be music, fashion, politics….I became in love with the underground… It was almost as if I found a whole new world that had so much more soul….  And when certain artists would go from underground to mainstream, they all sell out and their music usually starts to show.  How does this apply to trading??  It gives you the power to completely ignore fundamentals and to trade what you see. The academia at my undergrad all think Technical Analysis is voodoo but that is exactly why they will forever be in their mainstream bubble trading on fundamentals and news.  Despising mainstream gives you the ability to be a contrarian and to be able to be a black sheep that is content with himself regardless of what everyone else is doing. And when you find another black sheep, you almost evolve.