As Jesse Livermore said: “Trading is not a game for the stupid, the mentally lazy, the person of inferior emotional balance, or for the get-rich-quick adventurer.” In other words, to excel in the stock market, you have to work hard, have emotional control, and develop confidence in your strategy. I constantly get asked to recommend books that can help with these areas of trading. There are so many good ones out there, but here are a few that I suggest.
(If you click on the titles, you can get a more detailed description from Amazon.com).
How to Make Money in Stocks (4th Edition), William O’Neil
How to Trade in Stocks, Jesse Livermore
Reminiscences of a Stock Operator, Edwin Lefevre
The Disciplined Trader, Mark Douglas
Trading in the Zone, Mark Douglas
Trader Vic-Methods of a Wall Street Master, Victor Sperandeo
Trader Vic II-Principles of Professional Speculation, Victor Sperandeo
How I Made $2,000,000 in the Stock Market, Nicolas Darvas
The Battle for Investment Survival, Gerald Loeb
Confessions of a Street Addict, James Cramer
There are 3 Market Wizards books all written by Jack Schwager:
Market Wizards
The New Market Wizards
Stock Market Wizards
Confidence and emotional control are extremely important in order to become a successful trader. I believe the ideas taught in the following “self-help” books can help develop that “mental toughness” that’s needed. The concepts learned can also be applied to many areas of our lives:
Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
You’ll See It When You Believe It, Dr. Wayne Dyer
The Power of Positive Thinking, Norman Vincent Peale
The Magic of Thinking Big, David Schwartz
Awaken the Giant Within, Anthony Robbins
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rssSuccess
Success does not come from having one’s work recognised by others. It is the fruit of the seed that you lovingly planted.
When harvest time arrives, you can say to yourself: ‘I succeeded.’
You succeeded in gaining respect for your work because you did not work only to survive, but to demonstrate your love for others.
You managed to finish what you began, even though you did not foresee all the traps along the way. And when your enthusiasm waned because of the difficulties you encountered, you reached for discipline. And when discipline seemed about to disappear because you were tired, you used your moments of repose to think about what steps you needed to take in the future.
You were not paralyzed by the defeats that are inevitable in the lives of those who take risks. You didn’t sit agonising over what you lost when you had an idea that didn’t work.
You didn’t stop when you experienced moments of glory, because you had not yet reached your goal.
And when you have to ask for help, you did not feel humiliated. And when you learned that someone needed help, you showed them all that you had learned, without fearing that you might be revealing secrets or being used by others.
To him who knocks, the door will open.
He who asks will receive.
He who consoles knows that he will be consoled.
You Have To Find What You Love
This is the most inspirational speech I have ever heard. I know many of you want to be full time traders but somehow miss the courage to try it.
Yes, trading is hard at the beginning, some of you don`t have what it takes to be a great professional trader, but…the question I ask you is, “Do you want to be asking yourself this question for the rest of your life and wonder how it would have been?…”
Listen to this magnificent speech from Steve Jobs. It can be a life changer for you:
Just Be Yourself
Just be yourself when you trade the markets… it will eventually lead you to success: Imagine, you are in the school yard again – set to impress that girl or guy you liked. You go up to them, pretending to be something you’re not. You may fool them the first or second time. But in the long term, can you keep up the act? Can you keep living being someone you’re not? It’s the same in the stock markets. Each one of us has different financial situations and goals. You cannot take the same level of risks that I take, and I wouldn’t take the same risks you would take. If you cannot be true to yourself in the markets you will find it harder to find your niche.
Just be yourself when you trade. Don’t pretend to be some high flyer risk taker if you can’t afford to risk that amount. The principle also works conversely. If you are a risk taker in real life, but are a chicken at trading – you will eventually get bored of trading. Of course, that assumes that you can afford to take that risk and that you have a trading plan complete with stop losses. Part of being true to yourself trading the stock markets is not to let the markets take control of you and your time. You must make a choice which trading time frame (intraday, end of day trading, long term trading) makes you comfortable, and stick to it. Some people may trade all three types – it’s their choice – it’s your choice. It depends if you are a multi-tasker or not. Just be yourself in the stock markets to stay true to yourself and your trading.
Trading Thought
Found this to be true as well
Don't be fooled
Think you can you will
Trading success is a process. Not a straight line up.
Believe it or not, this is a pencil sketch
