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‘Essential Qualities of the Speculator’

  
  Education
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qualities

1. Self-Reliance. A man must think for himself,must follow his own convictions. George MacDonald says: “A man cannot have another man’s ideas any more than he can another man’s soul or another man’s body.” Self-trust is the foundation of successful effort.

2. Judgment. That equipoise, that nice adjustment of the faculties one to the other,which is called good judgment, is an essential to the speculator.
3. Courage. That is, confidence to act on the decisions of the mind. In speculation there is
value in Mirabeau’s dictum: “Be bold, still be bold; always be bold.” (more…)

Courage and Trading

  
  Education
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According to Plutarch, “Courage stands halfway between cowardice and rashness…” Clearly, we don’t want to be reckless; and clearly, we don’t want to be hesitant and timid. What we need is a balance. As we go about our trading moderating our greed and our fear to a combination of healthy desire and clear minded caution, we use courage to go forward.

Courage doesn’t mean closing your eyes, holding your nose, and jumping into the deep end. It does mean moving forward with clean and clear perception as well as steadfastness of purpose.

You don’t need courage if you’re totally confident and unafraid. Courage, according to John Wayne, is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. Because people tend to fear the unknown, and the unknown is all that is certain about any given trade, we need to employ courage. Since trading is always new, since anything can happen and it often does, since the wildness lies in wait, we need to overcome uncertainty and fear so that we can appropriately enter, exit, and remain in trades.

When asked what he meant by “guts”, Ernest Hemingway told Dorothy Parker in an interview “grace under pressure”. Trading is all about grace and gracefulness under pressure.

The good news is that courage is like any muscle. It grows and becomes stronger the more you use it. Often as I trade I’m unaware of utilizing courage. I know I’m extremely alert. I may even be excited. I’m not aware of any fear until something starts to go wrong. However, that alertness and excitement is a product of adrenalin running. Excitement or fear comes from the interpretation you give to the adrenalin high. The more you act as if you’re unafraid, the less afraid you become. It all gets easier. Act the part and become the part. Make it your goal to trade with increasing grace under pressure.

The difference between excitement and fear depends of what you are imagining.

Are you imagining loss or are you imagining profit? Of course, you always have to keep the alternative in mind as trading is all about balancing the alternatives, profit with loss. But you don’t have to put loss into the foreground of your mind, because you never would put on a trade unless profit was the probable outcome. Direct your imagination towards profit, and suspend all thoughts of loss–once you’ve put your stops in.

“Don’t cry before you’re hurt.” says a proverb. I would add, don’t mourn a loss before you experience it. Don’t even mourn it after you take it, get on with the next trade, and the next, and the next. Anticipate profit. That’s what you’re there to experience. Ah yes, and as another proverb states: “Fortune favors the brave.”

Essential qualities for Speculator

  
  Education
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1)Self-reliance :A man must think for himself ,must follow his own convictions.Self-trust is the foundation of successful effort.

2)Judgement :That equipoise ,that nice adjustment of the facilities one to the other ,which is called  good judgement ,is an essential to the speculator.

3)Courage :That is ,confidence to act on the decisions of the mind.In speculation ,there is value in Mirabeau’s dictum :Be bold ,still be bold ,always be bold.

4)Prudence :The power of measuring the danger ,together with certain alertness and watchfulness is important.There should be a balance of these two ,prudence and courage ,prudence is contemplation ,courage in execution.Connected with these qualities ,properly an outgrowth of them ,is a third ,viz :promptness.The mind
convinced ,the act should follow.Think ,act ,promptly

5Pliability :The ability to change an opinion ,the power of revision.He who observes ,says Emerson,and observes again ,is always formidable.

Traders needs High level of Catecholamines, acetylcholine, and vasopressin

  
  Education
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Catecholamines, acetylcholine, and vasopressin, are three [among many] of the beneficial hormones and other helpful neuropeptides that are produced in specific brain frequencies. Studies have shown that acetylcholine is vital for long term memory. They have also found that when acetylcholine production [in the brain] is high, we experience boosts in our long-term memory. Individuals who have lower levels of acetylcholine usually struggle with tasks involving learning and memory. At the end of your day listening to Traders Mindset produces the neuropeptide vasopressin – a neuropeptide which improves reaction time, ability to learn, and ability to remember. 
It is not only our production of neuropeptides that allows us to learn more effectively we experience decreased blood pressure, heart rate, and our entire body feels relaxed. This boosts the overall oxygen level in our brains and maximizes blood flow to our cortex. This naturally boosts our attention span and level of alertness. Boosted attention and alertness makes it much easier to memorize and learn new things.

Courage and Trading

  
  Education
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According to Plutarch, “Courage stands halfway between cowardice and rashness…” Clearly, we don’t want to be reckless; and clearly, we don’t want to be hesitant and timid. What we need is a balance. As we go about our trading moderating our greed and our fear to a combination of healthy desire and clear minded caution, we use courage to go forward.

Courage doesn’t mean closing your eyes, holding your nose, and jumping into the deep end. It does mean moving forward with clean and clear perception as well as steadfastness of purpose.

You don’t need courage if you’re totally confident and unafraid. Courage, according to John Wayne, is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. Because people tend to fear the unknown, and the unknown is all that is certain about any given trade, we need to employ courage. Since trading is always new, since anything can happen and it often does, since the wildness lies in wait, we need to overcome uncertainty and fear so that we can appropriately enter, exit, and remain in trades.

When asked what he meant by “guts”, Ernest Hemingway told Dorothy Parker in an interview “grace under pressure”. Trading is all about grace and gracefulness under pressure.

The good news is that courage is like any muscle. It grows and becomes stronger the more you use it. Often as I trade I’m unaware of utilizing courage. I know I’m extremely alert. I may even be excited. I’m not aware of any fear until something starts to go wrong. However, that alertness and excitement is a product of adrenalin running. Excitement or fear comes from the interpretation you give to the adrenalin high. The more you act as if you’re unafraid, the less afraid you become. It all gets easier. Act the part and become the part. Make it your goal to trade with increasing grace under pressure.

The difference between excitement and fear depends of what you are imagining.

Are you imagining loss or are you imagining profit? Of course, you always have to keep the alternative in mind as trading is all about balancing the alternatives, profit with loss. But you don’t have to put loss into the foreground of your mind, because you never would put on a trade unless profit was the probable outcome. Direct your imagination towards profit, and suspend all thoughts of loss–once you’ve put your stops in.

“Don’t cry before you’re hurt.” says a proverb. I would add, don’t mourn a loss before you experience it. Don’t even mourn it after you take it, get on with the next trade, and the next, and the next. Anticipate profit. That’s what you’re there to experience. Ah yes, and as another proverb states: “Fortune favors the brave.”

Improve Cognitive Performance-3 Simple Steps

  
  Education
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Here are three simple practices that can improve alertness, concentration, and overall cognitive performance:

1)  Hydration – Thanks to Henry Carstens for pointing this one out.  A lack of proper hydration has been found to negatively impact mood among women and decrease alertness and concentration among men.  A wide range of studies link dehydration to declines in short-term memory, concentration, alertness, visuomotor tracking, motor skills, and computational performance.  Water is essential for feeding the brain.

2)  Power Naps – Sleep is a restorative.  Although sleeping on the job has a negative connotation, research finds that power naps improve creativity, memory, energy level, and general cognitive functioning.  Naps also improve decision-making and problem-solving, with naps of different lengths offering different benefits.  A 20-30 minute nap is ideal for improving alertness.    

3)  Moving Around – Prolonged sitting carries a number of health risks.  Standing at the desk for a portion of the day can also increase energy and improve mood.  Exercise during the day improves sleep quality, energy level, and mood.

So what does that tell us?  The traditional way of working as a trader–sitting at the desk all day, hunched over and focused on screens, guzzling coffee and soda–is bad for our cognitive performance and bad for our health.  If you’re a world-class athlete, you will do everything possible to maintain your body in peak condition.  If you’re a world-class trader, keeping your brain in peak condition is equally important.  It makes little sense to spend time looking for more and better trade setups when our minds are poorly maintained to act upon those.

16 Rules for Thirsty Traders

  
  Education
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I always liked these rules for their simplicity and I think they can benefit some of you, if only in the form of a gentle reminder of what you should be doing…or not doing.

1. Market direction is the most important thing in determining a stock’s
probable direction.

2. Price and Volume action are more important than a jillion indicators and
complex theories, no matter how cool they may be.

3. Don’t miss the forest (broad market) for the trees (individual stocks).

4. Don’t anticipate. Wait for confirmation.

5. Don’t trade contrary to the market’s direction.

6. Don’t try to “outsmart” the market.

7. Things can go much, MUCH further than you think they can, in either
direction.

8. Divergences work best with double tops and double bottoms.

9. Quite often, divergence analysis doesn’t work at all. When that happens, it
means the prevailing trend is very strong.

10. You need to effectively filter or limit the amount of data or charts to look
at; otherwise, you will spread yourself way too thin. You must have the time and
alertness to keep your eye on the ball…..hard to do, when you are juggling
thousands.

11. Don’t focus on every tick of each trade. If you are, you are holding on to
the handlebars too tight.

12. Have a plan. Set stops and targets. Don’t be afraid to take 1/2 profits and
raise (or lower) your stops. If your trade follows your script, great. If it
doesn’t within a reasonable time, consider getting out.

13. That said, it’s OK to give your trade a little time, unless you are clearly
wrong. You are often ahead of the market a little bit.

14. You will lose money sometimes. Every trader does. It’s a business, not a
personal indictment against you. Get over it and move on to the next trade.

15. Political opinion and markets do not mix.

16. Learn from your mistakes, or you will be condemned to repeat them.

Essential Qualities of the Speculator

  
  Education
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1. Self-Reliance. A man must think for himself,
must follow his own convictions. George
MacDonald says: “A man cannot have another
man’s ideas any more than he can another
man’s soul or another man’s body.” Self-trust
is the foundation of successful effort.

2. Judgment. That equipoise, that nice
adjustment of the faculties one to the other,
which is called good judgment, is an essential
to the speculator.

3. Courage. That is, confidence to act on the
decisions of the mind. In speculation there is
value in Mirabeau’s dictum: “Be bold, still be
bold; always be bold.” (more…)

Courage and Trading

  
  Education
#  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #  #

According to Plutarch, “Courage stands halfway between cowardice and rashness…” Clearly, we don’t want to be reckless; and clearly, we don’t want to be hesitant and timid. What we need is a balance. As we go about our trading moderating our greed and our fear to a combination of healthy desire and clear minded caution, we use courage to go forward.

Courage doesn’t mean closing your eyes, holding your nose, and jumping into the deep end. It does mean moving forward with clean and clear perception as well as steadfastness of purpose.

You don’t need courage if you’re totally confident and unafraid. Courage, according to John Wayne, is being scared to death and saddling up anyway. Because people tend to fear the unknown, and the unknown is all that is certain about any given trade, we need to employ courage. Since trading is always new, since anything can happen and it often does, since the wildness lies in wait, we need to overcome uncertainty and fear so that we can appropriately enter, exit, and remain in trades. (more…)

Prudence

  
  Education
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The power of measuring the danger, together with a certain alertness and watchfulness, is very important. There should be a balance of these two, Prudence and Courage;Prudence in contemplation, Courage in execution.Lord Bacon says: “In meditation all dangers should be seen; in execution one, unless very formidable.”Connected with these qualities,properly an outgrowth of them, is a third, viz:promptness. The mind convinced, the act should follow. In the words of Macbeth; “Henceforth the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.” Think, act, promptly.

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