Frank Norris, author of The Pit, wrote this short story in the early 1900s. It’s critical of the grain trade as it paints the farmers and consumers as victims. Still, the story is a very quick and easy read. Also attached to this link are some other great stories of the old and new west.
Many valuable trading lessons here.
Proper money management is essential for successful trading.
A disciplined trader cuts his losses short and outperforms a loser who keeps hanging on and hoping.
As soon as you buy, place a stop-loss order.
Greed and fear destroy traders by clouding their minds. The only way to succeed in trading is to use your intellect.
The goal of a successful trader is to make the best trades. Money is secondary. If this surprises you, think how good professionals in any field operate. Good teachers, doctors, lawyers, farmers and others make money – but they do not count it while they work. If they do, the quality of their work suffers.
Serious traders place stops the moment they enter a trade.
We all like to hope that a trade will succeed – and a stop is a piece of reality that prevents traders from hanging on to empty hope.
Learning to place stops is like learning to drive defensively.
A stop is not a perfect tool but it is the best defensive tool we have.
Once, there were two farmers who lived in the desert. Both desperately needed to acquire water so they could survive the desert and support their families. After working together to search the area, they concluded there was water somewhere in the area but they were not sure where. So, they set out to find a water well. They started digging in similar locations between their properties. After they both dug for several days, the second farmer finally struck water. As soon as this happened, the first farmer could see it from a distance and ran over to the second farmer. Seeing that he had stuck a huge water well, he asked the farmer, “You and I had the same tools for digging and have been digging in similar locations. How did you find water and I did not?”
The second farmer asked him, “How did you dig for water?”
The first farmer responded, “I went and dug 50 holes 1 foot deep trying to get maximum coverage of my area. What did you end up doing?”
The second farmer replies, “Oh! That is very interesting. I dug one hole, 50 feet deep.”
Many traders set out on the path of trading and do exactly what the first farmer did – they dig 50 holes 1 foot deep. If you are going to strike water, gold or oil, you will have to dig one hole, 50 feet deep. The reason for this is a matter of mastery. To be a master at anything, you have to become so familiar with it, know how it works inside and out to the point you understand every aspect of what you are doing. (more…)
