Archives of “Human Interest” tag

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10- Life Rules

  
  Education
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1. Karma exists. It may not be instant like in that John Lennon song, but it happens. May take a long time, might not be easily seen, may not be visible to anybody but you, the one who was scathed, but it’s real. 

2. Niceness triumphs. Although no one can be nice all the time. And sometimes you have to push back. But if you’ve got the option, be nice, people appreciate it. 

3. Be yourself. We’re all individuals. That’s what attracts others to us, our uniqueness. Don’t try to imitate someone else, focus on your strengths and heighten them. Everyone can’t do everything. Don’t try to fit your square peg in a round hole. But your trapezoid will appeal, if you just let it shine. 

4. You can’t please everybody. It’s a phony concept that flames out. Be thankful you’ve got your group, your friends, your family, your fans. There are those who would appreciate you whom you’ve never met, focus on meeting them, not those who don’t care. 

5. Education is everything. And it doesn’t have to happen in school. But at this late date we can understand why reading, writing and ‘rithmetic are so important. Yes, in the internet era, reading and writing are everything (typing too!) As for math… You can’t do a deal without knowing the numbers. And everybody wants to do a deal. 

6. Learning is lifelong. You keep gaining insight and then you die. Life is a puzzle, one in which you’re constantly delivered new pieces. And you can’t figure some stuff out until you get this new information. Which is why age equals wisdom and the young may have their youth, but the old have all the happiness. 

7. Possessions mean less as you age. You can’t take them with you. Furthermore, we’re evolving into a no possessions era. One in which you can rent a ride and you don’t even have to own a car. Experiences are everything.

 8. No one has the answers when it comes to love. There’s no perfect partner, if you’re looking for one you’re doomed. The key is to play. Relationships are the salad dressing of life, without them it tastes very bland.

 9. Do the right thing. Not only will it make a difference, you’ll feel better about yourself.

 10. Time starts accelerating sometime in your late thirties or forties. If you’re not paying attention, if you’re not steering, chances are you’re not gonna get where you want to go.

 11. Inspiration comes from displacement. Get out of your comfort zone, the rewards are legion.

Be Imperfect

  
  Education
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As a trader – or an investor – you will not be right all of the time. If you can accept your imperfection, and work within it, you will be much more successful:

If you have a perfectionist mentality when trading, you are setting yourself up for failure, because it is a “given” that you will experience losses along the way. You must begin to think of trading as a game of probability. Your losses ( that you hope will return to breakeven) will kill you. If you cannot take a loss when it is small ( because of the need to be perfect), then you will watch that small loss grow into a larger loss and so on into a vicious cycle of more and more pain for the perfectionist. Trading on hope does not work. The markets can remain irrational for a lot longer than you can remain solvent.

The object should be excellence in trading, not perfection. Moreover, it is essential to strive for excellence over a sustained period, as opposed to judging that each trade must be excellent. This is a marathon…not a sprint.

The greatest traders know how to take cut losses and let winning positions run. Perfectionists often do exactly the opposite. They get in at the wrong time, stay in too long and then get out the wrong time. Perfectionists are always striving and never arriving. The market will find the flaw in a perfectionistic trader and exploit it day after day.

Frustration & Regret in Trading

  
  Education
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thinkermanFRUSTRATION:  “Your success as a trader at times hinges on your ability to conquer frustration.  Frustration will always appear on the path toward greatness.  Some will triumph over it, while others succumb to its pettiness.  When you encounter obstacles on your trail toward achievement, remind yourself that they were placed there in order for you to overcome them, so you can learn from them and become better than you were before” 

 REGRET:  “Regret is toxic because it encourages you to look back and to focus your energies on the past, when you should be using your valuable time and energy to focus on the here and now in order to uncover trading opportunities” 

RISKING

  
  Education
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Trading is all about risk Control !The Following excerpt is from one of my favorite audiotapes ,’Risking ‘by David Viscount.I keep this on my desk to remind me each day to keep “Risking .”Only a person who risks is truly free

To laugh is to risk appearing the fool. To weep is to risk appearing sentimental. To reach for another is to risk involvement. To expose your feelings is to risk exposing your true self. To place your ideas, your dreams before a crowd is to risk their loss. To love is to risk not being loved in return. To live is to risk dying. To believe is to risk despair. To try is to risk failure. But risks must be taken, because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing. They may avoid suffering an d sorrow, but they cannot learn, feel, change, grow, love, live. Chained by their attitudes they are slaves; they have forfeited their freedom. Only a person who risks is free.

16 Points -During and After the Trade

  
  Education
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1. What’s your game plan if it goes against you and threatens your survival?

2. Will you be able to get out? Did you take that into account in your workout?

3. More typically, what will you do if it goes way against you and then meanders back to give you a breakeven? Or if it immediately goes for you or aginst you?

4. Would you be willing to take a ½% profit if you get it in the first 10 minutes?

5. Did you test whether taking small opportunistic profits turns a winning system into a bad one?

6. How will unexpected cardinal events affect you like the “regrettably,” or the pre-annnouncement of something you expected for the next open? And what happens if you’re trading an individual stock and the market goes up or down a few percent during the day, or what’s the impact of a related move in oil or interest rates?

7. Are you sure that you have to monitor the trade during the day? If you’re using stops, then you probably don’t have to but then your position size would have to be reduced so much that your chances of a reasonable profit taking account of vig are close to zero. If you’re using 10% of your capital on a trade, they you’ll have to monitor it for survival. But, but, but. Are you sure you won’t be called away by phone calls, or the others?

8. Are you at equilibrium in your personal life? You’re not as talented as Tiger Woods, and you probably won’t be able to handle distressed calls for money or leaks on the home front. Are you sure that if you’re losing you won’t get hit on the head with a 7-iron, or berated until you have to give up at the worst possible time?

9. After the trade did you learn anything from the trade?

10. Are you organized sufficiently to have a record of all your trades for your accounting and learning? (more…)

Something You Need to Know

  
  Education
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A trader with a superior trading strategy but lacking in self-management skills will generally underperform a trader who has a less than superior strategy  (but still has en edge) and is superior in self-management. I see this all the time.

Consider re-directing some of your energy and time toward self-mgt. Self mgt. includes a lot of things….but the big one is understanding how your emotions – including subconscious emotions – influence your decisions and actions.

Your trading plan or your strategy must include self management.

The Most Influential Prizes in the World is The Nobel Prize in Economics

  
Analysis, Education
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I’ve been mum on the Nobel prize in economics because I honestly don’t know much about Jean Tirole and his microeconomic work.  But I think we should silence one discussion that inevitably arises every time the award is handed out.  That’s the idea that the award is somehow fake or something.  It’s true that the award in economics wasn’t conceived by Alfred Nobel and was added over 70 years after he died.  And it’s true that the award was created by the Swedish Central Bank in large part to celebrate its 300th anniversary.  So what?

No matter how many times people say that the award isn’t “official” it just doesn’t matter.  The reason why is because the award actually acts as an incredibly powerful status symbol.  If you’re an economist with a Nobel prize you are automatically lifted onto a pedestal above everyone else.  Your words carry greater influence and your impact on the world undoubtedly increases.  This is particularly true in the field of economics because economists have such a tremendous impact on public policy which impacts all of us.

In my opinion, it doesn’t matter one bit if Alfred Nobel didn’t conceive the award.  It doesn’t matter if certain people think it’s fake.  The bottom line is that winning the Nobel prize in economics is a huge huge deal that lifts the winner from being important to being beyond important.  Alfred Nobel might not have approved of the award, but the fact that his name is attached to the economics prize is a big deal.  And its winners will continue to have a tremendous impact on all of our lives in the future.  That reason alone makes the Nobel in Economics important and arguably more important and impactful than any other Nobel that is awarded.

Oh, and congratulations Mr. Tirole!  Don’t let your new found influence go to waste….

3 Steps For Traders

  
  Education
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So – are you ready?

Are you ready to unlock the greatness that you have within you to succeed as a trader?

Are you doubting that you have what it takes to succeed in the world of trading?

Well, we all have the same ability to succeed, you just have to know how to tap into it. Firstly, you need to understand a little about how you have ended up in the situation you are in now.

….. and let’s assume you are not where you really want to be, right?

Let’s get right to the point and identify what 3 things are influencing EVERYTHING in your life and giving you the results you currently have. (more…)

12 Signs of Stress for Traders

  
  Education
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Markets have been particularly volatile recently, at least for intraday traders and daytrading can create a significant amount of stress. Because our bodies are designed to adapt to stress, we may fail to realize that we are stressed out.
Here’s an inventory of common trader behaviors that may signify excessive stress.
12 Signs of Stress
1. A vivid fantasy of making lots of money today.
2. Feelings of invulnerability.
3. Eating breakfast or lunch at your trading desk.
4. Hyperfocus on price bars as they form.
5. Talking out loud to the market.
6. Bargaining with the market about an open position.
7. Cursing at the market.
8. Expressing irritation at partner, kids, pets, plants, inanimate objects.
9. Sudden urge to increase position size or frequency.
10. Canceling or moving stops for no good reason
11. Adding to a losing position.
12. Trading in your underwear !
TIP: Stress degrades decision-making. If you are stressed out, shift your focus 

4 Steps to Changing Your Bad Trading Habits

  
  Education
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1. Understand the benefit of change. First, ask yourself if you need to change. Then, ask yourself what you need to change. Identify your current habits and ponder the benefits of changing them. Perhaps while trading you are feeling negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, temptation, or frustration. And ultimately, these emotions cause you to make poor, impulsive and self-destructive decisions. Write down what would happen if you were no longer feeling such negative emotions. That is, what would happen if you were able to remain calm and clear-headed while trading?

2. Dissect the proposed change and benefits. Find as many holes in the prospective change as you can. Don’t just convince yourself that things will become better if you change. Make sure the grass actually is greener on the other side of the fence. Be clear about what you want to change and how you will go about it. Write down the benefits that will take place if you do indeed change.

3. Recognize the situation that triggers your self-destructive action. Write down those all-too-familiar conditions, or circumstances, that lend themselves to activating negativity within you (e.g., all the things done, or said, that push your buttons). Also, write down how you are going to consciously recognize them during the day as they happen. Now, next to each item, write down what systems and processes you will implement to avoid letting that situation become emotional. (more…)

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