Archives of “Human Interest” tag

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Determination & Honesty in Trading

  
  Education
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This is probably the single biggest factor which divides the winners from the losers, not just in trading, but in any other walk of life.  Yes, it pays to have money and time on your side, but you could have all the money and time in the world and still fail at trading if you do not have the drive to do well at it.  On the other hand, you could have a lack of resources, but have a greater chance of success because you have the drive to win.  That drive will help you preserver when the going gets tough.

A trader who can admit his mistakes to himself and also recognize his positive traits is one who is likely to succeed.  Honesty gives you clarity, and clarity allows you to make sound decisions which have a basis in reality.  If you do not know yourself and cannot be honest with yourself about your trading activities, you cannot see what is going on.  Imagine getting into a car blindfolded, turning the key, and driving out into rush hour traffic.  That is what trading is like if you are dishonest with yourself.  Another good metaphor would be driving drunk.  An inebriated driver has no idea whether or not he is even making mistakes, and does not hold himself accountable from his actions.  Stay sober and check your windows and mirrors when you trade.

Traders :Don’t Blame the Market or Others

  
  Education
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  • When pain surfaces, if you are honest and in touch with yourself, you will own the upset and seize the opportunity to release that internal reality — to forgive! Pain functions to inform us of our errors.
  • False forgiveness is based on the belief that others are responsible for what we feel, and therefore it tends to reinforce that error. To forgive others, in this manner, for what happens in your mind leaves your pain intact and the opportunity to heal is lost.
  • Making use of every opportunity to heal is an important decision you can make and that decision will immeasurably accelerate your process.

1+ 24 Rules For Trading Discipline

  
  Education
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  1. The market pays you to be disciplined.
  2. Be disciplined every day, in every trade, and the market will reward you. But don’t claim to be disciplined if you are not 100 percent of the time.
  3. Always lower your trade size when you’re trading poorly.
  4. Never turn a winner into a loser.
  5. Your biggest loser can?t exceed your biggest winner.
  6. Develop a methodology and stick with it. don?t change methodologies from day to day.
  7. Be yourself. Don?t try to be someone else.
  8. You always want to be able to come back and play the next day. Once you reach the daily downside limit, you must turn your PC off and call it a day. You can always come back tomorrow.
  9. Earn the right to trade bigger. Remember: if you are trading poorly with two lots you must lower your trade size down to a one lot.
  10. Get out of your losers.
  11. The first loss is the best loss.
  12. Don?t hope and pray. If you do, you will lose.
  13. don?t worry about news. it?s history.
  14. Don?t speculate. if you do, you will lose. (more…)

The Trading Beast

  
  Education
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The markets are no place to be unsure of yourself and wishy-washy, it is not a place for 2nd guesses, wishing, hoping, or gambling.  If you want to win in this jungle you need to be an unstoppable beast .

 

  1. Complete confidence in your system and method. You do not jump around in your trading or doubt yourself, it is not about you, it is the system.  Either it wins long term or it doesn’t. Either you have confidence in it or you don’t, make up your mind.
  2. You control risk. You do not expose yourself to being ruined because your bet size is consistently what you are comfortable with. Ten losses in a row is only a small draw down. If you are not afraid of ten losses in a row, what is stressful? NOTHING.
  3. You play follow the leader. You are not the lone wolf, you are going with the market not trying to predict it. Your entries and exits are based on historical patterns not your personal opinions, you are not trying to beat the market you are trying to be on its side, it always wins.
  4. You will not quit.Your exit strategy for your trading career? Never. You plan to never quit playing the greatest game on earth. You are a trader, that is what you do. Not quitting in most areas of life means that you eventually win big, the market is no different.
  5. You don’t need a guru. Your winning system is your guru. You don’t need to ask for a fish, you know how to fish. You only listen if you can learn how to catch more and bigger fish and somebody is a better fisherman than you.

The markets eat up lambs, chickens, pigs, and sloths. However beasts eat well off their prey.

Don’t blame the market for your losses- A Thought

  
  Education
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1.) It is highly possible that you will never really make it.  Honestly, trading is a difficult game.  Anyone who said so, was not truthful.  It IS VERY HARD. Trading is not a themepark.  I always stress this out.  Check (How I Started).  I have only come to this realization after losing so much money.  Sigh.  I hope I can spare some of you of the losses.  Make sure that when you trade, you have a mentor, a peer, or a community who have the intention of educating you properly, who’ll look at what you’re doing.  Chances are, the losses come from two most common trading mistakes – Fear and Greed.

Fear of losing money – (You cannot cut the losses)

Fear of losing out – Overtrading.  Chasing unplanned trades.

Greed- Your money management is wrong.  You want to revenge trade. No risk management.

Two Types of Intuition

  
  Education
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I distinguish two types of intuition – inherent and acquired. Inherent is the one you were born with and it is the end product of hundreds of thousands of years of evolution aka trying to survive in the fields. We are wired to seek instant gratification without a deeper thought about the future consequences, we are loss averse and stubborn.

While the inherent (core) intuition is the pre-installed software, each and everyone of us is born with, the acquired intuition is the upgrade we get through life as it is based on everything we experienced. Your brain remembers everything, even if you don’t realize it. Of course you can easily recall only the most vivid memories as depending on your everyday activity the brain has prioritized what is important and what is not.

When it comes to trading or investing, there is a reason you like some patterns more than others. The question is, should you trust your intuition? The contrarian school of thought in the market teaches that you should try to fade your intuition as it usually points you in the wrong direction. This is not always the case. If you have enough experience, your intuition is your biggest edge as it recognizes combinations of patterns and factors invisible for the normal eye. (more…)

Prayer of Forgiveness

  
  Education
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Hilal searches for inspiration on the golden walls, the columns, the people coming at this hour of the morning, the flames of the lit candles.

– I forgive the girl I was, not because I want to become a saint but because I do not want to endure this hatred. This tiresome hatred.

This was not what I expected.
– You may not forgive everyone and everything, but forgive me.
– I forgive everything and everyone. I forgive you because I love you and you do not love me. I forgive you because you reject me and I am losing my power.

She closes her eyes and raises her hands towards the ceiling.

– I am liberated from hatred by means of forgiveness and love. I understand that suffering, when it cannot be avoided, helps me to advance towards glory.

Hilal speaks softly but the acoustics of the church are so perfect that everything she says seems to echo throughout the four corners. But my experience tells me that she is channelling the spirit of a child. (more…)

11 Rules For Being Human

  
  Education
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1. You Will Receive A Body                                                                  You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for the entire period this time around.

 2. You Will Learn Lessons

You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called Life. Each day in this school, you will have the opportunity to learn lessons – you may like the lesson or think them irrelevant and stupid.

3. There Are No Mistakes, Only Lessons
There is a process of trial and error; experimentation. The ‘failed’ experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately ‘works’.

4. A Lesson Is Repeated Until It Is Learned
A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning Lessons Does Not End. 
There is no part of Life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

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Everyone Gets What They Want Out Of The Market

  
  Education
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Seykota uses his discussion on psychology to lead into what is probably his most famous quote: “Win or lose, everybody gets what they want out of the market. Some people seem to like to lose, so they win by losing money.”

After knocking me down a few notches by forcing me to question my trading psychology, he hits me with the question of whether I even want to make money trading. This really forced me into some deep self-analysis and I am still not sure what the answer is.

He goes on to say that “People’s trading performance probably reflects their priorities more than they would like to admit.”

This was the final blow for me. He’s right. I’m simply not putting in the time and effort that I would be if I had a deep seeded passionate desire to succeed here. I’m just a casual observer of the markets making a few speculative gambles here and there. That’s why I have a weak track record. That’s why I feel like I can’t get any traction. I don’t want it bad enough. (more…)

Paul Tudor Jones Trend Following Wisdom

  
  Education
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“I become quicker and more defensive. I am always thinking about losing money as opposed to making money.”

“Risk control is the most important thing in trading.”

“Don’t be a hero”.

“Don’t have an ego.”

“Always question yourself and your ability”.

“I am more scared now that I was at any point since I began trading, because I recognize how ephemeral success can be in this business. I know that to be successful, I have to be frightened. My biggest hits have always come after I have had a great period and I started to think that I knew something.”

“One of my strengths is that I view anything that has happened up to the present point in time as history. I really don’t care about the mistake I made three seconds ago in the market. What I care about is what I am going to do from the next moment on. I try to avoid any emotional attachment to a market.”

“I never apologize to anybody, because I don’t get paid unless I win.” (more…)

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