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Reflections on Life, Motivation, and Impotent Goals

  
  Education
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Motivational guru Tony Robbins once observed, “People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals – that is, goals that do not inspire them.” My experience is that this is very true of traders: many of their goals are impotent. They are written in a journal or a post-it note attached to the computer monitor, but they are not inspiring goals. They don’t bring a hunger for action.

We chastise ourselves for lack of discipline when we don’t follow through on our goals, but we never stop to think that maybe our goals sell us short.

Show me a person who has trouble getting out of bed in the morning and I’ll show you a person with impotent goals. A child has no problem leaping out of bed early Christmas morning to see what Santa has brought. That same child on a school morning? It might take a few rousings to get out of the sack.

A big part of middle age is getting so caught up in putting out fires that you forget all about setting the world ablaze. Kids have no problem dreaming about hitting that 9th inning home run for the Yankees or being a superhero. Somehow that gets lost in concerns over “practical” matters, as The Little Prince realized. But an impotent life is not a practical life at all.

Your job isn’t to find the next great market trend or setup. It’s to find the goals that inspire you, that will get you springing out of bed in the morning and excited to be tackling life through the day. As long as you have those, you’ll stay young at heart–and spirit. And you’ll persist and find those trends and setups.

27 Motivational Quotes for Traders

  
  Education
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1. IF A TRADER DOES NOT UNDERSTAND WHAT HAPPENS TO HIM PSYCHOLOGICALLY WHILE IN A TRADE, HE IS DOOMED TO LOSE UNTIL HE DOES OR HE RUNS OUT OF MONEY.
2. THE MARKET PAYS YOU TO BE DISCIPLINED.
3. BE DISCIPLINED EVERY DAY, EVERY TRADE AND THE MARKET WILL REWARD YOU.
4. ALWAYS LOWER YOUR TRADE SIZE WHEN YOURE TRADING POORLY.
5. NEVER TURN A WINNER INTO A LOSER.
6. YOU’RE BIGGEST LOSER CANNOT EXCEED YOUR BIGGEST WINNER.
7. DEVELOP A METHODOLOGY AND STICK WITH IT.
8. BE YOURSELF. DON’T TRY TO BE SOMEONE ELSE.
9. YOU ALWAYS WANT TO BE ABLE TO COME BACK AND PLAY THE NEXT DAY.
10. EARN THE RIGHT TO TRADE BIGGER.
11. GET OUT OF YOUR LOSERS.
12. THE FIRST LOSS IS THE BEST LOSS.
13. DON’T HOPE AND PRAY.
14. DON’T SPECULATE.
15. NEVER TAKE A BIG LOSS.
16. HIT SINGLES NOT HOME RUNS.
17. CONSISTENCY BUILDS CONFIDENCE.
18. LEARN TO SWEAT OUT YOUR WINNERS.
19. MAKE THE SAME TYPES OF TRADES OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
20. BE A BRICKLAYER.
21. DON’T OVER ANALYZE.
22. ALL TRADERS ARE EQUAL IN THE EYES OF THE MARKET.
23. IT’S THE MARKET ITSELF.
24. ITS BORING. ITS A JOB. PATIENCE.
25. 70% OF THE MONEY FLOWING COMES FROM INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS.
26. STRONG VOLUME IS 150% OF NORMAL VOLUME.
27. TRADE WHAT YOU SEE, NOT WHAT YOU THINK.

To Be Happy

  
Education, Life
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be-happyIf you are after specific investment advice, stop reading now. We seek to explore one of Adam Smith’s obsessions: what it means to be happy. We also discuss why that’s important to investors, and how we can seek to improve our own levels of happiness. The list below shows our top ten suggestions for improving happiness.

  • Don’t equate happiness with money. People adapt to income shifts relatively quickly, the long lasting benefits are essentially zero.
  • Exercise regularly. Taking regular exercise generates further energy, and stimulates the mind and the body.
  • Have sex (preferably with someone you love). Sex is consistently rated as amongst the highest generators of happiness. So what are you waiting for?
  • Devote time and effort to close relationships. Close relationships require work and effort, but pay vast rewards in terms of happiness.
  • Pause for reflection, meditate on the good things in life. Simple reflection on the good aspects of life helps prevent hedonic adaptation.
  • Seek work that engages your skills, look to enjoy your job. It makes sense to do something you enjoy. This in turn is likely to allow you to flourish at your job, creating a pleasant feedback loop.
  • Give your body the sleep it needs.
  • Don’t pursue happiness for its own sake, enjoy the moment. Faulty perceptions of what makes you happy, may lead to the wrong pursuits. Additionally, activities may become a means to an end, rather than something to be enjoyed, defeating the purpose in the first place.
  • Take control of your life, set yourself achievable goals.
  • Remember to follow all the rules.

Learning from Mistakes…

  
  Education
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A Reader of our Blog had sent me the following question …

“When should a trader know when to say it is enough and I need to get out of the position. More importantly, how do you find a balance between learning from a mistake and not being weighed down by it on your next trading decision.”

Here was my advice:

* if you have “edge” in a trade, then winning or losing on a trade will be determined long before you find out the outcome (profit/loss) on the trade.

* important to focus on the process of the trade… making ONLY high quality trades

* your job as a trader is not to determine or decide how much you make or lose…that is up to the market. Your job is to put on trades with “edge.”

as far as not being weighed down by the mistakes, my suggestion is to begin a “lessons learned” spreadsheet where you document mistakes you make and the lesson you learned from it.

I also suggest you start a qualitative trading journal that way you can get the emotions out of your head and onto the paper.

this will help you move past your barriers and get some closure on them so you can be focused on the next trade.

5 Expensive Words

  
  Education
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Whether it’s been on the winning side of trades where I’ve tried to squeeze the last Rs 2 out of a stock, or it’s a losing position that has been trying to tell me I’m wrong (those numbers are RED for a reason!), I am guilty! 

Oddly enough, as cheap as it is to enter trades with commission structures so affordable, have you ever noticed just how expensive it can be to stay in a trade?

We all know the rules….
• Obey thy stop!
• Never Believe in your stock!
• Don’t let a trade become an investment!

…..yet it is so easy to break them. It’s a solitary job, and the only person to prevent you from compounding your mistakes is the one you see in the mirror.

So, be your own ally. Have a trading plan in place before you login to your account. Do your homework. Set hard stops as soon as your orders are filled, and let those safety nets keep your losses small (we all know how easy it is to blow a mental stop).

Be smart! Trading is about real money, not just flickering numbers on a screen. Be prepared and protect your capital at all costs. That guy in the mirror will hold you accountable the next time you see him!

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

  
  Education
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We all have different personal strengths and weakness.  Many people focus on transforming a weakness into a strength. While that is admirable, the reality is that it’s not always possible. Although I agree with the basic idea of brain plasticity, and I whole-heartedly agree with the idea of always striving for self-improvement, I also know that as humans we have a certain degree of natural-born temperament and not everything about us can be changed.

Although we can’t always build or change every weakness into strength, the good news is that we can always leverage our strengths, if we know how. And that is mighty powerful. It’s so powerful that if you leverage the right strengths in the right way they can do an excellent job of not just counter-balancing your weaknesses, but can propel you so far ahead  that those weaknesses pale in comparison.

One of the most powerful things you can do for yourself is identifying your natural strengths and then work to see how you can build on them.

We all have different personal strengths, and knowing how to leverage them is an important part of successful trading. A major consideration here is that you try to identify and leverage your own personal strengths, and not simply copy someone else’s. All too often I see struggling traders running from one style to another style whenever they see someone else’s success. One of the primary reasons why copying someone else’s trading style doesn’t always pay off in trading is because of different personal strengths.

"Some Rules for Living Applied to Trading"

  
  Education
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I ran across these rules for living, and thought they apply beautifully to the process of trading successfully.  They are as follows:

  1. Show up.
  2. Pay attention.
  3. Live your truth.
  4. Do your best.
  5. Don’t be attached to the outcome.

Show up.  Woody Allen has said 90% of the story is showing up.  And I think that can be true for trading.  Showing up means being prepared and ready before the market opens.  It means getting your entry and exit orders in the market in a timely fashion.  You’ve done your research, and you’re clear about your intentions.

Pay attention.    Watch the price action.  Be cognizant of what your chosen indicators are saying.  Know what news is breaking, and watch the market’s reaction to the news.  Be alert to twists and turns in market direction.  Don’t wander off mentally or physically.

Live your truth.  Your truth could be fundamental or technical or a combination of the two.  But if you don’t trade in accordance with your guidelines, you can get yourself on the wrong side of the situation and yourself.  Be who you say you are as a trader.  Are you honest, perceptive, courageous, steady, and disciplined?  Are you trading in the manner you have chosen or committed to trade.

Do your best.  Honestly, all you can do is your best.  But your best can get better as you practice and learn.  Learn from your mistakes, and forgive yourself past digressions.  Each day is a new day, and each day brings new opportunities.  It’s your job to capture what you can of the opportunities even as you rigorously protect your capital.

Don’t be attached to the outcome.  This is the hard part, and this is the essential part.  The results of any given trade or trading day are really not indicative of whether or not you will be profitable.  One trade or day is simply not the measure of success, and is really irrelevant.  If you’re showing up, and paying attention, and living your viable truth, and doing your best, you can accept whatever outcome develops.  Of course, if the outcome is disastrous over time, you need to go back to the drawing board and develop better methods.

So – you want to be a trader?

  
Analysis, Education, Life
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Trader-ASR

• In 1973 Larry Williams published a book titled “How I Made One Million Dollars Last Year Trading Commodities” detailing his trading success that year. The next year he lost the million dollars.

• Michael Marcus started with $30,000, borrowed another $20,000 from his mother and then proceeded to lose 84% of their combined capital (imagine trying explain that to your Mom) before becoming a successful trader.

• In 1987 several commodity funds managed by Richard Dennis lost 50% of their capital and were forced to stop trading.

It is the most competitive field out there, not only we have to fight each other (yes – this is what we do), but we have to oppose enormous computing power of heartless machines turning trades in nanoseconds. 

Here is a simple test if you cut to be a trader – if you can stay emotions free when you finish it – try stock betting…just don’t bet your house on it – that was a job of banksters. (Just remember – 99% of you will be better of sticking with just a test and not moving to real trading)

 Step 1. Go to your bank on a windy day.
Step 2. Withdraw a minimum of  Rs10,0000 in cash.
Step 3. Walk outside and with both hands starting throwing your money up into the air.
Step 4. After all of the money has blown away, go home and sit down in your favorite chair and calmly say, “Gosh that was foolish. I wish I hadn’t done that.”
Step 5. Get on with your life.

Learning from mistakes and moving on

  
  Education
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A Subscriber of mine asks me the following question …

“When should a trader know when to say it is enough and I need to get out of the position. More importantly, how do you find a balance between learning from a mistake and not being weighed down by it on your next trading decision.”

Here was my advice:

* if you have “edge” in a trade, then winning or losing on a trade will be determined long before you find out the outcome (profit/loss) on the trade.

* important to focus on the process of the trade… making ONLY high quality trades

* your job as a trader is not to determine or decide how much you make or lose…that is up to the market. Your job is to put on trades with “edge.”

as far as not being weighed down by the mistakes, my suggestion is to begin a “lessons learned” spreadsheet where you document mistakes you make and the lesson you learned from it.

I also suggest you start a qualitative trading journal that way you can get the emotions out of your head and onto the paper.

this will help you move past your barriers and get some closure on them so you can be focused on the next trade.

Personal Strengths and Weaknesses

  
  Education
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We all have different personal strengths and weakness.  Many people focus on transforming a weakness into a strength. While that is admirable, the reality is that it’s not always possible. Although I agree with the basic idea of brain plasticity, and I whole-heartedly agree with the idea of always striving for self-improvement, I also know that as humans we have a certain degree of natural-born temperament and not everything about us can be changed.

Although we can’t always build or change every weakness into strength, the good news is that we can always leverage our strengths, if we know how. And that is mighty powerful. It’s so powerful that if you leverage the right strengths in the right way they can do an excellent job of not just counter-balancing your weaknesses, but can propel you so far ahead  that those weaknesses pale in comparison.

One of the most powerful things you can do for yourself is identifying your natural strengths and then work to see how you can build on them.

We all have different personal strengths, and knowing how to leverage them is an important part of successful trading. A major consideration here is that you try to identify and leverage your own personal strengths, and not simply copy someone else’s. All too often I see struggling traders running from one style to another style whenever they see someone else’s success. One of the primary reasons why copying someone else’s trading style doesn’t always pay off in trading is because of different personal strengths.

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