Archives of “moment in time” tag

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The Path to Greatness

  
  Education
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There is much wisdom in the following and I wish these were my words, but sadly they are not. This particular speech doesn’t even pertain to trading, but reminds me so much of what Mark Douglas teaches. However, I always seem to find ways to relate just about everything in my life to trading, as I’m sure most who read this blog. Therefore I thought you would find as much value here as do I.

You are where you are…you have a goal
As you move towards that goal, things will happen
Some of those things will eventually, trigger in you an emotion that is counterproductive to your goal
It will cause you to act in a way, that will take you away from where you were heading, and towards something more familiar in your life that has plagued you your whole life
We all have these areas of vulnerability

Those who master this vulnerability are the people who master their craft. The people who master that moment in time, where that reaction occurs, are the people who do extraordinary things with their life. Who overcome things that others can’t even imagine confronting. It’s because at that moment, they manage themselves through that triggered state in an effective way, rather than defaulting to their old system they developed at a very young age, that does nothing but protect them, but not advance them. If you can master those moments, your life will be catapulted into extraordinary experiences beyond anything you can imagine. 

Waiting for Confirmation

  
  Education
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Many times we enter a trade with a high degree of certainty that the stock will move in our chosen direction.  All of our indicators can be screaming to buy or sell at a particular moment in time; however, there is no certainty that these indicators will function as intended.  In order to combat this, start by entering a trade with a small percentage of your maximum size and wait for a move in your direction to confirm that the expected move is actually occurring.  While you may miss the very first piece of the action, waiting for confirmation will significantly improve the probability of success.  Remember, you don’t have to be the first to the party; showing up fashionably late almost always works out best.

20 BOOKS EVERY TRADER SHOULD KNOW ABOUT.

  
  Education
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As with every list, there will be disagreements.  ”Why is that book on the list?”  ”Whyisn’t that book on the list?”  I picked 20 books that stood out for me as a trader, that were a #valueadd (or a #valueloss) for one reason or another.  That doesn’t even have to mean that they are about trading.  For example, the “General Interest” section is made up of books that I think appeal to a trader’s mindset.

With that in mind, feel free to add your picks to the “comments” section, along with a sentence or two as to why you liked (or hated) them.

By the way, I was too lazy to link all the books, but you can find them all at Amazon.

Old School:  

The Market Wizards Series – Jack Schwager:  Chances are you will find these books on the shelf of any serious trader.  They are without a doubt the most comprehensive collection of interviews with superstar traders ever published.  However, their dirty little secret is that although they capture perfectly a moment in time, they are extremely dated and will give you almost no insight into today’s markets or how to trade them. Their value now is in showing how even the greatest traders initially struggled and often blew up (repeatedly) before becoming successful.

Stan Weinstein’s Secrets For Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets – Stan Weinstein: This book was the first to quantify one of the most important concepts in trading; the four stages in which stocks move, which are the basing, advancing, topping, and declining stages.  Despite the fact that the cover of this book has not been updated since it was published in 1988, stage analysis is still relevant today.

How to Make Money In Stocks – O’Neil:  As an unnamed trader friend of mine recently said, all you need to do is review the charts in the first 150 pages of this book and you will be good to go.    These charts along with O’Neil’s annotations, give you a great foundation to understand the patterns stocks form before they go on massive runs. (more…)

Trading Books -Every Trader Should Read

  
  Education
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The Market Wizards Series – Jack Schwager:  Chances are you will find these books on the shelf of any serious trader.  They are without a doubt the most comprehensive collection of interviews with superstar traders ever published.  However, their dirty little secret is that although they capture perfectly a moment in time, they are extremely dated and will give you almost no insight into today’s markets or how to trade them. Their value now is in showing how even the greatest traders initially struggled and often blew up (repeatedly) before becoming successful.

Stan Weinstein’s Secrets For Profiting in Bull and Bear Markets – Stan Weinstein: This book was the first to quantify one of the most important concepts in trading; the four stages in which stocks move, which are the basing, advancing, topping, and declining stages.  Despite the fact that the cover of this book has not been updated since it was published in 1988, stage analysis is still relevant today.

How to Make Money In Stocks – O’Neil:  As an unnamed trader friend of mine recently said, all you need to do is review the charts in the first 150 pages of this book and you will be good to go.    These charts along with O’Neil’s annotations, give you a great foundation to understand the patterns stocks form before they go on massive runs.

Reminiscences of a Stock Operator – Edwin Lefevre:  Tough call on this book, only because I don’t think it is the Rosetta Stone of trading books like it is often described as.  The language is dated and colloquial, which though strange, is actually part of its charm. There are definitely some foundational lessons for trading in this book, but you as the reader have to do the historical conversion in your head from venue’s like “bucket shops,” to today’s market. (more…)

Fear of failure

  
  Education
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Don’t worry about perfect.

The easiest way to fail the first time is trying to be perfect. In the beginning, understanding how different the experience is from how you imagined it is important.  Start with reasonable expectations and over time shift to unreasonable expectations.

Seeing others do it.

At the beginning you believe you will be successful. After your expectations for success are not met, your belief fades. Surround yourself with as many people who are successful.  Seeing is believing. You will begin to notice some of the little things that they doing.  The difference between good and great, I have found, is in those little things. (more…)

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