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‘Essential Qualities of the Speculator’

1. Self-Reliance. A man must think for himself,
must follow his own convictions. George
MacDonald says: “A man cannot have another
man’s ideas any more than he can another
man’s soul or another man’s body.” Self-trust
is the foundation of successful effort.

2. Judgment. That equipoise, that nice
adjustment of the faculties one to the other,
which is called good judgment, is an essential
to the speculator.

3. Courage. That is, confidence to act on the
decisions of the mind. In speculation there is
value in Mirabeau’s dictum: “Be bold, still be
bold; always be bold.”

4. Prudence. The power of measuring the
danger, together with a certain alertness and
watchfulness, is very important. There should be
a balance of these two, Prudence and Courage;
Prudence in contemplation, Courage in execution.
Lord Bacon says: “In meditation all dangers
should be seen; in execution one, unless very formidable.”
Connected with these qualities,
properly an outgrowth of them, is a third, viz:
promptness. The mind convinced, the act should
follow. In the words of Macbeth; “Henceforth the
very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings
of my hand.” Think, act, promptly.

5. Pliability. The ability to change an opinion,
the power of revision. “He who observes,”
says Emerson, “and observes again, is always
formidable.”

The qualifications named are necessary to the
makeup of a speculator, but they must be in well-balanced
combination. A deficiency or an overplus of one
quality will destroy the effectiveness of all. The possession
of such faculties, in a proper adjustment is, of
course, uncommon. In speculation, as in life, few succeed,
many fail.

5 Essential Qualities of the Speculator

1. Self-Reliance. A man must think for himself,must follow his own convictions. George MacDonald says: “A man cannot have another man’s ideas any more than he can  another man’s soul or another man’s body.” Self-trust is the foundation of successful effort.

2. Judgment. That equipoise, that nice adjustment of the faculties one to the other,which is called good judgment, is an essential to the speculator.
 
3. Courage. That is, confidence to act on the decisions of the mind. In speculation there is value in Mirabeau’s dictum: “Be bold, still be bold; always be bold.”
 
4. Prudence. The power of measuring the danger, together with a certain alertness and watchfulness, is very important. There should be a balance of these two, Prudence and Courage;Prudence in contemplation, Courage in execution.
Lord Bacon says: “In meditation all dangers should be seen; in execution one, unless very formidable.”
Connected with these qualities,properly an outgrowth of them, is a third, viz:promptness. The mind convinced, the act should follow. In the words of Macbeth; “Henceforth the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand.” Think, act, promptly.
 
5. Pliability. The ability to change an opinion,the power of revision. “He who observes,”says Emerson, “and observes again, is always formidable.”
The qualifications named are necessary to the makeup of a speculator, but they must be in well-balanced combination. A deficiency or an overplus of one quality will destroy the effectiveness of all. The possession of such faculties, in a proper adjustment is, of course, uncommon. In speculation, as in life, few succeed,many fail.

The Hard Problem of Consciousness -VDO

What is consciousness?

“I THINK, therefore I am.” René Descartes’ aphorism has become a cliché. But it cuts to the core of perhaps the greatest question posed to science: what is consciousness? The other phenomena described in this series of briefs—time and space, matter and energy, even life itself—look tractable. They can be measured and objectified, and thus theorised about. Consciousness, by contrast, is subjective. As Descartes’ observation suggests, a conscious being knows he is conscious. But he cannot know that any other being is. Other apparently conscious individuals might be zombies programmed to behave as if they were conscious, without actually being so.

Video after the jump

‘Essential Qualities of the Speculator’

1. Self-Reliance. A man must think for himself,
must follow his own convictions. George
MacDonald says: “A man cannot have another
man’s ideas any more than he can another
man’s soul or another man’s body.” Self-trust
is the foundation of successful effort.

2. Judgment. That equipoise, that nice
adjustment of the faculties one to the other,
which is called good judgment, is an essential
to the speculator.
3. Courage. That is, confidence to act on the
decisions of the mind. In speculation there is
value in Mirabeau’s dictum: “Be bold, still be
bold; always be bold.”
4. Prudence. The power of measuring the
danger, together with a certain alertness and
watchfulness, is very important. There should be
a balance of these two, Prudence and Courage;
Prudence in contemplation, Courage in execution.
Lord Bacon says: “In meditation all dangers
should be seen; in execution one, unless very formidable.”
Connected with these qualities,
properly an outgrowth of them, is a third, viz:
promptness. The mind convinced, the act should
follow. In the words of Macbeth; “Henceforth the
very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings
of my hand.” Think, act, promptly.
5. Pliability. The ability to change an opinion,
the power of revision. “He who observes,”
says Emerson, “and observes again, is always
formidable.”
The qualifications named are necessary to the
makeup of a speculator, but they must be in well-balanced
combination. A deficiency or an overplus of one
quality will destroy the effectiveness of all. The possession
of such faculties, in a proper adjustment is, of
course, uncommon. In speculation, as in life, few succeed,
many fail.

These are his ‘Laws Absolute’: (more…)

Something You Need to Know

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.

10 Cardinal Trading Rules

 

  1. Learn to function in a tense, unstructured, and unpredictable environment.
  2. Be an independent thinker versus a conventional thinker.
  3. Work out a way to handle your emotions and maintain objectivity.
  4. Don’t rely on hope and fear in the conventional sense.
  5. Work continuously to improve yourself, giving importance to self-examination and recognizing that your personality and way of responding to events are a critical part of the game. This requires continuous coaching.
  6. Modify your normal responses to certain events.
  7. Be willing to face problems, understand them, and recognize that they are in some way related to your behavior.
  8. Know when problems can be resolved and then apply methods to solve them. That may mean giving up some control in order to gain a different control. It may mean changes in your personality, learning self-reliance, or giving up independence and ego to become part of a trading team.
  9. Understand the larger framework in which trading occurs—how the complexity of the marketplace and your personality both must be taken into account in order to develop the mastery of trading.
  10. Develop the right mind-set for trading—a willingness to commit to the kinds of changes in personal habits and beliefs that will drastically alter your life. To do this requires a willingness to surrender to the forces of the game. In order to be able to play at a maximum level, you have to let go of your ego and your need to have things your way.