rss

The Most Important Lessons from Business

Number 1 is never to get in over your head. Not having staying power will prevent you from reaping the benefits that occur on those small number of businesses you own that need just a little bit more before striking the gusher.

Number 2 is never under any circumstances accept an offer out of the clear blue sky for your share of the business that seemingly is good, but where the party offering you the buyout knows much more than you do. I have lost millions on many occasions by accepting a quick profit in a deal where it turned out if I waited a year or two or three, I would have realized a tremendous windfall.

Number 3 is not to mix romance with business. Romance should come out of business not business out of romance. The romantic aspect will cause a strain and make you look foolish too all your colleagues.

Number 4 is not to have 3 person partnerships as too many coalitions can form, and you will be involved in diplomacy rather than business.

Number 5 is to keep your business consistent with the idea that has the world in its grip. Give your customers what they want, and give returns and the customer is always right.

Number 6 is to be sure that you are aligned with the forces in Washington that control so much of life these days, and have so much in perks and profits to give to their cronies.

Number 7 is to associate yourself with good partners, and good friends, and good employees whose loyalty goes beyond the dollar or the clock. An ounce of loyalty and integrity is worth more than a pound of immediate profits. When the going gets tough, and it always does in business, you need to have the loyal ones. Certain groups and certain belief systems are aphoristic and proverbial for their disloyalty and tendency to deceit and they should be avoided.

Number 8 is to always remember that when dealing with a family business, the loyalty of the family members is to themselves but not to you. The worst short term frauds and cons, and some of the worst long term cons, I have been victimized in had a father and son working in concert to deceive you into giving them your chips. (more…)

Courage

Not all traders have the courage to stand up to their actions. It takes a lot of courage to deal with the fears a trader must overcome in his career. The first is the fear of success that is so common and is the most prevalent. We want success and are afraid of it at the same time too. As our account grows so does the fear of handling those amounts of money. Could you trade risking a bigger amount as the account grows? Sometimes we sabotage our own success as it puts us out of our comfort zone. Another aspect of the fear of success is the subconscious fear of not being able to sustain that success. Our ego is questioning our ability to avoid messing up and losing that prized status of a hero. Same holds true for a windfall success. We know we might be able to do it again but our ego says we will look bad if we cannot do it again. Professional Traders have developed the ability to methodically achieve success and the confidence to repeat it while reducing the odds of sabotaging themselves via their egos. Professional Traders know that trading is boring and is not full of fun and excitement. That is why they have the courage to give up the fun and excitement in exchange for trading capital preservation. They also have the courage to not become addicted to winning big all the time. They know there will be singles, doubles and losers along the way too. They have the courage to stay on the sidelines at times and miss trading opportunities. They also know when to get out of a trade bravely and have the courage to ask for help when needed. They have the courage to stick to their strategy, ask dumb questions, admit it when they are wrong and finally have the courage to trade for profit and not for pure excitement.

Courage

Not all traders have the courage to stand up to their actions. It takes a lot of courage to deal with the fears a trader must overcome in his career. The first is the fear of success that is so common and is the most prevalent. We want success and are afraid of it at the same time too. As our account grows so does the fear of handling those amounts of money. Could you trade risking a bigger amount as the account grows? Sometimes we sabotage our own success as it puts us out of our comfort zone. Another aspect of the fear of success is the subconscious fear of not being able to sustain that success. Our ego is questioning our ability to avoid messing up and losing that prized status of a hero. Same holds true for a windfall success. We know we might be able to do it again but our ego says we will look bad if we cannot do it again. Professional Traders have developed the ability to methodically achieve success and the confidence to repeat it while reducing the odds of sabotaging themselves via their egos. Professional Traders know that trading is boring and is not full of fun and excitement. That is why they have the courage to give up the fun and excitement in exchange for trading capital preservation. They also have the courage to not become addicted to winning big all the time. They know there will be singles, doubles and losers along the way too. They have the courage to stay on the sidelines at times and miss trading opportunities. They also know when to get out of a trade bravely and have the courage to ask for help when needed. They have the courage to stick to their strategy, ask dumb questions, admit it when they are wrong and finally have the courage to trade for profit and not for pure excitement.

Trading Experiences

A major key to success as a Trader and Investor lies in your mind.  Actually, it lies in your ability to use your mind optimally and creatively.

Please remember – there is NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU.  You don’t need to change YOU.  What you most likely need to change is the “software” that you are running in your mind.  When we are born we do not get a user’s manual on how best to use our mental abilities.  So we learn by soaking up what we see and hear around us as we grow up.  And often times what we learn is not conducive to being a successful trader and investor.

One of the key mental approaches is to “Welcome Every Experience.”  Welcome every experience that comes to you.  It may be an expectation, or it may be a surprise.  It may be ‘good’, or it may be ‘bad’ based on your first assessment of it.  It may involve someone getting hurt, someone getting promoted, a tragedy, a triumph, a windfall, a bankruptcy, an ‘aha’ moment….anything.  The most useful way to approach experiences we receive (which are mostly experiences we can’t control as they are outside of us) is to welcome them and learn from them.  Realize that they are exactly what we need in that moment, at that point in our lives.  And since we don’t have a time machine, once something has happened, there’s no changing it. (more…)