It is important to understand the difference between a prerequisite and an accomplishment. Zero is the necessary minimum to achieve a task. Showing up to work is not an accomplishment it is a prerequisite for keeping the job. Trading has prerequisites that can be confused for accomplishment. Here are some: Admitting you are wrong/made a mistake. Mistakes happen and… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: mistake
Patience and “The Goal” Parable
I was talking to a mentor of mine, whom I will formally introduce soon. He asked me to read something. It was an adaptation of a parable about patience and the goal. It went something like this: A guy goes to a trading mentor and says he has 3 days to learn to trade. Guy:… Continue Reading
How you define an outcome (losing capital), changes future outcomes.
(From the archives) Redefining or changing a word in a sentence can provide the necessary psychological shift to see things in a different way. This different perspective can lead to different results (hopefully positive). Probably the most common redefined word in finance is “Loss” which is turned into “Investment in Education” or “Tuition”. I am… Continue Reading
The contradiction in trading rules and advice.
Teaching is hard. I look back on what I did to my parents, my teachers, and coaches, they had some serious patience. They must have used a bunch of energy trying to get their points across. And of course my personality and lack of experience got in the way. One of the hardest things for… Continue Reading
Logic verses understanding.
I was 18, surrounded by guys I did not know, in a city I was unfamiliar with, away from family and friends for the first time. The coach that recruited me had left almost immediately after I decided to play football there. I knew the coaches and I knew some of the guys from All-Star game and… Continue Reading
How expectations will destroy you.
In most things success depends on knowing how long it takes to succeed. – Charles de Montesquieu That great quote came across my twitter feed from @PhilosophersSay via @eminiplayer. It best sums up expectation and is extremely useful in trading. The most simple thing I can say about expectations in trading is that at first you… Continue Reading
Giving yourself a chance to become a successful trader.
From the archives I was just talking to another trader who was having trouble pulling the trigger. Assuming you have taken the necessary steps; having the money to lose, having a plan, can maintain discipline, and willingness to learn about yourself, the market, and the relationship between the two. The next step is to do… Continue Reading
Cure for revenge trading.
Robert Sinn has a good post out today. You can read it here. He makes a point about always having the opportunity to control your destiny. We refer to it as being able to trade tomorrow. I was talking to a friend about a potential career move. It is a higher risk/higher reward move. The… Continue Reading
How patience held me back today.
Patience with a reason pays. Doing anything with a reason pays. Yesterday, there was not much to do. I traded 7 a side. I never got a chance to get a full position. I made a little money but it was not in a repeatable way. Meaning it could have gone either way. I save… Continue Reading
The mistake of thinking you are different.
If I could kick anyone’s ass it would mine about 10 years ago. I believed so much in myself that I thought I could skip steps. To be fair, I was good at certain things that made it easier. When you get to a certain level, every participant has talent. The things that help differentiate… Continue Reading
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