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One nice article Doc
>>This type of thinking borders the delusional.
Now this I can do.
The bigger problem is sorting out what isn't delusional.
The learning curve is not just steep but also deep at times.
>>Trading is simple, but it is not easy.
That is one of the most confusing aspects.
>>one must progress on a path, which is mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. For many, this is the most difficult journey ever taken.
It surprises me how comprehensive that re-education gets, stuff you don't expect to be an issue becomes a stumbling block. It finds the self-deception little by little.
>>Every trader must climb the four rungs of the Ladder of Learning, and must do this one step at a time. You cannot skip a step, but if you let your guard down, do not continue to study and practice, you can and will fall down a step or two.
Exactly what is happening, bouncing between competence and incompitunce.
Seems like every time I learn something new, it throws me off track for a while. Yet the sand is forever shifting.
If you fail, its because you didn't think.
But it is also often that fact that you did think that caused you to fail.
It wasn't the right thought or it wasn't the right time to be questioning.
Then its back to "what do I know, what do I rely on for trading?".
Clear out the distraction and get back on track.
As you say, its simple but its not easy.
How many strands are there in this can of spaghetti? |
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I think the
"simple but not easy" part is a bit hard to get a handle on. When I first started to trade ( way too many years ago!) I really thought it was simple. I made every possible mistake that a trader can make. One of them was listening to other people. I thought that these big name "gurus" knew so much! They were self-assured, on TV!! (now I know about CNBC and infotainment and please stay tuned for FOX Business Channel--as if we don't already have enough noise during the trading day!!) and they were promoting hundreds and thousands of percent profit gains, etc. I knew absolutely nothing. Even today, I am not really sure how much I know because I question my beliefs constantly. That said, I was lured into the markets thinking that I was smart, intelligent, educated and it would be really easy for me to do it. WRONG. Massively wrong. It became very easy for me to lose money, and I proceeded to do that almost continuously for three years. I had two doctorates and I was losing money in the markets. Then, I got my third-- a Ph.D. in losses. It was only when I became sick and tired of beating myself over the head and losing money that I knew I had to make a decision---go back to the drawing board ( little did I realilze that I hadn't really gone there in the first place and was basically shooting from the hip!) or quit. I had enough of self-pity, screaming in the car and whining about what a miserable failure I was. I took a couple of months off and made a trading plan and strategy. I started to keep a journal. I concentrated on one market only and still do that toay. I have a couple of indicators on my charts, but they are really almost bare. I found that simple was the answer to getting to easy. This is not rocket science. Far from it. Some of the highest paid traders in the world do not have a college education. They have experience with trading, many of them from the time they were teenagers. They are not intellectuals and they dont want to hear any intellectual talk. I have taken a massive amount of heat for the way I write.
People tell me that no one understands me! People tell me I have to write for the "masses" because traders don't thinkand don't want to think.
The other day, someone told me that unless I take my writing down to the level of "trailer park" no one is going to read it! Well, I have news for these people. I think traders are among the smartest people I know. I think that some the best minds in the world are in the financial markets. Just because someone does not go to college means nothing. What means something is absolute passion and dedication to what that person is doing. What means something in the markets is the ability to be profitable year after year through ever-changing cycles.
Seriously, I want to continue this, but the moving emoticons on the page right now are distracting me enormously. You see, I am a trader and I don't like distraction when I am attempting to execute!
So- I will write more later or tomorrow or next week.
Meanwhile, let these emoticons go ahead and beat themselves over the head and look puzzled and stick their tongues out at me. Do I care about when people say or do? Do you? What is it that gets you out of bed every morning to do battle with the markets? Are you competing with others or are you competing with yourself?
Where are you on the path to unconscious competence?
Thanks!
Doctor Janice