Making It

[Tams 20]

a worthwhile quick read:

 

The New York Review of Books

Volume 56, Number 9 · May 28, 2009

http://www.nybooks.com/articles/22688

 

 

Making It

By Sue M. Halpern

 

on:

 

The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life

by Alice Schroeder

 

Outliers: The Story of Success

by Malcolm Gladwell

 

Talent Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers from Everybody Else

by Geoff Colvin

[Eiger 10]

Snowball and Talent is Overrated are both excellent. Deliberate practice or "deep practice" is important to understand for success in any endeavor, including trading. Another terrrific book in this regard just published 2-3 weeks ago is Talent Code. As reflected in these books, the basic understanding reached after over 30 years of focused study on what makes people successful is that it has nothing to do with genes, DNA, IQ, family background, or innate ability and everything to do with sustained, hard work.

 

Eiger

[BlowFish 10]

If you had to recommend one Eiger which would it be? Need a book for the weekend. Actually probablly too late as I am leaving tommorow. I have Al Brooks book on order looking forward to that and it may arrive in time.

[Eiger 10]

I think you would like either and both Talent is Overrated gets into how to apply deliberate practice in an organizational setting in the second half, but has some very good info in the first half on how an individual can apply the basic principles. Both this book and Talent Code have some great examples that are quite enlightening, especially if you haven't heard or read much about deep practice before. I like how both organize the principles of deep practice in ways that are meaningful for all of us. My guess is that if you read one, you will want to read the other.

 

I am pretty familiar with the basic research on deliberate practice (i.e., the principles derived from the academic articles and books) and both reflect this body of work well without being academic. In other words, it's practical, useful stuff. They are both great reads.

 

FWIW: When I think about deliberate practice, I also think about the probablistic nature of trading and how process (i.e., making high quality trading decisions) is so important. Most traders focus on each individual trade and its outcome (i.e., did I make money or lose money on this trade) rather than on a large sample of trades and the process used to enter, manage, and exit the trade. The focus on outcomes causes all kinds of erratic trading behavior (everything from overtrading to cutting winners short). I think it is a major cause for why so many traders ultimately fail at trading -- they never develop a sound process. Deliberate practice is all about developing a strong process through sustained effort. In my judgement, having a good grasp on deliberate practice and how to apply it is really valuable for the trader. Both books are useful in this regard.

 

What is the Al Brooks book?

 

 

Eiger

[BlowFish 10]

Thanks for taking the trouble to reply in detail.

 

Cheers.

[BlowFish 10]

Al Brooks is what you might call a short term price action trader. The first I had heard of him was here http://www.traderslaboratory.com/forums/f104/futures-i-trade-show-brooks-book-6008.html

 

Not related to what is being discussed here but a couple of things he talks about resonated with me.