New Book

I ordered this book from amazon and it arrived a couple days ago, I've only read a few chapters, but so far I'm really impressed with it. The author has a nice writing style and I've looked ahead and the book looks like it's filled with actionable ideas. Once I'm done reading it I'll try to write a solid review that covers everything about the book. In addition to this book I also bought Market Wizards, I've been thinking about purchasing this one for years, but I stayed away from it since it wasn't about technical analysis.




I know what to expect from this book, it's about successful traders and their stories, more of an inspirational type of book if you ask me, however there are probably many lessons that can be learned from these pros and their trading/daily life habits, I'm also going to write a review on this book once I'm finished with it.

The price of freedom

To me trading represents freedom. Freedom from bullshit that average people have to deal with. I truly believe that anyone with the determination can be very successful in this business. I know for a fact that I will be such a person in a very short period of time. My main strategy for trading futures has proven statistically profitable over large sample sizes. I do not talk about my main strategy. Why not? Coz it's mine, I created it, it works for me and it's quite simple to understand, however I'm not going to just hand out answers, it's better if you find them on your own, else you will never grow as a trader, and ultimately fail. I am confident in my ability to beat the market, and it's thanks to a lot of hours put in. Still I could have been here years ago if I hadn't been so lazy in the past. Now all I need to do is save enough capital to refund my account, and I'll be back in business. However I'm not finished there, there's always more to learn, and more practice to be had, I've heard other bloggers mention the various levels that traders go through, some people say there are 3 levels others say 4-5, but the concept is the same, you go through various stages throughout your development as a trader. Profitability if reached around level 2-3 depending who you ask, some people reach a level where they're winning and they stop progressing coz they become complacent, or are afraid of messing things up. However the environment/market can change, so it's good to have the capability to adapt to changing situations, this is where knowledge comes in. So the more you read the more strategies/ideas you will come up with that could lead to higher profits and profitability in more markets, maybe you'll find that you like swing trading better, or options trading might be more suited for you, you won't know if you don't seek out information though. Success in trading requires an extremely high level of discipline and a solid work ethic, most people I'd say around 90%+ of the population does not possess these attributes. I have a low opinion of most people, they socialize too much in my opinion, they sit around watching idiotic sitcoms, or watching sports drinking beer on a Sunday afternoon, there is important work to be done, and still they do nothing, children are starving, the world is burning, civilization is crumbling, and their freedom is being stolen from them, and still they sit and do nothing. Most people can't see past the cloud of ignorance that surrounds them, too caught up in their own lives, they are unable to break free of unproductive cycles. Does it really matter what happened on "friends" last night, what is the point in watching television and socializing with lazy degenerates? If you want to be a professional you will have to change some things about yourself, you won't be the same person anymore, but it takes time and dedication.

Required Reading

Hullo there, I've been thinking of what to post, and I recently re-read "Trading In The Zone", by Mark Douglas. I thought it would be a good idea to start reviewing books that I've read, this is one of them. It's a good trading book and I highly recommend it to anyone with motivation problems. The book doesn't deal with technical analysis or any specific techniques for making real time trades, but psychology is something I feel is neglected by the majority. I see trading videos on youtube titles "money making secrets", and "automated/no-risk trading system", or whatever getting all the attention. It seems to me that most people are trying to get rich quick without putting any effort in, I think rather than buying an automated system, learn to trade yourself. In the past I have argued on such videos, and on random threads across the internet with random strangers (something I no longer do), people say things like "you think you can watch something better than your computer"! Well the problem with auto systems is that computers cannot think, they just buy/sell when a bunch of criteria is met, but context in the market is very important, so is structure and pattern formations. Anyway so the reason I recommend this book is coz learning to trade for yourself is what I believe in, and a big part of that is psychology, being properly motivated and believing the work your doing will lead someplace is very important. Furthermore you need to learn to master your fear over the market, in the past my losses have been so large, so consistent I would lay in my bed doing nothing for days, or just watching TV, anything but look at a chart, coz I thought the market would crush me again. Fear can really screw with your head, don't underestimate it, there are other problems people can have too besides fear, and this book addresses many of them and ways to deal with it.