Chapter 7. Enduring "Heaven is eternal, and the earth is very old. They can be eternal and long lasting, because they do not exist for themselves, and for this reason can long endure. Therefore the wise put themselves last, but find themselves foremost. They are indifferent to themselves, and yet they always remain. Is it not because they do not live for themselves that they find themselves fulfilled?" Heaven and earth are long lasting because they have no point of fixation and being same everywhere. There is no independent arising therefore there is no exhaustion. By not fixating upon the "self", there is no self to be exhausted. Since the wise do not live selfishly, they have no wish unfulfilled. Do not overinvest our energy to fixate upon the individuality of each trade sequence. There is no coming and going... no winning and losing... being overestimated. Keep things in longer term perspective... Knowing consistency comes from taking the same setup same way over time assuming the setup indeed has an edge. Losing is part of winning. Planning and visualizing ahead of time help being emotionally prepared to welcome all possible outcomes.
Gil Blake interviewed by Jack Schwager in "The New Market Wizards": "My approach is to confront losses even before they materialize. I rehearse the process of losing. Whenever I take a position, I like to imagine what it would be like under the worst-case scenario. In doing so, I minimize the confusion if that situation actually develops. In my view, losses are a very important part of trading. When a loss happens, I believe in embracing it."
Chapter 8. The Best Are Like Water The best are like water. Water benefits all things and does not compete with them. It flows to the lowest level. In this it comes near to the Way. In their dwellings, they love the earth. In their hearts, they love what is profound. In their friendship, they love humanity. In their words, they love sincerity. In government, they love peace. In business, they love ability. In their actions, they love timeliness. It is because they do not compete that there is no resentment. Water does not compete and it is equally happy in low places. In business, they focus on their ability and skill sets. In actions, they do not hesitate and go with the flow. It is because they do not compete with others or themselves so that there is no resentment or fear of resentment... hence they do not hesitate. In trading, internal conflicts cause hesitation in actions. This conflicts come from our attachment to our expectation when there is a difference between perceived reality and the expectation. Hope is THE four letter words that blind us from reality with emotions... It will be hard trading blindfolded and distracted. About the only thing to do is making sure there is a proven edge in the method and keep taking the same trades the same way. Focus on developing the skillsets, learn how to take losses and expect drawdowns. Winners are not special nor are the losers. People tends to tamper with the process by introducing new elements with unknown effects at exactly the worst time in hoping to "improve" the process. Blair Hull interviewed by Jack Schwager in the book "The New Market Wizards":
With due respect, what does this thread have to do with trading? Why do some people need to shroud and cloak trading with mysticism, eastern philosophy or whatever? Trading is trading, just like making a sandwich is making a sandwich. The more you try to make of it, the more you take away from it by obscuring the issue. (Oh-oh, now I'm sounding like some of you guys. May I suggest that we rename this thread The Doodoo of Trading.)
It does provide structure for people like me to fill in the blanks and pinning down your so-called "Trading is trading." Many times trading is not trading... because we forgot our roles (karma yoga) while scrambling to serve our ego needs... I guess it could be something like reading the I-Ching oracle, its advice will invite us to search our subconscious for answers. Even Buddha said it himself Buddhism is just a label once you got to the other side you should jump ship.
... but some longer term traders can suffer from "impotency". In my case I have both problems because my automated scalping system totally failed to catch any entry today the whole ES move down while I was out for a doctor appointment. I could have gone in myself and done no wrong today (and probably give it back tomorrow).
I agree that introspection is a good thing. However, going off on a tangent probably isn't. I suppose we each need to draw our own line. Good luck with yours.
Hi Thunderdog, Can you explain more in what way am I going off on a tangent? I could be pressing a bit sometimes but I feel I am not that far out. At least I tried not to skew the eastern philosophy too much nor plagiarize (Mark Douglas both screwed up the meanings and plagiarized eastern philosophy in his so-called "original" material... Evidence is in the entire vocabulary set he borrowed... I know I am gonna get it for saying this). I need your opinions. Thanks. Regards, William
I think this is one of the Major Keys to the room where your Holy Grail is housed. Michael B. The key to the truth is honesty. Make-belief and preconceptions are impediments to direct experience. Dao (tao) is both the vision and the path. One facet of the puzzle is that a trader has to know who he is... What is his weakness? What is his strength? His methodology should reflect that... there is a better way for him to travel.