Hi. To be honest, I don't know how to answer you question. Can you forget, I mean, truly get it out of your head? No, I don't think so. The tendencies or some kind of knowledge is always there, I think. I think Iceman made a very good point. Yes, tendencies can be worked on, and you can make improvements. And if you battle it everyday, then you can keep the demons down. But you have to do that everyday, every waking moment. Now, I don't know about anyone, but for me, that is TOUGH. Another thing about working with tendencies that we all have (whatever it is) - is that it can come back out of nowhere and BLOW UP IN A BIG WAY. Sometimes after years and years. After decades. That's why I don't get surprised when a successful trader or some fund manager gets blown out, after YEARS of success. I felt this when I read Reminiscences of a Stock Operator. I didn't know anything about Jesse Livermore back then (it was recommended to me by a fellow trader, when I was just starting out), but after reading that book, I felt that he was gonna blow up in a big way again, before he died. It was as if he could keep the tendencies down for a while to succeed, and then all of sudden, the tendencies would come back and destroy him. Or, he kept the tendencies alive because he didn't want to be rid of them, and he kept them around long enough, and then at crucial moments (at pinnacles of success), he let them out. BOOM. I talked about this before, but it seems like some people have the tendency to self destruct, among many other things. It's like they want to. That Jesse Livermore guy - I mean, he had it all. But he couldn't take it. He couldn't take the following - doing what he loved to do (trading), enjoying the success of his labors, love from his wife, among many other things. He cheated on his wife, took bad positions, etc. And he self-destructed after many times of blowing up, and telling himself, no, promising himself that he would never be broke again, many times. As many of you probably know, he ended up killing himself. I guess he just couldn't take it. Boy, this post sounds really negative. But I think it's true, and this is the reason why some traders make it while most do not. This is the tough part, I think. Trading is brutally honest, I think, because you can't bullshit your way in trading. No disrespect, but in other professions, I think you can be totally dishonest with yourself and still be ok. Not trading, I don't think. So I guess the final analysis is that we have these tendencies. We can work on them to keep them down, but they're always there. And constantly battling them is the hard part. Ahhh well. Dad said success isn't easy, anyway. Jake
Good post my man, you've hit on some important ideas. To summarize: we all have tendencies, which if avoided would help us be more "successful." L. Livingstone is a great example of this because I think everyone who reads that book thinks to themselves, "man, if only I could do that I wouldn't ever give it all back the way he did." Let's take another direction. How did L. Livingstone succeed? By making tremendous amounts of money trading, right? How did he fail? By losing it. Why would he throw away his success? Maybe, because success is the end, and he loved the journey. His greatest ability was building from nothing to something. It proved his greatness by going from $100 to $100 million. Much more impressive than $100 mil to $100 bil. If I recall correctly, his father was pretty hard on him and he left home at an early age. In addition, he looked very young and struggled with his boyish appearance. I think it is possible he was trapped in a mental game of proving himself to his father - to the world. When he was on top he had nothing more to do and his life lost meaning. The moral: Know thyself, and beware what goals you seek, for attainment may yield disaster. It's important always to keep the bar a little too high I think, it keeps you pushing - and living another day. Above all, embrace your weaknesses. If your goal is avoidance you will inevitably fail. It's like telling someone not to think of pink spotted elephants for thirty seconds - the mind just doesn't work that way. Embrace your faults, incorporate them into your system, your life, and you'll more satisfied with the results... and more successful too.
Hey, thanks for your post. I very much agree with you. When you get to the end, what else is there to do? This is where you can set new goals, I think. For example, when J Livermore made the money he wanted, he could have then said, "you know, I've been pretty fortunate to make this kind of money. maybe I can use it to do some good for people who helped me along the way." One thing that bothers me about J Livermore, though, is this. Yes, he lived the life the way he wanted to, and accomplish what he wanted. But in the process, he hurt his sons and his wife (the first one). I don't think that is right. You're absolutely right that we have to know ourselves in this trading game. That's why I think that even though there are so many different systems to make money off the market, successful traders only tend to use a few, if not one. That is because the particular system works for that trader. Yes, again, I agree with you. I used to have a big temper. I used to try to make it go away, because it stood in the way of my becoming a successful trader. But I don't think that way anymore. I control it, and use it for motivational purposes (nothing makes you work harder than something that pisses you off). Thanks for your insight, rlb. Jake
Jake... THAT is a good thought to hang on to... i.e., using "anger" wisely! Those that can do it the best... (MJ for example) and others.... I believe make it further than those that let it get in the way. From what we hear some of the best utilize disappointment to motivate them. When I learned to use "anger" as motivation... and recognized that said emotion did nothing for me in its' destructive and raw state... but flipped inside out, could do much... many things improved, not the least of which was in trading! Regards, Ice
Yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly. rlb was dead right about it. We have to embrace our faults and use it for our advantage. Then those no longer become faults, but advantages. And you're really right about embracing anger and using it as a motivation having good effects on other areas of our lives, not just trading. I can testify for that personally. nice thread here. I like ET. Jake
I think Harry's English is improving, simple as that. Bien fait Henri (le petit lion c'est si mignon!)