I think it´s the fear and not the wanting itself that cause problems. Wanting something enough and visualizing it in Theta or Delta state of mind can make it real. It´s magic This book is good - Mental chemistry http://www.psitek.net/pages/PsiTekMCContents.html
he is now ranked in the top 3 performing funds over 150 million. vic is back in a big way..... i need to disagree with the premise of this thread. i find detailed visualization of what i want to be highly effective in manifesting said desire. when i was driving a p.o.s. car, i would visualize a luxury name badge on the steering wheel, when i lived in a studio apartment, i cut out pictures of houses where i wanted to live---- soon the cars and house were mine. etc, etc.....( not that there has not been bumps along the way) i truly credit the detailed visualization to making some reality. you need to know EXACTLY what you want and believe to get anything worthwhile..... good luck ! surfer
Other than the great news about Vic - a blowout doesn't make a bad trader after all - Surfer raises an interesting point about the thread. I think that there two interelated issues here. I agree with Surfer that I need to see and look forward to what I want in future to give me overall motivation and a boost - did you know that if you want something you get boosts to your brain chemistry at two times, one when you anticipate it and one when you get it. But the thread illustrates the other half of motivation equation. If doing something simple, a lot of direct motivation (almost to the point one would consider stress) improves performance. If doing something complex you want relatively low stress for high performance. Creativity would be at one end; a highly practiced sporting event at the other. Where is trading?
Thanks for all who partook in this thread. Sorry for some of the confusion. The bad thing is not wanting to succeed in trading per se, but wanting to be rich and use the money as some weapon or just to buy toys (sports cars etc). many traders, and if you are not like that please skip this, are into trading for two reasons; 1) to be stinking rich and retire at 35 2) to avoid any meaningful work and service to others these are the agendas on the mind of many who fail and they fail because the reasons and wishes are self-fulfilling prophecies to lose and not make it as a trader.
================ Yes intense desire helps; but channel it into research helps , like was mentioned earlier ,you also have to take what the market gives you. Whats your read , Coolweb,on volume leading up to 87 crash???????; OCT has had a track record of polar bear moves. GE & IBM ,XOM monthly price/volume in SEPT 87 dont seem to tell much; weekly volume on my charts isnt coming up much in OCT 87 ? ????????????
I agree with the original poster, people who try too hard, want success too much usually don't achieve their goals. They end up getting in their own way. As a silly analogy, I see this type of personality flaw with certain friends at bars: I'll watch a buddy get all excited about a good looking woman, make up all these fanciful ideas about her (based on looks alone) and come up with a look/demeanor for himself that will supposedly get her to like him (a pick up act). Based on his need and want to be liked by her, he starts a dialogue around what he believes is her idea of success. The conversation may go somewhere but usually the insecurity of being someone other than himself eventually reveals itself via small body cues and slips in speech. Women are very perceptive. Funny thing is, when he talks to women that are not as attractive, the results are great, there is no need or want (lust) and the conversation just works, the physical desire doesn't get in the way. Anyway, I always tell him that if he would just relax, be himself and not put on a facade, and forget about her looks the results would be much better IMO. Compare this to the desire for money and the same thought processes apply - we all want to be seen with lots of money (a beautiful woman) but the need and want to be seen in high regard by others destroys one's ability to actually achieve self security and confidence. You'll end up trying so hard for an "end goal" motivated by artificial and shallow desires and soon realize that no end goal actually exists. EDIT: I forgot to mention that Cohen claims intuition accounts for more than 50% of his trading. For those that think mental exercises are meaningless, IMO psychological self-analysis is the only way to develop intuition, i.e. defensive and offensive mentalities.
The 'more you want it' is a completely rogue emotion. It crashes everything. Anyone with that problem should train themselves out of it .. pronto. But the key disrupting emotion is the 'don't know' emotion. It is a constant companion of fear, dread, anxiety or all the other mixes of emotional fu*ked-upness in trading. My mind state of play is contentment. So I know what I'm doing .. before the market starts and I know what I'm doing during the market. Even though I have an accurate predictive trading model, I still plan the day. This approach eliminates and prevents common trader turmoil which goes along the lines of 'what the f**king hell is the market doing now?' Summary: the less you know, the likelihood is the more prone you are to emotional turmoil during trading. That means that panic, not cool thinking, can become your greater master.
Good analogy, and I don't want to throw a monkey wrench at it, but you shouldn't overlook the possibility that the conversation went better partly because the less attractive women were more receptive due to possibly having lower standards, all else being equal. Even so, the analogy is not lost on me.