If you repeat an action over and over, day in and day out, you will become better at it with each passing day. It does not matter if you are hitting baseballs, changing transmissions out or making trades. But the fact is some people are naturals at what they do and they will always have an advantage over those who are competing with them in the same field.
imagine: the current world record for running a marathon is (don't know exactly) something around 2 hours. now somebody comes around and tells you that it is absolutely possible to run a marathon in - say - 40 minutes and that everybody who does not believe this is a moron, etc. what would be your reaction to such a claim? you would expect some proof since this is (to say the least) an extremely bold statement. either the person who makes such a claim should proof it - or he should show you someone else who can run the marathon in 40 minutes. but what do you get instead? you get no proof - you are being called names because of your ignorance and that you simply have no clue about running or sports in general. what would you think?
If i remember correctly, when Roger Bannister in 1954 broke the 4 minute mile barrier, after that psychological barrier was broken.........MANY folks were able to also run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Humans put roadblocks in themselves as excuses to fail, it is easier to say something can not be done than to put the effort in to try. The reverse of not making the effort to try is to claim falsehoods and nonsense to actually doing what is only in someone mind. ,,,,,,,,,I have never ran a 4 minute mile.
I agree. However, working your butt off (thru formal education or self-education) can more than make up for not being a "natural". The above individual will be more successful than the "natural" who puts forth only mediocre effort. Although the "creme de la creme" are naturals who also work their butts off! Superior trader? Each trader has his own personal definition. Happy Trails GRX
An interesting twist is to take grueling drills to prepare yourself before you face the market. Take a look at this: http://thefountainhead.typepad.com/contango/2006/03/40_second_boyd.html
Perhaps. On the other hand, relying almost exclusively on "right brain" as you are implying may be a "sugarcoated" way of saying you don't want to do the necessary, extensive and preliminary work required to develop a comprehensive trading strategy. I guess only you know which one it is in your case.
Would anyone agree that product traded probably means more than the person trading? What I mean is, I think there is a difference between a stock trader and a derivatives trader in that a derivatives trader has to be more in tuned to markets in how they are flowing and the plumbing of those markets that you are not even trading since they are connected systematically that is.
I must say that I am having some difficulty digesting your condescension. Let me tell you why. I think that trading is like running a business in a number of respects. Most successful businesses are predicated on a sound business plan, formal or otherwise. True, intuition and feelings come up and can be useful in the course of running a business, but I doubt that they represent a substantial part of any successful business plan, regardless of the nature of that business. Indeed, I would love to see an entrepreneur try to raise venture capital or get a bank loan on the basis of a business plan geared primarily to intuition and feeling. I'd love to be a fly on that wall. You often write worthwhile posts of good quality, in my opinion, including a couple in this thread. I did not respond to those because I had no issue with them. However, increasingly, you are resorting to esoterica. I wonder if your next paradigm shift will be to tap into the collective consciousness of the universe. What comes to mind are the ancient leaders who believed they were gods, perhaps to further distance and distinguish themselves from the hoi polloi. You certainly share that arrogance towards others. But here's the thing. You have been trading for several years now. Are you rich yet? If not, then perhaps you are not a savant or trading god after all. Maybe, you're just one of...us. With that in mind, perhaps you should climb down from your lofty perch and prevail upon your considerable right brain faculties to try and get over yourself. Just a thought.
blunderdog, You miss the concept of using what has been commonly referred to as the ART of trading, etc. That only comes AFTER all the necessary work, training, experience, dedication, time, effort and all else necessary to become proficient in any field, business, profession etc have been completed. I can understand why you fail to grasp this concept from your rhetorical snide remarks when you face defeat in conversation. You see, i do not feel you have yet performed the necessary learning curve yet to have advanced to the ART stage. You are still at the first level. But i will overlook that as a deficit in your personality. Please work on that and maybe then and only then will i again reply to your childish ramblings. Love and kisses.......
Hi, I am new to this chat so everynight I have been reading the different threads so now I will throw in my two cents worth on the subject as to whether trading is an natural ability or whether it can be taught. Why does it have to be one or the other? Can't it just be a broad spectrum that ranges from the "natural" gifted traded on one end to the "learned" trader on the other with everything in between depending on individual personalities? In spite of concepts such as "all men are created equal" human brains are really quite different though we somewhat function together thinking we are all about the same. I am 61 and over the years have met some friends who could do things that can't be explained: 1) An exgirlfriend artist who could remember color. I mixed a color once and thought it was the color of a house which we used to drive past on the way home from work. She said I was wrong and that the actual color had 30% more gray. She mixed what she said was the correct color then went and took a paint sample from the house and it matched perfectly. 2) An engineer friend of mine who could add three digit numbers together in his head as fast as I could call them out. I asked him if he could see the number and was doing it that way and he said no he didn't see anything. I asked him if he was rounding the numbers and he said no. He had no idea how he was doing it. He just knew the total without any calculations. 3. A musician friend who has perfect pitch. He tells me that the note C and the note C one octave higher are as different to him as if one was played on a basoon and the other on a flute. I can compose music in many styles such as Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Chopin etc. etc. I got into grad. school because of this ability but dropped out because all of the "music theory" seemed far too complex and I didn't see the value of it. In my mind what was taught had nothing to do with composition. The bottom line is we are all different and we just have to do the best we can. Some will make it and other's will not. Darvas2