So You Think You Can Trade?

[thetradingdoctor 10]

 

 

So You Think You Can Trade?

 

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.

 

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world… Martha Graham (1894-1991; fierce, innovative dancer and choreographer)

 

OK. I fudged the title from the TV sensation du jour: So You Think You Can Dance?

 

Having been a dancer since age 5, I actually thought I could dance! That was before I watched these amazing young dancers battling it out week after week; one by one, falling down, getting up, getting safe and getting booted. The field continues to narrow until, one day soon, the winner will be chosen. These people have talent, training and experience. So what separates the winners from the losers? Passion. Pure, unbridled passion. That is what separates the winners from the losers in dancing, life and trading.

 

Why do so many people think they can do something with confidence, courage and competence when they cannot? The so-called overconfidence bias and other heuristic biases are topics for another day. Today, I would like to focus on the Learning Ladder of Trading.

 

One day, you get up and realize that you are in a dead-end job, and just sick and tired of being sick and tired. Your buddy has been trading the markets for a few years and doing OK…not great...but getting by. Your buddy's buddy just set up a trading account, paid thousands for software, books and courses, but is not making any money. In fact, he has lost half of his initial stake. Yet, you hear others touting returns of 100-1000% gains a year, and the siren call of greed coupled with the idea that if they can do it, you can do it better, is too tempting to resist. I mean, how difficult can it be? You just buy the right books, get the best software, go to the right seminars, subscribe to the hottest newsletter, and--with the click, click of your mouse--buy low and sell high or buy high and sell higher or sell high and buy lower. No problem. Piece of cake.

 

So, you announce to your family that you are going to quit your job, become a full time trader, monies will flow effortless into your account and everything is going to change. It all seems so easy, and the seminar people are doing it, so why can't you. You are just as intelligent as the next guy.

 

This type of thinking borders the delusional. Just as one cannot wake up one day and announce that one, without any formal education training (including the school of hard knocks) is going to start practicing law or medicine, one does not become a proficient trader overnight. Get over yourself, because it just isn't going to happen.

 

No matter how many bells, whistles, indicators, seminars and books with which you surround yourself, you have to pay your dues. You must learn that that piece of cake needs to be converted into humble pie, and that the most-successful traders got that way by first getting a Ph.D. in losses.

 

Trading is simple, but it is not easy. Trading is a skill and an art that takes time, patience, perseverance and courage. Successful trading and investing are skills, which combine both art and science. In order to achieve and master these skills, one must progress on a path, which is mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. For many, this is the most difficult journey ever taken. Start where you are, and understand that it is about the process, that time takes time and that the rewards are worth it if you just keep going with passion. Without passion, why bother?

 

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure…Colin L. Powell

 

Every trader must climb the four rungs of the Ladder of Learning, and must do this one step at a time. You cannot skip a step, but if you let your guard down, do not continue to study and practice, you can and will fall down a step or two.

 

What do I mean by the Ladder of Learning and the four steps? In this case (and putting other learning theories and the neuroanatomical bases for them aside for now) I am referring specifically to the four stages of trading competence:

 

Somewhere in your make-up, there lies sleeping, the seed of achievement which, if aroused and put into action, would carry you to heights such as you may never have hoped to attain…Napoleon Hill

 

(1) Unconscious Incompetence: You don't know that you don't know, and you don't know what you don't know, a.k.a. ignorance is bliss.

 

At this stage of your trading, you are not aware of the existence of, or need for, specific trading skills. You don’t know what you don’t know, including that you have any deficiencies (since you don't know that there are any specific trading skills). Denial may come into play here as well, as you may think that such skills are unnecessary or not useful, and all you have to do is to subscribe to a service or hotline, or jump on the next "hot" pick and money will come rolling into your account. In order to move to the next stage, you most overcome your denial and become consciously aware of your incompetence. Without taking this next step, you will not progress and no new skill will be acquired. There will be no learning. The next step is:

 

 

(2) Conscious Incompetence: You know that you don't know, but you are not entirely sure what you don't know.

 

At this stage, you become aware that trading is a skill, which exists, which is practiced by many and is relevant to your success. You also become aware of your deficiencies in this area by attempting to trade or practicing how to trade. This is the stage in which you begin to figure out how much you don't know. Successful traders will, at some point during this stage of the learning process, make a commitment to learn. They will make a commitment to study, to be teachable and to practice, practice and practice until you know what you don’t know. Now, you are ready to progress to:

 

(3) Conscious Competence: You know what you know, and you can trade, but you have to think about it.

 

During this stage, the skill of trading can be performed reliably, consistently and at will. However, you have to concentrate a lot, and think a lot, in order to do it. It is not second nature, nor is it automatic. At this stage, you are open totally to more learning, but you are not able to teach anyone else how to do it. The only way to proceed from this stage to the final stage is to practice more and more until…eureka...one day you have reached the stage of:

 

(4) Unconscious Competence: You know how to do it, and don't have to think about it. You just do it.

 

At this stage, the act and process of trading consolidates within the memory and pattern recognition areas of your brain…it becomes second nature. If you are really good at it, you can trade and do other things at the same time (I do not recommend this, however). Certain people at this stage are capable of teaching others, but this is not universal. In fact, it may be more difficult to teach at this stage since the skill has become largely instinctual. It is at this stage when, if someone asks you how you knew to do that, you have to pause, think and say, "I don't really know. I just did it." This is trading mastery.

 

There is another, final and rarely-discussed stage that is called Conscious

Unconscious Competence. Those who have reached this stage are the best teachers, and they are rare and difficult to find. Find one of these people to guide and support you if you really want to learn how to trade.

 

Champions execute the fundamentals with unconscious competence. That means they've practiced the moves so many times in the past that they can do them almost perfectly without thinking about it. When you can perform brilliantly without thinking, you can perform at a very high level…June Jones (Head Football Coach, University of Hawaii Warriors)

 

Until next time,

Good Trading and Brain On!

 

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.

Train Your Trading Brain

http://www.thetradingdoctor.com

[walterw 10]

Excellent description of the process a trader goes thru his formation ¡¡

 

I like this one Janice, have to agree that it doesnt happen overnight... and the last cathegory certainly is cool... cheers Walter.

[thetradingdoctor 10]

The last category is way cool because there are so few people that can trade AND teach. I am always looking for them, so please feel free to share names anyone that fits the category.

 

Thanks and have a great weekend!

 

Doctor Janice

[PYenner 10]

One nice article Doc

 

>>This type of thinking borders the delusional.

Now this I can do.

The bigger problem is sorting out what isn't delusional.

The learning curve is not just steep but also deep at times.

 

>>Trading is simple, but it is not easy.

That is one of the most confusing aspects.

 

>>one must progress on a path, which is mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. For many, this is the most difficult journey ever taken.

It surprises me how comprehensive that re-education gets, stuff you don't expect to be an issue becomes a stumbling block. It finds the self-deception little by little.

 

>>Every trader must climb the four rungs of the Ladder of Learning, and must do this one step at a time. You cannot skip a step, but if you let your guard down, do not continue to study and practice, you can and will fall down a step or two.

Exactly what is happening, bouncing between competence and incompitunce.

Seems like every time I learn something new, it throws me off track for a while. Yet the sand is forever shifting.

If you fail, its because you didn't think.

But it is also often that fact that you did think that caused you to fail.

It wasn't the right thought or it wasn't the right time to be questioning.

Then its back to "what do I know, what do I rely on for trading?".

Clear out the distraction and get back on track.

As you say, its simple but its not easy.

How many strands are there in this can of spaghetti?

[PYenner 10]

>>Trading is simple, but it is not easy.

There are only three choices, up, down or sideways.

So how hard can it be?

Yeah right...

[strtedat22 10]

niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicccccccccceeeeeeeeeeee

[thetradingdoctor 10]

One nice article Doc

 

>>This type of thinking borders the delusional.

Now this I can do.

The bigger problem is sorting out what isn't delusional.

The learning curve is not just steep but also deep at times.

 

>>Trading is simple, but it is not easy.

That is one of the most confusing aspects.

 

>>one must progress on a path, which is mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. For many, this is the most difficult journey ever taken.

It surprises me how comprehensive that re-education gets, stuff you don't expect to be an issue becomes a stumbling block. It finds the self-deception little by little.

 

>>Every trader must climb the four rungs of the Ladder of Learning, and must do this one step at a time. You cannot skip a step, but if you let your guard down, do not continue to study and practice, you can and will fall down a step or two.

Exactly what is happening, bouncing between competence and incompitunce.

Seems like every time I learn something new, it throws me off track for a while. Yet the sand is forever shifting.

If you fail, its because you didn't think.

But it is also often that fact that you did think that caused you to fail.

It wasn't the right thought or it wasn't the right time to be questioning.

Then its back to "what do I know, what do I rely on for trading?".

Clear out the distraction and get back on track.

As you say, its simple but its not easy.

How many strands are there in this can of spaghetti?

 

 

 

I think the

"simple but not easy" part is a bit hard to get a handle on. When I first started to trade ( way too many years ago!) I really thought it was simple. I made every possible mistake that a trader can make. One of them was listening to other people. I thought that these big name "gurus" knew so much! They were self-assured, on TV!! (now I know about CNBC and infotainment and please stay tuned for FOX Business Channel--as if we don't already have enough noise during the trading day!!) and they were promoting hundreds and thousands of percent profit gains, etc. I knew absolutely nothing. Even today, I am not really sure how much I know because I question my beliefs constantly. That said, I was lured into the markets thinking that I was smart, intelligent, educated and it would be really easy for me to do it. WRONG. Massively wrong. It became very easy for me to lose money, and I proceeded to do that almost continuously for three years. I had two doctorates and I was losing money in the markets. Then, I got my third-- a Ph.D. in losses. It was only when I became sick and tired of beating myself over the head and losing money that I knew I had to make a decision---go back to the drawing board ( little did I realilze that I hadn't really gone there in the first place and was basically shooting from the hip!) or quit. I had enough of self-pity, screaming in the car and whining about what a miserable failure I was. I took a couple of months off and made a trading plan and strategy. I started to keep a journal. I concentrated on one market only and still do that toay. I have a couple of indicators on my charts, but they are really almost bare. I found that simple was the answer to getting to easy. This is not rocket science. Far from it. Some of the highest paid traders in the world do not have a college education. They have experience with trading, many of them from the time they were teenagers. They are not intellectuals and they dont want to hear any intellectual talk. I have taken a massive amount of heat for the way I write.

People tell me that no one understands me! People tell me I have to write for the "masses" because traders don't thinkand don't want to think.

 

The other day, someone told me that unless I take my writing down to the level of "trailer park" no one is going to read it! Well, I have news for these people. I think traders are among the smartest people I know. I think that some the best minds in the world are in the financial markets. Just because someone does not go to college means nothing. What means something is absolute passion and dedication to what that person is doing. What means something in the markets is the ability to be profitable year after year through ever-changing cycles.

 

Seriously, I want to continue this, but the moving emoticons on the page right now are distracting me enormously. You see, I am a trader and I don't like distraction when I am attempting to execute!

 

So- I will write more later or tomorrow or next week.

 

Meanwhile, let these emoticons go ahead and beat themselves over the head and look puzzled and stick their tongues out at me. Do I care about when people say or do? Do you? What is it that gets you out of bed every morning to do battle with the markets? Are you competing with others or are you competing with yourself?

 

Where are you on the path to unconscious competence?

 

Thanks!

 

Doctor Janice

[PYenner 10]

Even today, I am not really sure how much I know because I question my beliefs constantly.

 

I found that simple was the answer to getting to easy. This is not rocket science.

 

People tell me I have to write for the "masses" because traders don't think and don't want to think.The other day, someone told me that unless I take my writing down to the level of "trailer park" no one is going to read it!

 

Are you competing with others or are you competing with yourself?

The road to simplicity is anything but simple.

The market is hugely devious, yet it is still crude and simple.

Up, down or sideways.

 

The questions are endless, but while trading, only the key trading questions are helpful, most questions are distractions.

 

The media seems to have gone after the dumn money.

Thats not a pretty picture of John and Jane Doe.

Whether you call it comic book or trailer park, I can't see it lasting one day of reality in trading. Education is not intelligence, there are many educated idiots. Lack of education does not mean unintelligent. Whoever they are, they have to ask themselves the right questions in order to see reality, instead of wishful thinking.

 

Others don't come into it.

There is only the self, one player who wins or losses with or against themself.

The price is reality, reality must dictate your reactions.

Preparation and practice develop the reactions.

There is something kind of zen about the perspective, the focus amidst chaos. Or like a firemans drill, each different scenario has is own best approach. The discretionary, thinking on your feet thing, keeping your mental reality up to speed with market reality, no delusions.

 

I'm not sure that you can plan an attack on the market.

It's more like planning a series of defences against likely attacks.

The least worst outcome is a big part of the picture once a trade is running.

[thetradingdoctor 10]

Absolutely agree with what you say, Pyenner. The challenge for many is what is reality. There is so much self-delusion going on--well that is a big of an exaggeration as delusion is a form of psychosis. Let's put it this way:

People see what they want to see. They believe what they want to believe.Reality is not the same from person to person. That is the reason for looking at the one technical indicator that does not lie. OK. Sometimes there are bad prints! However, the one technical indicator that does not lie is price. Now if you see a print of 20 and I see a print of 20, how many others are seeing that same print? Tons. Yet, there are those who will question that constantly--it can't be right, the market is wrong, this is a temporary thing, I know better, etc. Denial is more than just a river in Egypt!

Look at some of the famous permabears that have been wrong about the direction of the markets for years. Yet they persist. WHY? Do they see a different price from the rest of the people that see 20? Why do permabears persist? Why do permabulls persist? Why is Cramer so popular? What is this all about?

 

Re: doing battle with the markets, this is a semantic issue. Anyone who sets out to attack the market better have huge pockets. The idea here is that trading is a battle. We are trading the markets. That means we are trading other tradings. We are buying and selling risk and trading our beliefs against the beliefs of other traders. Fighting the markets is futile. Why? Because the markets are always right---EXCEPT at two significant times.

 

THe greatest battle is not with the markets but with oneself. Turn down the noise, shut off the phones, seal your room, and just be with yourself and your position.

 

You always have such great stuff to say PYenner and thank you!

 

Doctor Janice

[PYenner 10]

I'm still inconsistent, still shooting from the hip.

[PYenner 10]

Denial, yes, paddled down dat creek too often.

At least I am learning to recognize the scenery when that happens.

 

I don't understand Cramer either, thats not the way I think.

 

One thing I don't do is give myself a proper chance, discipline is needed.

 

>>Because the markets are always right---EXCEPT at two significant times.<<

 

Well said Doc.

[Sparrow 10]

Very good material doc, thanks a lot.

 

I accidentally found an interview with nassim taleb, he talks about that confirmation bias and statistics, which is covered in his book the black swan.

Maybe it doesn't fit that well here but he gives reason why listening to analysts and trying to predict the market can be very harmful.

The interview is also very long(1 1/2h).

[RAVIN 10]

That said, I was lured into the markets thinking that I was smart, intelligent, educated and it would be really easy for me to do it. WRONG. Massively wrong. It became very easy for me to lose money, and I proceeded to do that almost continuously for three years. I had two doctorates and I was losing money in the markets. Then, I got my third-- a Ph.D. in losses.

Doctor Janice

 

Can very much relate to your experience, having been down that path.

 

In many seminars I have listened to the old cliche's but never paid much attention:

 

1. Keep It simple,

2. Develop you own strategy and tactics and test them thoroughly

3. Then apply the rules consistently with discipline and patience

4. Stop looking for Holy Grail because there is none

 

and finally keep away a Guru who claim to know the future via his system, he is either a consummate lair or GOD , if it is the latter, WHY THE HECK DOES HE NEED TO TRADE

[ekshay 10]

the markets are always right---EXCEPT at two significant times.

Could someone enlighten me. I didn't 'get' this line.

 

[DbPhoenix 42]

Could someone enlighten me. I didn't 'get' this line.

 

 

 

She may be confusing "the markets" with what is commonly called "the herd" or "the crowd" since it is true that "the crowd" is always right except at tops and bottoms, which are "two significant times".

 

The market itself, of course, is always right.

[Snitzer 10]

The article, while dated, still makes sense. A month past the March lows I got the bright idea that now was the time to invest in the stock market, I did, in a modest sort of way, and while I haven't lost any money my gains have been modest ones. My trading philosophy, technique, system, whatever, has been through two major restructurings, my portfolio has been taken apart and put back together as I rethink how to do all this and still I'm ahead (barely) of where I started. Some folks call it "playing" the stock market, but that's about as big a misnomer as ever been nomed (?), as, if it's done right (and "right" is painted in a million colors) it can be damned hard work. I'm unsure just what level I'm at as the more I learn the level of visible ignorance increases, which makes me wonder just how much invisible ignorance lies before me.

 

Buy and hold, active trading, options, definitions, the million and one things that long time traders just know about are all part of this strange new world of finance I've stuck my nose in, and I'm fascinated by the vast kaleidoscope of possibilities/opportunities/pitfalls/dangers and possible screw-ups strewn before me.

 

The simple phrase "Buy low, sell high" is itself fraught with complexities hidden deep within it's simple structure, as figuring the lows and highs can involve deep math, delving into fundamentals, learning patterns and developing the correct spin to impart to the chicken bones as they are tossed.

 

I think I'm going to like it here.

[DugDug 10]

welcome aboard the most frustrating, rewarding, disagreeable time of your life Snitzer.

 

hint number one: - delve in read all you like, explore, go crazy, test, try, win, loose.....but what ever you do ensure that you keep yourself grounded and do what makes sense to you - so long as its grounded in reality - otherwise you can easily get lost in the thrill of learning and searching for ways to dissect and understand the market, as opposed to just listening to it and letting it work for you.

[scg84 10]

This is one of the best threads I've read. Not enough emphasis has been placed on the pyschology of trading. It makes me interested to study it further.

 

Myself - overcoming the delusional behaviour. Maybe I should ramp up the anit psychotics!

I'm scared to resign to the fact that I wont suceed hugely and that I cant do it in 6 months... but I'm not the sort of person to quit after 6 months anyway.

 

Regardless, I think that just stems from the natural instinct to suceed and could also be viewed as a positive in some cases. As long as we try and try again, and improve and learn about ourselves, success is probable.

 

After I had a big loss, I went back to the drawing board and decided to learn as much as I could and apply it. This week I was trading my over complicated system with not much luck. The entry/exit signals all conflicted, I was convinced that in a trade any resistance to a profit would result in a loss and it turned out quite bad. Talking with a few quys while doing this (traders with years experience) made me think - I'm making this way harder than it is.

 

So back to the drawing board, this time with a plan that is clear, unambiguous. But most importantly, I realise the importance to follow your plan and trust that its either right or wrong. The only way to know is to trade it with discipline. When I get something that works, I will know.

 

 

This thread should be posted in the beginners forum. Its much better than everyone saying - You will loose for years before you make money, with no explanation.

 

Thanks again for posting this.

[kingfisher3210 10]

 

 

So You Think You Can Trade?

 

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.

 

You can have anything you want if you want it desperately enough. You must want it with an exuberance that erupts through the skin and joins the energy that created the world… Martha Graham (1894-1991; fierce, innovative dancer and choreographer)

 

OK. I fudged the title from the TV sensation du jour: So You Think You Can Dance?

 

Having been a dancer since age 5, I actually thought I could dance! That was before I watched these amazing young dancers battling it out week after week; one by one, falling down, getting up, getting safe and getting booted. The field continues to narrow until, one day soon, the winner will be chosen. These people have talent, training and experience. So what separates the winners from the losers? Passion. Pure, unbridled passion. That is what separates the winners from the losers in dancing, life and trading.

 

Why do so many people think they can do something with confidence, courage and competence when they cannot? The so-called overconfidence bias and other heuristic biases are topics for another day. Today, I would like to focus on the Learning Ladder of Trading.

 

One day, you get up and realize that you are in a dead-end job, and just sick and tired of being sick and tired. Your buddy has been trading the markets for a few years and doing OK…not great...but getting by. Your buddy's buddy just set up a trading account, paid thousands for software, books and courses, but is not making any money. In fact, he has lost half of his initial stake. Yet, you hear others touting returns of 100-1000% gains a year, and the siren call of greed coupled with the idea that if they can do it, you can do it better, is too tempting to resist. I mean, how difficult can it be? You just buy the right books, get the best software, go to the right seminars, subscribe to the hottest newsletter, and--with the click, click of your mouse--buy low and sell high or buy high and sell higher or sell high and buy lower. No problem. Piece of cake.

 

So, you announce to your family that you are going to quit your job, become a full time trader, monies will flow effortless into your account and everything is going to change. It all seems so easy, and the seminar people are doing it, so why can't you. You are just as intelligent as the next guy.

 

This type of thinking borders the delusional. Just as one cannot wake up one day and announce that one, without any formal education training (including the school of hard knocks) is going to start practicing law or medicine, one does not become a proficient trader overnight. Get over yourself, because it just isn't going to happen.

 

No matter how many bells, whistles, indicators, seminars and books with which you surround yourself, you have to pay your dues. You must learn that that piece of cake needs to be converted into humble pie, and that the most-successful traders got that way by first getting a Ph.D. in losses.

 

Trading is simple, but it is not easy. Trading is a skill and an art that takes time, patience, perseverance and courage. Successful trading and investing are skills, which combine both art and science. In order to achieve and master these skills, one must progress on a path, which is mental, emotional, physical and spiritual. For many, this is the most difficult journey ever taken. Start where you are, and understand that it is about the process, that time takes time and that the rewards are worth it if you just keep going with passion. Without passion, why bother?

 

There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure…Colin L. Powell

 

Every trader must climb the four rungs of the Ladder of Learning, and must do this one step at a time. You cannot skip a step, but if you let your guard down, do not continue to study and practice, you can and will fall down a step or two.

 

What do I mean by the Ladder of Learning and the four steps? In this case (and putting other learning theories and the neuroanatomical bases for them aside for now) I am referring specifically to the four stages of trading competence:

 

Somewhere in your make-up, there lies sleeping, the seed of achievement which, if aroused and put into action, would carry you to heights such as you may never have hoped to attain…Napoleon Hill

 

(1) Unconscious Incompetence: You don't know that you don't know, and you don't know what you don't know, a.k.a. ignorance is bliss.

 

At this stage of your trading, you are not aware of the existence of, or need for, specific trading skills. You don’t know what you don’t know, including that you have any deficiencies (since you don't know that there are any specific trading skills). Denial may come into play here as well, as you may think that such skills are unnecessary or not useful, and all you have to do is to subscribe to a service or hotline, or jump on the next "hot" pick and money will come rolling into your account. In order to move to the next stage, you most overcome your denial and become consciously aware of your incompetence. Without taking this next step, you will not progress and no new skill will be acquired. There will be no learning. The next step is:

 

 

(2) Conscious Incompetence: You know that you don't know, but you are not entirely sure what you don't know.

 

At this stage, you become aware that trading is a skill, which exists, which is practiced by many and is relevant to your success. You also become aware of your deficiencies in this area by attempting to trade or practicing how to trade. This is the stage in which you begin to figure out how much you don't know. Successful traders will, at some point during this stage of the learning process, make a commitment to learn. They will make a commitment to study, to be teachable and to practice, practice and practice until you know what you don’t know. Now, you are ready to progress to:

 

(3) Conscious Competence: You know what you know, and you can trade, but you have to think about it.

 

During this stage, the skill of trading can be performed reliably, consistently and at will. However, you have to concentrate a lot, and think a lot, in order to do it. It is not second nature, nor is it automatic. At this stage, you are open totally to more learning, but you are not able to teach anyone else how to do it. The only way to proceed from this stage to the final stage is to practice more and more until…eureka...one day you have reached the stage of:

 

(4) Unconscious Competence: You know how to do it, and don't have to think about it. You just do it.

 

At this stage, the act and process of trading consolidates within the memory and pattern recognition areas of your brain…it becomes second nature. If you are really good at it, you can trade and do other things at the same time (I do not recommend this, however). Certain people at this stage are capable of teaching others, but this is not universal. In fact, it may be more difficult to teach at this stage since the skill has become largely instinctual. It is at this stage when, if someone asks you how you knew to do that, you have to pause, think and say, "I don't really know. I just did it." This is trading mastery.

 

There is another, final and rarely-discussed stage that is called Conscious

Unconscious Competence. Those who have reached this stage are the best teachers, and they are rare and difficult to find. Find one of these people to guide and support you if you really want to learn how to trade.

 

Champions execute the fundamentals with unconscious competence. That means they've practiced the moves so many times in the past that they can do them almost perfectly without thinking about it. When you can perform brilliantly without thinking, you can perform at a very high level…June Jones (Head Football Coach, University of Hawaii Warriors)

 

Until next time,

Good Trading and Brain On!

 

Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.

Train Your Trading Brain

The Trading Doctor Live Trading Site

 

Big Thanks to Janice for producing great articles on trading. Janice is an excellent doctor by profession and she knows how brain works.

 

Janice article about synaptic trading is so true, that when i read that article i wanted to weep. Yes, i wanted to weep because from the ocean of wrong guidance which is available to traders, this article stands out as 100% true.

 

There are 100 billions neurons connected with 1000 trillion synapses in our brain. Learning happens when through constant revision we strengthen the neuron and synapses connections inside our brain. The harder i work, the luckier i get is true because the harder we work, synapses and neurons gets strengthen in our brain leading to skill development.

 

Any profession in world be it medicine, accountancy, engineering, motor driving etc requires training so that brain pathways forms in our brain. The problem in trading is that we have to do self training all by ourself as there are no coaching institutes available.

 

I am inspired by Janice life. She studied hard to become a Doctor, she had worked as a head in a big company, she had faced health issues in 1990s, she had faced losses for 3 years when she started trading in 1996- She faced these challenges, fought hard and won.

 

95%-99% loose because they have not strengthen the neurons and synapses inside their brain leading to flawed synaptic execution during trading hours.

 

Lots of love and regards to Janice for her invaluable and outstanding guidance.

[EminiTradingCoach 10]

Trading is simple, but it is not easy.

 

This kinds of reminds me of how Marcel Link in High Probability Trading said Anybody can place a trade, but making money is an entirely different task.

 

Great Article - thanks for sharing.