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How
could this happen?
It happened because
he had positions in the market, got the flu, felt terrible, and could
not make the slick decisions he usually does. If this can happen to
an experienced trader who really knows his stuff, how important is
it for the beginning trader to stay in top physical and mental shape?
W. D. Gann says ...
"After you have gained knowledge, acquired patience and developed
nerve, the next important quality is good health. No man can have
patience and nerve and do his best unless his health is good. If you
are in bad health, you become despondent, you lose hope, you have
too much fear, and you will be unable to act. I have been through
the game all these years; have tried to trade when I have been in
bad health and have seen others try to trade, but I never saw a man
yet make a success speculating when his health was bad. The thing
to do if your health gets bad is to quit business, quit speculating
and get your health back, for health is wealth."
Your Subconscious Mind and Trading
Whole books have been written on this subject, but here is the bottom
line ...
Deep subconscious tendencies will be brought to the surface and manifested
in your emotional behavior and ultimately in your wins and losses,
when you start trading the markets. And as previously stated, most
people's deep emotional tendencies are not suited to making money
in the markets - unless, of course, they change them.
If, at a deep subconscious level, you really want to lose, the market
will allow you to do that. If you really want to be successful it
will allow you to do that too but it will demand from you - discipline,
focus, analytical ability, emotional control and ... Self Analysis
and Goal Setting.
The Solution ...
Many of today's most successful traders, the majority in fact, went
through a period where they were not very successful. It took a period
of careful self analysis before they became successful, mixed in with
a good dose of discipline, tenacity and hard work.
A number of extremely powerful techniques are available to the trader,
or anyone. Among these are various forms of Meditation, Self Hypnosis
and Visualization. Visualization, when combined with Meditation or
Self Hypnosis techniques, is now recognized by prominent psychologists
as the most powerful facility known to man to effect change.
In order to be a successful trader you may need to go through a period
of reprogramming your subconscious and defining your goals. This is
what many of the world's most successful traders did.
Ruth Roosevelt, a successful trader and teacher of the types of techniques
just mentioned, says that you have to believe 3 things before you
can trade successfully.
These are ...
(1) You have to believe that it is actually possible to make
money trading the markets.
(2) You have to believe that it is possible for you to make
money trading the markets.
(3) You have to believe that you deserve to make money trading
the markets.
While most people would answer yes to all 3 things and leave it at
that, you have to dig a bit deeper. The third one, that you have to
believe that you deserve to make money trading the markets. comes
down to deep subconscious tendencies and your upbringing.
Discipline and Organization
Since traders come from all types of professions, a study was conducted
in the US to find which professions the best traders came from. While
it was found that successful traders came from a huge variety of professions,
two professions stood out.
1 Engineers - due to their analytical and mathematical
backgrounds.
2 People with Military Training - because they are disciplined,
organized and can follow instructions. For trading, translate that
into ...
(a) They are Disciplined,
(b) They can work in an Organized, Planned and Systematic manner,
(c) They can follow a trading method without letting emotions
get in the way - in other words, they can "pull the trigger" - actually
ring the broker and put the trades on, exactly as their trading methods
tell them to.
W. D. Gann Says ... I can give a man the best gun in the world
and if he hasn't the nerve to pull the trigger, he will never kill
any game. You can have all the knowledge in the world and if you haven't
the nerve to buy and sell, you cannot make any money, but Knowledge
gives a man nerve; makes him bold and enables him to act at the right
time."
"PATIENCE. This is one of the very important qualifications
for success. When you buy or sell you must have the patience to wait
for opportunities to get in right. Then you must have the patience
to wait until there is a change in trend before you close a trade
or take profits."
"Make up your mind to spend thirty minutes to one hour per day studying
stock market movements for the next five years. Then you will get
knowledge of how to detect stock market trends and will make money.
You will have paid in advance with time and study. The more time you
put in in getting knowledge, the more money you will make later."
Copyright © 2001
Terry Ashman
HotTrader, Australia
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