more you want it - lesser of your chances

Quote from andrasnm:

I believe in the path of least resistance.
In many aspects of life when and if you force something too much it will not work.
Ever notice that?
I like to propose a little exercise for your mind...try to trade for the sake of trading not for the money.
TRy to think of your motivation as becoming the best trader given your circumstances.
This could entail avoiding losing days or limit the size of losses, trade with the least of overhead and even trade only part time if your trading style allows it.
Examine your hidden motivation in trading...this maybe the key of your shortcomings and limiting factors to be successful....
Try to give some money back. Be charitable and kind. Do some community service. Karma is an immutable law of nature and it will and can affect your performance as a trader.
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My experience is totally inverse. Since i don't really want it anymore results went downhill.
 
Quote from Mike805:

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.
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Well, that and an intimate familiarity with the markets developed over many years.
 
Quote from trade4succes:

My experience is totally inverse. Since i don't really want it anymore results went downhill.
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Perhaps your disinterest was not strong enough.
:D
 
Quote from trade4succes:

What i really want now is to sit on the beach in a tropical setting and fish.

so i guess that will happen
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Well, not if you want it too much.
:D
 
Andrasnm,





Aah, you said it so beautifull and to the point in your first
post of this thread !

Every trader should incorporate this state of mind and
this is what is necessary to enter in "THE ZONE"
 
there are two kind of motivations: push and pull motivation.

push motivation: i don't want a normal job. i just want to get rich quick.

pull motivation: I am ready to do anything to get ahead, but trading is the coolest thing i can imagine.

In my first year, my motivation was pull motivation. After that it has been just push and trying to survive.

edit: so in reference to the opening post: it's the quality of motivation that's most important, and if you have the right quality, you can't have enough of it imo.
 
i dont know one successful trader who trades purely for the money. not one.

the money is just a by-product for a job well done. just like a slap on the back from the boss is the by-product for a job well done when in the rat race.
 
A trader who has separated him or herself from this emotional hang-up will more than likely be able to either:

a) add to a winning position and

b) let a trade run until the trailing stop is hit.




Would this mean that a bank trader is in a better position to profit because it is the banks money and not his/hers?
 
Quote from Mike805:

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.
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Simple and Brilliant!

This thread is so deep and hits home with me on so many levels that it is scary. I work at a bank where I actually deal with the desk asistants where some of the bank traders mentioned in Trader Montly Magazine work and I fantasize about what that guy must be like, how he dresses and talks and carries himself. and I want to go out with the guys that handle there accounts but am to afraid that the trader will see right thru my 10yr old Gucci loafers and now that I am poser. It hurts like hell because all I have ever wanted to be was a trader, that movie Trading Places hit me like a bolt of lighting. I am 33yrs old and I dont want to give up my dream but I am beginning to wonder if buying magazines with boats and hoses in South Beach are what's keeping me from succeeding. I will never be a trader at Goldman or Bear like I dreamed and I dont think I have enough money to be a prop trader. I have a wife and three kids and everytime I go to do a small trade I think about them and if I am killing there future. My wife says dont worry about it trade now so that I am not bitter years from now but it is hard when as man you know you have to do the responsible thing. so here I am logged into sites like ET and Wilmott trying to learn all I can and at the same time feel like I am drowning in Gulf of Mexico! I am probably one of the only back office types who has his own copy of the Handbook of Fixed Income Securiites. I buy the book and notice the others in the aisle looking at me like "why are you looking at that book the sports titles are two aisles over." I try to speak to the brokers I work with about trading and the conersation turns to sports in 5 minutes...almost like there telling me finance is not something I want to waste my time talking to you about.
 
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