Every other Weds we give a lesson in the Live Trading Room. The focus can be on anything from setups and risk managment to the psychology of trading. I have been getting very good feedback on the class I gave last night, so thought I would share it here with you guys at ET.
[21:05] <brandon> Tonight I'm going to talk about maintaining a confident, centered and focused state of mind.
[21:05] <brandon> And about reaching your goals.
[21:06] <brandon> one of the saddest things is to talk to a trader who says "Im the most unlucky person in the world"
[21:06] <brandon> because it does not have to be true
[21:06] <brandon> but it will be true until that person stops thinking it is
[21:06] <brandon> I have met so many people who have a good methodology or system
[21:06] <brandon> but lack the confidence to stick to it
[21:07] <brandon> esp. if it hits a small losing period
[21:07] <brandon> confidence and focus are your number one edges
[21:07] <brandon> because with out it
[21:07] <brandon> no other edge you have means anything anyway
[21:08] <brandon> The very best traders in the world all set an objective, be that an amount of money they want to make, a percent return to make or a total number they want to reach into their account.
[21:08] <brandon> Once they have done that then everything they do is done in order to stay in line with this goal.
[21:09] <brandon> One of the most common pieces of advice that I always hear in chatrooms is dont set a dollar goal because it puts extra pressure on you
[21:09] <brandon> and its really BS
[21:09] <brandon> because if you donât have a goal
[21:09] <brandon> if you donât know where you are going
[21:09] <brandon> you will fail
[21:10] <brandon> Setting a goal and COMMITING to it is a huge challenge for most people
[21:10] <brandon> because you put a lot of yourself on the line once you do it
[21:11] <brandon> But I can guarantee that Ohio State did not become the National Champions with out setting out to do so, and the Bucs did not win the Super Bowl with out setting out to do it, and KNOWING IN THEIR HEARTS THAT THEY COULD DO IT.
[21:11] <brandon> Tiger Woods does not win Golf Tournaments without setting out to do so
[21:11] <brandon> and great traders don't become great traders with out very consciously making the decision to do so.
[21:12] <brandon> Trading is almost entirely a mental game
[21:12] <brandon> Once we have the basics down, trends, support, resistance, order entry etc.
[21:12] <brandon> it is simply a matter of DOING IT
[21:13] <brandon> It is probably very similar to archery in that physically it does not take a lot to do it but to be a world class archer you need to be able to clear your mind and focus because any tension you carry will show up in your aim.
[21:14] <brandon> Most people have a system that will work.
[21:14] <brandon> Dont believe me? Show me a paper trader who loses consistently. It does not happen.
[21:14] <brandon> finding a winning method is not the hardest part of trading
[21:14] <brandon> staying with it can be
[21:15] <brandon> People get in their own way, they are their own worst opponent and dont let their system win for them.
[21:16] <brandon> When I began trading I was pretty much like everyone else out there in that I was always tripping over myself.
[21:17] <brandon> I would consistently jump stops, buy and sell early with out a plan.
[21:17] <brandon> I would pass on a good trade because the last two had lost
[21:17] <brandon> or I would commit a lot when I should only be committing a little
[21:18] <brandon> Tonight id like to go over a few of the things that I was taught at the Mayo Clinic Pain Management Center.
[21:18] <brandon> This may not seem like it would have a lot to do with trading
[21:18] <brandon> but it definitely was
[21:19] <brandon> There is one member in here that has a chronic pain situation similar to what I have
[21:19] <brandon> this is just a side note
[21:19] <brandon> and he was having a hard time trading
[21:19] <brandon> I knew though he could do it just by using the same principles in his trading that he did to get on about his life
[21:19] <brandon> he is now doing very well
[21:20] <brandon> after the class if he wants to share any of his experiences with us that would be great
[21:20] <brandon> but back on track
[21:20] <brandon> As many of you know I have a neurological condition which leads to my always having a "background" migraine headache.
[21:21] <brandon> These sometimes "breakout" and then I become pretty miserable.
[21:21] <brandon> Several years ago when I first started to be ill with it
[21:21] <brandon> I really did not know how to deal with life with them.
[21:21] <brandon> for over 1 year I was bed ridden with this
[21:22] <brandon> and spent over 150K on doctors, tests and trying to find a miracle drug
[21:23] <brandon> Eventually I was lucky enough to end up at the Pain Management Clinic run by Mayo in Rochester and they taught me how to manage myself.
[21:23] <brandon> I still have the headaches and I had to accept that I would always continue to have them.
[21:23] <brandon> To not accept that would have been to continue living life in bed (not living)
21:24] <brandon> the headaches have not gone anyplace, but my focus is not on them.
[21:24] <brandon> I choose to focus on other things and this has allowed me to life a relatively productive life since I was there.
[21:25] <brandon> The first thing you need to do in order to reach peak performance in your trading is commit to do so
[21:25] <brandon> you must come up with a goal
[21:26] <brandon> You need to have an objective in mind that you want to reach.
[21:26] <brandon> Commit to it, commit to trading to win.
[21:26] <brandon> Most people trade to not lose
[21:27] <brandon> and in the end they defeat themselves
[21:05] <brandon> Tonight I'm going to talk about maintaining a confident, centered and focused state of mind.
[21:05] <brandon> And about reaching your goals.
[21:06] <brandon> one of the saddest things is to talk to a trader who says "Im the most unlucky person in the world"
[21:06] <brandon> because it does not have to be true
[21:06] <brandon> but it will be true until that person stops thinking it is
[21:06] <brandon> I have met so many people who have a good methodology or system
[21:06] <brandon> but lack the confidence to stick to it
[21:07] <brandon> esp. if it hits a small losing period
[21:07] <brandon> confidence and focus are your number one edges
[21:07] <brandon> because with out it
[21:07] <brandon> no other edge you have means anything anyway
[21:08] <brandon> The very best traders in the world all set an objective, be that an amount of money they want to make, a percent return to make or a total number they want to reach into their account.
[21:08] <brandon> Once they have done that then everything they do is done in order to stay in line with this goal.
[21:09] <brandon> One of the most common pieces of advice that I always hear in chatrooms is dont set a dollar goal because it puts extra pressure on you
[21:09] <brandon> and its really BS
[21:09] <brandon> because if you donât have a goal
[21:09] <brandon> if you donât know where you are going
[21:09] <brandon> you will fail
[21:10] <brandon> Setting a goal and COMMITING to it is a huge challenge for most people
[21:10] <brandon> because you put a lot of yourself on the line once you do it
[21:11] <brandon> But I can guarantee that Ohio State did not become the National Champions with out setting out to do so, and the Bucs did not win the Super Bowl with out setting out to do it, and KNOWING IN THEIR HEARTS THAT THEY COULD DO IT.
[21:11] <brandon> Tiger Woods does not win Golf Tournaments without setting out to do so
[21:11] <brandon> and great traders don't become great traders with out very consciously making the decision to do so.
[21:12] <brandon> Trading is almost entirely a mental game
[21:12] <brandon> Once we have the basics down, trends, support, resistance, order entry etc.
[21:12] <brandon> it is simply a matter of DOING IT
[21:13] <brandon> It is probably very similar to archery in that physically it does not take a lot to do it but to be a world class archer you need to be able to clear your mind and focus because any tension you carry will show up in your aim.
[21:14] <brandon> Most people have a system that will work.
[21:14] <brandon> Dont believe me? Show me a paper trader who loses consistently. It does not happen.
[21:14] <brandon> finding a winning method is not the hardest part of trading
[21:14] <brandon> staying with it can be
[21:15] <brandon> People get in their own way, they are their own worst opponent and dont let their system win for them.
[21:16] <brandon> When I began trading I was pretty much like everyone else out there in that I was always tripping over myself.
[21:17] <brandon> I would consistently jump stops, buy and sell early with out a plan.
[21:17] <brandon> I would pass on a good trade because the last two had lost
[21:17] <brandon> or I would commit a lot when I should only be committing a little
[21:18] <brandon> Tonight id like to go over a few of the things that I was taught at the Mayo Clinic Pain Management Center.
[21:18] <brandon> This may not seem like it would have a lot to do with trading
[21:18] <brandon> but it definitely was
[21:19] <brandon> There is one member in here that has a chronic pain situation similar to what I have
[21:19] <brandon> this is just a side note
[21:19] <brandon> and he was having a hard time trading
[21:19] <brandon> I knew though he could do it just by using the same principles in his trading that he did to get on about his life
[21:19] <brandon> he is now doing very well
[21:20] <brandon> after the class if he wants to share any of his experiences with us that would be great
[21:20] <brandon> but back on track
[21:20] <brandon> As many of you know I have a neurological condition which leads to my always having a "background" migraine headache.
[21:21] <brandon> These sometimes "breakout" and then I become pretty miserable.
[21:21] <brandon> Several years ago when I first started to be ill with it
[21:21] <brandon> I really did not know how to deal with life with them.
[21:21] <brandon> for over 1 year I was bed ridden with this
[21:22] <brandon> and spent over 150K on doctors, tests and trying to find a miracle drug
[21:23] <brandon> Eventually I was lucky enough to end up at the Pain Management Clinic run by Mayo in Rochester and they taught me how to manage myself.
[21:23] <brandon> I still have the headaches and I had to accept that I would always continue to have them.
[21:23] <brandon> To not accept that would have been to continue living life in bed (not living)
21:24] <brandon> the headaches have not gone anyplace, but my focus is not on them.
[21:24] <brandon> I choose to focus on other things and this has allowed me to life a relatively productive life since I was there.
[21:25] <brandon> The first thing you need to do in order to reach peak performance in your trading is commit to do so
[21:25] <brandon> you must come up with a goal
[21:26] <brandon> You need to have an objective in mind that you want to reach.
[21:26] <brandon> Commit to it, commit to trading to win.
[21:26] <brandon> Most people trade to not lose
[21:27] <brandon> and in the end they defeat themselves