Wisdom Dump

You are too kind
&
You are most welcome
Regards

Everything happens. All that appears in the life of a man, all that is done through him, all that comes from him; all this happens. Man is a machine. All that he does, all his actions, his words, thoughts, feelings, convictions, opinions, habits are the result of exterior influences ... popular movements, wars, revolutions, change of governments, everything happens. Man does not love, does not desire, does not hate -everything happens.

It always seems to people that others invariably do things wrongly, not in the way they should be done. Everybody always thinks he could do it better. They do not understand, and do not want to understand, that what is being done, and particularly what has already been done in one way, cannot be, and could not have been, done in another way.

Scientific or not scientific is all the same to me. I want you to understand what I am saying. Look, all those people you see, (he pointed along the street), are simply machines—nothing more. - G.I Gurdjieff

"Tape reading was an important part of the game; so was beginning at the right time; so was sticking to your position. But my greatest discovery was that a man must study general conditions, to size them so as to be able to anticipate probabilities." Reminiscences of a Stock Operator

The commonly held statistic is that only 10% of traders are profitable. What most don't realize is that only 10% of that 10% win consistently and are proud of their return. That means only 1% of all traders win big consistently!To join this elite club, it is obvious that you have to be doing something different than the other 99%. --- Stephen Cox

Rotten views of a dismal fatalist! Rules out any new invention, any new thoughts, ideas, discoveries, the very progress of human civilisation. Going by his wretched views we'd still be living in caves & striking stones to light a fire! If Galileo & Copernicus had not doubted, had not thought differently we'd still think of the earth as the centre of the universe & everything revolving around it.

P.S. : This is how Commis & dictators (& their cohorts) try to brainwash the rest of the population (Was he one?)

Excellent! That's what analysis is all about ... not seeking certainties but anticipating probabilities (out of which a certainty will eventually emerge).
This is the real job. Trading is only the blue-collar part of it.

('general conditions' = Fundamentals)

Cox refutes Gurdjieff!

You misunderstood Kalyan, he is talking about general conditioning and the conformist attitude.And far from being a dictator he was a very charming personality.

CV

It all depends on what you mean by fundamentals. Most people by fundamentals refer to the intrinsic value of the company which ofcourse are just part of the picture.


CV

There are 5 important achievements that every successful system trader must make.

1) You must know your own weaknesses. Each of us brings strengths and weaknesses to our own trading. Some find it exceedingly difficult not to tinker or play around with the markets when trading and in the process we don't follow our systems; some find it difficult to pull the trigger; some find it difficult to endure drawdowns of any size. Unless you know how you react to the markets and the pressures and elations of trading, you cannot compensate for your weaknesses.

2) You must understand statistics well enough to understand the limitations of trading using only history as our guide. I am constantly surprised by how many people get this wrong. Even the so-called "experts" in trading.

3) You must learn about trading systems, many of them, many different kinds of systems. In this process, you will learn that there are many answers, many paths to profits, but none of them are as neat and palatable as we might wish.

4) You must learn about brokers, markets, execution, risk, slippage, and other operational issues that affect trading profits. The best way to learn these issues is to start trading somewhere using a small account. It needs to be big enough that the losses matter but not so big that you will bankrupt yourself if you lose the entire account.

5) You must learn about yourself and how you react to all the items 1 to 4 above. This is perhaps the most important knowledge. How to fit your own personality, weaknesses and strengths, into the trading ecosystem. You might find you are bored with long-term system, or that you can't stand looking at screens, or that you need a robobroker to execute since you won't follow your systems closely enough. You will only learn this by being honest with yourself and by reflecting on what works and doesn't.

The best possible way to learn is to sit side by side with someone who knows what they are doing, but this is not possible for most, so you will likely need to find another way.

As far as a specific course of action, which is what you have asked for, I will offer one way that I think works pretty well. If you persevere and if you reflect on your own condition honestly, you have a good chance at success if you follow this course.

1) Buy some testing software and learn some of the well-known systems that work. There are many examples of systems that work out there. Play around with them, change them and see what happens. I'm obviously biased in my opinion of what software you should buy but I leave that decision to you.

2) Read and Study Trading. Initially, I suggest buying the Modus course. It is a very good foundation for people who don't know where to begin.

3) Start trading as soon as you think you are ready. Start small and don't worry about the profits, worry about what you learn about the markets and yourself. Consider your initial losses as tuition that all traders pay.

4) Honestly assess yourself on a regular basis. What did you learn? what are you having trouble with? What do you need to compensate for?

5) Repeat starting at 1).

One thing that troubles many people is the high cost of software and courses. Consider however, the high cost of trading incorretly as the alternative. If you can't afford software, save up until you can. If you can't afford money for a course, you likely can't afford to lose as much money as you will if you start trading without understanding what you are doing.

Last of all, don't be afraid to ask for the advice of others, even to pay for it where appropriate.

Keep one thing in mind, however, sometimes even successful traders are wrong about the reasons for their success. Trader A might think his success is due to his fancy computers and sophisticated algorithms when in reality his success is due to his having a solid foundation and good operational execution.

Trading well is not easy, but it is something you can learn if you have the perseverance combined with the humility to be realistic about your own strengths and weaknesses. - Curtis Faith ( Turtle Trader )