As a longtime speculator (someone who risks losses for the possibility of considerable gains), I was unaware that those of us who attempt to profit from the price movement of the markets were the root cause of $147 a barrel, I mean, $128 a barrel oil.

I am writing after hearing a sound bite from today’s Democratic response to President Bush’s weekly radio address. The congresswoman who made the response from which the sound bite was excerpted said something to the effect that vile, selfish speculators were at fault for high oil prices.

I was taken by her vilification of speculators as it parallels much of what was said in 1932-1940 to place blame for the depression on greedy capitalists and opportunistic speculators.

I recently finished The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression by Amity Shales which makes the point that the length and the severity of the Great Depression was very likely exacerbated by placing blame for the ills in the economy and penalizing exactly the people who power our free enterprise economy.

I highly recommend the book. But, beware - the parallels to what was done and said in the thirties regarding speculators and business are being said, again today.

Have a great weekend - Jeff (writing from my bunker here in the Newport of the West)

Copyright © 2008 Jeff Quinto
All rights reserved
 

To my Jedi Masters - the Yoda’s of Trading

 Jeff and Ken;
 
Thanks for the Transformative Trading Seminar and the TTP.

I’ve found peace in trading. I learned that I didn’t need to know more about the market, I needed to know more about me to be successful.
 
The seminar was a catalyst. It’s taking me from fear to fun.
 
I keep having breakthrough thoughts that keep expanding my TTP.

By the way, I didn’t mean either of you looked like Yoda.

Neither of you are green.
 
Bob

Regardless of what you have attempted to do in the past, trading is likely to be the hardest thing you will ever do.It, also, has the potential to be the most joyous and rewarding thing you will ever do.

The fact is that trading is hard because it forces you to face your every weakness.  Your slightest negative emotion can be magnified until you are overcome with disappointment and self-doubt.

Trading can, also, be a daily test that you welcome because you know you are up to the challenge.

The consistent results you get in your trading, good or bad, are really the result of either following your well thought-out structured plan or the result of your free-form uncontrolled trading

So, what is the best way for a trader to assure that he or she will be in control of his trading?

To me, the answer is clear.

Every trader should have and follow his written trading plan.

If you are a new trader your written trading plan will serve as a guide to help you know what to do when you are not completely sure of what is best and what is not. 

The fact is that an imperfect trading plan is immeasurably better than no plan.

As my favorite professor once told me, “our goal is completion, not perfection.” 

Do not worry that you do not have the perfect plan.  Concentrate on developing and following your imperfect plan.  Just having a plan will put you ahead of 90% of the traders in the market who are competing with you.

If you are an accomplished trader, a written plan will help you capitalize on your already-honed skills.

If you do not have a plan, then you are like the captain of a sleek ship without a map.  You can go fast, but there is no way to predict where you will go.  You may look like you know where you are going, but it will not take long for you to crash against the rocks or be lost at sea.

I believe so strongly in the importance of a written trading plan that the first thing we do in the Electronic Trader Mentoring Program and the most important thing we do during the Transformative Trading Week is to develop a comprehensive, executable, measureable trading plan.

As Yogi Berra said, “If you don’t know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.”

Wishing you success in your trading,  Jeff

Copyright © 2008 by Jeff Quinto

All rights reserved