Good Morning Journal!
Good Morning Mike.
How you doing?
I’m ok.
Had a wonderful morning, once again. Boy, I am seriously taking care of business, concerning my body. The changes are taking place. 4 days into it, and feeling it. Literally. It was on yesterday’s run that I had to cut it a little shorter. My calf’s really tightened up. And, for as cautious as I have been, I stopped running. But walked the rest of the way. So, I found out how far I’m going (thanks to this fit-bit devise that goes on your wrist, to find the mileage). From our circle, to the other circle (that I turn around at), and back, to our circle, is a total of only .6 miles. I know, not much. But, oh well. It’s not as easy as I thought it used to be. But, I know I will look back on this and laugh at it. Cause I know what my body used to do.
Anyway, I started out running the .6 miles, then walked .6 miles. But, everyday I wanted to extend the running part. So this morning, I’m up to running about .7 or .8 miles, and walked the rest (of the 1.2 miles in total). Ok. That’s all good and nice, but what’s interesting now is Trish wants to get into doing that also. But for walking. So, I still do my routine at 4:30 but she wakes up at 5 now to go out and walk. And, it was nice. Us 3 (with Ben our dog) went out just shortly after 5 for that walk. On the same route, one complete lap (.6 miles). This is even better for me!
Anyway Journal, something is on my mind. I need to talk about this.
—SUCCESS
What is it?
What is it for me?
What if I don’t have success, does that mean failure?
Are there degrees of it?
Is it as simple as winning or losing?
Well, I guess the best way to start is with the definition. Let me look it up now.
- the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one’s goals.
- the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.
- a performance or achievement that is marked by success, as by the attainment of honors.
Let’s look at this.
For that first point, I see that there is a prerequisite. In order for success, you have to have some kind of goal to begin with. That is important. Have a goal. Knowing what it is to be attained.
Then, it’s understood that there is the attempts, tries, that take place before the end of the goal. That’s plural. Multiple actions in between the ending. Ok. Therefore, I think it would be safe for me to think of this as steps. Steps.
Then, I think it goes even further. Not just steps, but favorable, prosperous steps. In my mind, I’m thinking of met steps. I guess it could be a bunch of successful steps, huh? And, when I really think about it, I guess the opposite of that would be non-met steps. Meaning, they were not satisfied, met, accomplished. So, yeah, it is about achieving specific tasks along the way. So, I’ll make this point…achieved steps.
That second point, I think, is talking about a specific kind of goal. Money, position, or honor. Well, I don’t think that pertains to me. Cause, I’m not after either of those things.The world might be, but not me.
The third point. I don’t even know what that means. Maybe of what others might see in a person. Again, I don’t think that’s pertaining here.
So, let’s put this all together. We have a goal, at the end. But, before I get there, there are steps that must be met. I could think of it as climbing accomplishment. I like visuals. How about this. Say a small child wants to get to the top of a set of stairs. For the little one to get to the top, he would have to successfully get on top of each and every step, before the last one.
Man…I’m reminded of our house when I was very young. We had a set of stairs, up to the second floor. Being the oldest of 7 kids, it seemed like we always had a baby around. Well, at the bottom of the stairs we had a gate. It was wooden. And it stayed at the bottom of the steps, to block the entrance. You know, because of the baby. Well, from time to time, someone would forget to put it back, across the bottom, after they went up them. And you know what that means. And there were times, when the baby took advantage of that. Next thing you know, my mom would be like, “Oh my goodness! What are you doing up there!” You would see the baby half way up there, looking through the wooden stakes on the side of the banister, out at everyone. Yeah, probably with a smile on his face. Then she would be like, “Alright, who didn’t put back the gate?!”. Well, looking back on it, it was pretty dog-gone funny. You know kids, they just want to climb.
Sorry about that. A bit off topic. That was the image in my mind when I was talking about climbing up steps. So, let’s get back to that, shall we?
I’m talking about success. And it looks like it comes by way of multiple achievements. Accomplishments. Just like my little brother found success ( well, half way up anyway), I want success also. Of course. And like everybody else. But, I want to take it a bit further. My end goal is this. My own trading business. It’s all mind mapped out. What about specifically? How do I know if I’ve found success in a day. I mean, does it all boil down to whether or not I made money today?
Well, I guess the only other thing I can do is compare this to my other job. I’ve gotten good with that over the years. So, at the end of every day, on our ride home, me & Trish talked (pretty close to getting out at the same time). “How was your day?” And, well, honestly, every time I would summarize it by saying how many hours I turned. And if it was around 12 (my goal) then I was pretty happy. Every day was different. Some days higher, some lower. It was a measure of how well I did. Some days I couldn’t help it, if we were slow. Some days I got lucky, with getting the good jobs. But, no matter what the answer was, it was the best that I could do. Well, honestly, during the last couple months, there was one time that I answered to her that I wasn’t too productive, (too much talking about everyone’s jobs, at the time). For the most part though, I always gave it my best. And I knew that that is all I can do. Regardless of how many hours I turned. So, what did it matter what I ended up with, if I did the best that I can do? I mean, the only difference was on how happy or satisfied I was with the ending results.
Ok. So. Was I successful? Well, yes. Most days, actually, pretty much every week, for the longest time, I always produced plenty of hours worth of a paycheck. It was business as usual. Good hours. Good paychecks. (And let me tell you…it’s amazing how long I hung in there doing something I really don’t like. Honest to goodness.) Anyway. My productivity turned into success. And what I call success, at the time, was producing the amount of hours that I knew I had a track record of doing. Someone would say that turning 8 hours in a day would be the very minimum. Well, I remember a couple years ago I set my bar to 10 a day. It was a good goal. I achieved it time and time again. Then, like a year ago, I switched it to12 a day (cause I kept doing it over and over again). Heck, I hit multiple 14 or 15 hour days. That would hit maybe once a week or so.
So, when I think of it, success, the end result really does seems to be anchored in some kind of output. Could I have done better? Why of course I could have! I know it. Man…if I was really into cars, I would have done a lot of reading up on the new and upcoming cars. I would learn, learn, learn. Just like my one buddy does. He’s a genius. I always used to say, (H…you’re a genius). Everybody liked that. That was just one of a multitude of cat calls, throughout the shop. I mean, he was! But, he did lack in other areas. Was such a talker. And when it came to motivation, he had none. Boy, he would rather talk to someone than get some good old fashion work done. Oh, and it seemed like he didn’t work a full week…ever! But, intellectually speaking, purely genius. He just wanted to know why something didn’t work. And he would surely find out. Big reader also.
Ok. That’s nice. Where was I?
Success. I’ve experienced it. In my old life. Well, I want to experience it in my new life. How can I transfer it over? Well, we’re talking about trading here. So, let’s get this out of the way. Everybody would think, right off the bad, that if you can make a profit, you’re successful. If not, then you’re not.
Let’s back it up a little. I want to talk about having success for a day. Let’s take it in small chunks first huh? What would tell me that I was successful today? Is it how much money I made today?
How about we go back to the definition. First off, in order for success, you need a goal. Right? Then you need some steps to climb. After achieving all of the steps in between, then you should have accomplished the goal. Which equals success. Right?
Well, we know what my ultimate goal is. So then, what are the steps going to be for me to get there? Yeah, I know I need to work on that, specifically. I remember leaving off with that last year, when I was mentored. Oh, I have many incomplete mind maps, like that. But, when it comes to what happens in a days time, what?
How will I count myself as being successful? Well, I’m just starting out. So, looks like I need to get pretty dog-gone organized. There’s so much to think about. I know it’s not all about how well I trade. Cause, if that’s the case, I’m doomed. See, if fact, that’s the reason why I started thinking a lot about that this morning. I was used to some pretty good success. It wasn’t hard. It’s business as usual. But now, oh my goodness. This is hard. I realize it. But, man, I want some kind of success. Even on a small scale will do. I just want to know that I’m on the road. I need some real evidence that this is going to work.
Just like my physical training I’ve been going through. Man, I know it’s happening. And I know I can do this each and every day, no problem. I notice the small changes in my body. Like, my breathing. And, uh, in my legs. Yeah, feeling it alright, but not a hurting feeling. And you know what? It’s encouraging to me. I mean, I know I have such a long way to go, but as long as I am witnessing these things, it keeps me going. I mean, it’s truly exciting. I will look like I should.
But, in regards to my trading, man, I don’t know. I’ve been messing up. See, yesterday, and I knew it, but didn’t want to obey, but, it definitely was a ranging day. And the way I trade is most conducive for trend trading. Plus, the liquidity needs to be there. But, afterwards, I was thinking of laying down some rules for when I shouldn’t trade. I mean, no one is in the market all the time! Right? Come on. But, I just wanted to practice. All in the name of practicing. Well, I guess I need to practice not trading. What a nightmare.
Anyway, I got a lot of work to do. And it seems like I’m making mistake after mistake. Am I successful because of that? Absolutely not. I’m not climbing anything. Yet anyway. It is ok? Well, depends on how you look at it. When am I going to get to the point where I’m seeing things work. Like work good. Time and time again. I don’t know.
You know, I put something up on my wall a few days ago. It was one of those revelations I had. And I know it to be true. How I learn – is going through it.
I guess that’s what I’m really doing here, is learning. I’m not a professional, by any means. I’m not even successful. But, am I learning? Sure, something. I couldn’t tell you exactly what. It’s not quantifiable. Experience of some sort. But wait…how do we really know that we have learned something anyway?
Now that’s a question for ya. What tells me that I have learned something? Well, first thing comes to mind is encountering the same thing again, and not doing what I did before. Basically, correcting what I wanted to correct. So therefore, there would have to be a mistake to happen at the onset. Well, I think there are a couple different things here. Cause if I come into some knowledge that I didn’t know beforehand, and now I know, then that’s learning something. I don’t know, maybe that’s considered understanding something. That may be something different.
See, I remember my mentor teaching us that we need to come up with a mind map on Learning. I guess there’s a good reason for it. Well, maybe I need to go back and tighten up those crucial mind maps. Learning, Practicing, Thinking, Decision Making, Information Processing. But what always bugged me about that is the fact that I couldn’t come up with them in which they proved useful. I would love to come up with a good learning mind map that I could go to every time I needed to learn something. Like, put it to use. In a practical way. Each and every one of those. One of these days I definitely will. Maybe now that I have the time, I think I should.
I’m all over the place today Journal, don’t mind me. This post has been going on since Trish left, almost 7:30. And now it’s almost 3. Sorry about that. I just feel like talking it out.
So, when I think about it, the most important part of the business is what generates the income. And that’s trading. But, the thing about trading is, it’s all in the mind. And it only makes sense that the very first thing that should happen, in the mind, is learning. I need to learn about how to generate a profit. Aka, strategy. Man…you know how long it took me to figure out my swing trading strategy? Years! Now, I’m about to learn an intraday trading strategy? I don’t have that long to live, period! So, that’s what I’ve been trying to do so far.
I thought I would come in here and experience how it roles day in and day out. Yeah, I’m starting to get it. It goes up, then down, then back up again. And I figured the best way would be to follow, my indicators. I guess I’ve made some kind of progress. But, I know I’m a perfectionist. And what a hindrance. If it ain’t right, I get bent out of shape. It’s just so hard to be convicted about a particular method. Sure, I’m getting close. I think the more and more time spent watching it all helps. Things sink in.
I’ll tell you one thing that I’m thinking of changing. That’s – my exit. I mean, it’s such nonsense to see my profits go away the more I hang on to them, till the opposite crossover. I keep thinking of my buddy who mentioned to me that it’s not the smartest way to do it. I mean, we’re talking about making profits here, dog-gone-it! Is it more important to follow the plan, or to take the profits? Now, that’s a question.
I do know that you need to find something that works on a consistent manner. Doing something over and over again, which in the end, makes a profit. See, it does all come down to finding that particular way. Sure. Then we follow it to a tee. Yeah, no problem. But, coming up with it is frustrating, especially to a perfectionist.
Don’t mind me Journal, I’ll get through it. Some things I’m sticking to, and some things I’m not. For instance, I do think the 15 minute time frame is ideal for me. I do like following the flow, of my indicators, which tells me when it’s trending. According to me. Boy, the trend is sooooooo subjective. That’s what I’m considering when it’s trending.
I’m finding it very interesting when those 2 ema’s cross. That pretty much tells me that something is going to happen. Like, when they get close to each other, boy, it’s almost definite that it will go one way or the other. And of course, I do not know which way. I won’t even pretend that I know. I keep telling myself that over and over again! Boy, you should see how big I wrote these words on my wall.
DO NOT
SPECULATE,
FOLLOW!
I feel I need to follow something.
Yeah, like my plan.
Whenever I finally come up with it.
Alright Journal, I’m out.
Maybe tomorrow we’ll talk about being productive.
It was one of my thoughts earlier today.
I don’t know, we’ll see.
Mike
