Thinking.
Mike
Hey Journal.
Well, after reviewing all of those MMās, I guess I definitely need to refine them. Itās a work in progress.
I do feel that I am getting better the more I do them. Must start somewhere.
Mike
Hey Journalā¦Happy Thanksgiving!
Well, Iām thankful.
I have a good life. Actually, itās the best that Iāve ever had it, up to the present. I realize it mostly everyday. Iām thankful of my physical condition. No real problems. Being 49, I am thankful that I can physically work as hard as I do. But, I know I can better myself. All I need to do is watch my diet. The act of working here, in the Audi shop, keeps me physically fit.
Iām thankful for my kids. I am absolutely proud of them 3. Sarah (26) is struggling in life, but the more I talk to her, the more Iām encouraged she will rise up and get to where she wants to be. With Eric, her husband, who I really love, will have a good future. Mikey (23), will be 24 on Christmas Eve, I am so proud of his character, drive, just entire make-up, will absolutely make it in this world. His 4 yr term in the Marines has molded him into such a man, (I can just cry)ā¦So proud of him!! Heās college material now. I canāt wait to see his impact in this world. And my little Ian (17). Heās such the thinker. I never can believe the things he thinks about. Heās a visionary. Such a good boy. He has my drive also. And I know, more than anything, that he will become successful doing what he loves in this life.
And Trishā¦my love, my life. She is my future. Without her, I am incomplete. We are close. And thatās an understatement.
Running out of time here. But, Journal, boy do I have some stuff coming this weekend. Today at 4pm is my final one-on-one meeting, of the program. I will be able to put a cap on it all after this meeting.
BTWā¦I did complete all my mind maps. Well, except one, and I have a reason for that. āPeople resourceā
I feel good about the work that I have accomplished. Hope he will too. I will expound on it all this weekend.
Hereās whatās up and coming, for the entire program. Donāt know when the rest will begin yet.
Mike
1 Like
Hi Journal.
So the story goes.
I gave heads up to my boss first thing in the morning. I absolutely must leave at 3 today. And I really needed to, to get home and be ready for the 4pm final meeting. Without fail, I will not miss this.
And it figures, we were so dog-gone busy. All day long. Way too many cars and being short handed. So, I was given a car that had about 2 hours worth of work to do on it, and was a waiter, at about 2pm. At that time, I knew my boss had forgot about me leaving at 3. So therefore, I rushed on it like you wouldnāt believe.
I was running around so fast, I probably looked stupid. I didnāt care. I needed to leave. I finally finished it at about 3:15. I was so late! Then, would you believe, he says ātake the next jobā. I said ānope, Iām leavingā. And left. I knew he forget. Oh wellā¦ he would remember now. Cause I was basically running out of there. I was sweating, huffing and puffing, and finally out. I couldnāt even go to the bathroom. Figured I would when I got home. I was NOT going to miss this final meeting. So, I made it with less than 10 minutes to spare. Got all set. Paper, pencil, computer, all out and ready. Time cameā¦Couple minutes pastā¦Got to wonderingā¦Checked my emailā¦BAMā¦An email from Paul. Telling me heās so sorry and wanting to know if we can reschedule it for next week. Heās traveling. He did send it at noon though. Wanted some suggestions from me. I was stunned. Just sitting there thinking all that I went through to get to this point in timeā¦ What a bummerā¦ But, I realize that he did give plenty of heads up for meā¦ I just didnāt thinkā¦ Oh well, at least Iām done working for the day.
I have to work today also (Sat.)
Oh well.
No report Journal.
But I will come back this weekend and throw out the stuff that Iām actually learning. See, [B]I[/B] want to see the transformation taking place within myself. I am being built. And I want to see exactly what I have been learning through the stuff that I have been working on.
Mike
Hi Journal.
Soā¦Iāve been thinking. I guess the question really isā¦what am I actually learning?
You know me Journal. I like putting things into perspective. Thatās what I want to do now.
See, I feel like Iām changing. I am learning stuff. Am I becoming a real trader? One one hand, geeeez, I havenāt even talked market in so long. It seems like Iām so detached. Honestly, sometimes I think Iām taking a great course in psychology. Not market stuff, business stuff, but ā¦myself stuff. Thatās why I put that nice little map up there. At least I can see whatās up and coming. And yep, we got some real trading stuff coming. And on the other hand, I do realize that this business of trading really starts with me. And ends with me also. Itās lonely. I mean, who am I accountable to? Absolutely no one. I actually have that in one of my mind maps, āaccountable toā. And this is what I put. Me. Trish. My Journal.
Me because I want to fulfill my destiny. Itās kind of like āam I being true to myself?ā This is what I want more than anything. And I really do believe I was born a trading business owner. Not a mechanic.
Trish. She doesnāt understand absolutely anything about the market. Itās not even interesting to her. So therefore I donāt talk about any real details. Butā¦she is rooting for me. She has high hopes and is waiting patiently. I told her a million times of what the reality will look like one of these days. Me running my business from home. Office established. I will be dressing like a banker every single day. (Iām not sure about a tie on a daily basis, but threads for sure. Even if I never walk outdoors again!)
She will not have to work anymore. And we can be free to travel, like she wants. My point therefore is, I make myself accountable to her, because of our dreams. And last but not least, I am accountable to my journal. There is some dynamic to this that helps me tremendously. I actually want to see my development take place. I think it is some kind of release. Proof. A mirror. For myself.
Okā¦yeahā¦thatās nice.
What am I learning? Or what have I learned through this course so far?
I guess probably the most important aspect is Mind Maps. This really goes deep for me. This is a tool that I know I can develop more and more. It only makes sense to me. Cause I love putting things into perspective. And what other way does it better, than MMās?
Iāve come a long way with them. I remember being very confused on how to go about it. But the more I did them, things started to click. Itās a living thing. A tool. Itās something usable for the future. Thatās what goes through my head when I develop them. I work from the top down. And anything on the bottom should be; something Iām working on, where Iām at presently, or another MM that will expound on it more. Also, whenever I want to take stock in any aspect of my business, this is where I should look. Thatās why I thought it was a great idea to have a master mind map, the biggest picture of the business. Will I work on myself? The structure? The trading aspects? How about the money situation?
Believe me, Iām not there yet, with the MMās. It takes me so very long to complete a subject. I must be slow or something. It was taking me the entire 2.5 hrs every morning to get through one. Even a couple of them took twice that long. Why? I donāt know. Maybe because Iām a perfectionist to some extent. I would just sit there and thinkā¦and think. Trying to make it the best I can. What I wish is that I can just pop them out. Because thereās many other subjects I would love to indulge into also.
All I have to do is answer these 6 questions. What is it, Why, How, When, Where, Who. Some research has to go into it, in order to answer those. Also asking those same questions to the answers given, gives you more insight. But anyway, Iām off to a good start. You know, this reminds me of the books I bought on DaVinci. āHow to think like Leonardo da Vinciā. He was a mastermind, and genius. And what I remember about him was he asked a lot of questions. No joke. He questioned everything. Even his questions. He even was known for taking his notebook with him wherever he went. If he seen something interesting, he would write it down. Birds. Flowers. Stars. Man made objects. Like everything.
Okā¦thatās nice.
In particular.
The Kaizen Process. I can actually learn anything. It must be with one small step at a time.
My Learning Process. The best way I learn, is by writing/typing. I must do it and see it.
Practicing. Well, Iām having a hard time coming up with something I learned about that specifically.
But I know that when the time comes to practice something, I will use that MM as a starting point.
Thinking. The biggest thing is whole brain thinking. Left side is logical. Parts first then big picture. Right side is creativity. Big picture first, then in specifically. More importantly is using both together. Back and forth.
Information Processing. The 80/20 rule. Thatās a concept. A way of thinking, deciding, doing, living. Itās focusing on the top 20%. Thereās always too much stuff, in whatever subject. Find the most important part, and focus.
Decision Making. I think I have a good checklist to follow, for making important decisions.
What needs decided. Whatās the goal. What are all the options. Factor in time. Factor in risk. Factor in being wrong. Whatās the best option now. Follow a plan. Compare the result to the goal.
Money. I was just looking at my MM. I think itās a good perspective.
Well anywayā¦these are my tools. I will use all of these when the time comes. I understand the task at hand. Itās monumental. I need all the help I can get.
Nice morning with you Journal. Thanks for listening.
Mike
Hey Journal.
I needed to do this. I think itās pretty good. Mind Map on whole brain thinking.
Mike
Hey Journal.
Well, itās Friday. Iām off today. And this was the day for the meeting. Iām on the other side of it now. It went for an hour. I met with both Terry and Paul. This was very productive.
To put a summary to it.
āDrill downā on my mind maps. We all looked at my ālearningā MM. They helped me. Iāll show you exactly what we did together. And Iāll explain the reason.
Right there in the middle. Thatās what we all talked about. This is like a schedule. If I want to know what Iām learning, go to my learning MM. When am I going to learn? Well, a Monday morning will look like this. Iām out of the shower and sitting at 3. I will pick something to meditate about. Since my coffee maker comes on at 3:30, that will be my break. Then I will do some reading. Reading about what? Well, I put the book that I was last on, called āThinking fast and slowā. I will read for 45 minutes. Then after that I will do a mind map. See, these are the things that I want to do in the morning time. This is such sacred time for me. Itās so very quiet. Iām a morning person. Okā¦thatās niceā¦anywayā¦
Now I have a structured, methodological way of going about it. Paul asked me about what MM will I do. Well, I put a subject that Iāve started already. Called āobjectiveā. My objective MM is not complete yet. But I think I will take Paulās advise, and do a mind map on the book. All I have to do is read one chapter a day. Then do a MM on it. What did I learn? I will be using the 80/20 rule. See, I only want to know the most important 20%. The āvital fewā. I can do a MM, digging out the most important part of each chapter. In fact, they even want to see this from me. After I finish, they will be able to get a good idea of what the book is like. (I know Terry has read it alreadyā¦heās a reader. But Paul is not a reader at allā¦kinda funny) Anyway. After that, there should be a summary. I should be able to summarize my morning learning time. So this is like a schedule. I have a plan in place. And also itās like a journal. Where I will recap what I learned. Oh, and they say that I need to ask how is this applicable to my life. Take what I learn and use it. That needs to be incorporated into the MM also. See, all this stuff needs to be gotten down. Cause when we start getting into the trading stuff (Terry rattled off many examplesā¦monumental stuff), this tool is what Iām going to be using. So, nowās the time to practice this. There will be a day when my morning time will be focused on the trading culture, trading structure etcā¦and this is the way to get to the bottom of it. Drilling down.
I am such an organized person. I love compartmentalizing everything! Putting things into perspective, being organized, methods, etcā¦I wonder how I have ever lived without MMās!! And given the vast amounts of stuff to know about trading, and business, this is such a Godsend.
I love these guys. They know what works. And all their interested in is seeing me develop into the trader that I really am. Paul complimented me. He said he never had a student like me, in the fact of how dedicated I am. He says that my MM folder,(he keeps track of everyoneās work), is the biggest of them all. Oh, and I remember Terry interjecting at one point. He said āMike, I donāt want to be hearing you say that your slowāā¦āDo not put yourself downā. āYou are not a slow learner!ā Well, I understand where heās coming from. But I told him that Iām not putting myself down, I just know what is is what is. If Iām slow at getting things, then thatās just how it is. Not a bad thing, or a good thing. I donāt know. I guess we can go back and forth on that one. But the thing that I see is this. He cares. I am really grateful for him. Heās like a grandfather. Oh, and another thing. I have a strong feeling that these guys are Christian. Boyā¦I cannot be wrong on this. I mean, it seems like heās giving a sermon, during the webinars. And you know whatā¦thatās what I like! I believe real knowledge comes from above. And I do believe.
Ha ha haā¦I just remember also. At the end of one of the webinars Paul really gave out a prayer. He fervently prayed for the Chicago Cubs to win the World Series. Well, I wasnāt all that happy of the outcome, but, because of that, I am happy for him.
Soā¦yeahā¦anywayā¦I found out weāre not going to get into the next steps until January. I kind of thought so. This gives me some time to get proficient at these MMās. I do have much work to do.
When I think about itā¦ This is my Journey. I want to get it. And get it right. Every step of the way.
Slowly.
And surely.
Mike
Hey Journal.
Well, Iām on it. I so like the idea of MM books. It really helps me get it. So, hereās the first chapter.
Now, on to the next.
Mike
Hey Journal!
Well dog-gone it! I canāt do it!
Yeah, Iām taking this seriously. Ok, so I need a metronome. Found an app for it on my smart phone. (Thereās an app for everything). Got my index cards out. Drew on a 4 digit number. Made up about 4 different ones.
Set a beat. So, itās beating. Iām getting ready. Then I look at one card. Call out the number. Then when the beat beats again, I call out the next number, which is one digit more (on each one). Like this.
5462
beat
6573
beat
7684
beat
8795
beat
etcā¦
Itās all by memory. And I never can get past like the 4th one. And I have knocked down the tempo to like almost nothing.
Wowā¦so interesting. I thought I was good at numbers.
Nnnnnnope.
Ha, ha, ha!!
Well, I think itās a good memory game.
I donāt know. So very interesting to me. But, I bet my pupils get pretty big when I do that. Then they will constrict, because thatās when I quit.
Well, Iām gonna try this more later, like when the sun is not up. Is now though.
Mike
Hey Journal.
Well, hereās chapter 3. And I did forget about the summary on the other ones. So nowās a good time to start.
And surely this can be applied to trading.
But for now, what am I going to do with this good information?
Well, now at least Iām aware of it. Itās on my mind. Iām talking about being āengagedā. Iām going to be thinking about not running with my first thoughts. Just exercising a little more effort into the daily decisions that I have.
And when it comes time for trading, this will all fall under my other mind map of āobjectiveā. I think this is definitely some core values to be had.
Well, on to the next!
Mike
Hey Journal.
Yeah, itās been bugging me. I have got to get to the bottom of it. My mind maps. So, Iām going to revise them all. Iām understanding more and more. I see this as a living, operating tool. It will be apart of me. And I have these core trader value MMās that will follow me in the future.
So, I started with the most important one. āLearningā. Soā¦the purpose of this one isā¦when I ask myself what am I learning, I should be able to go to this MM and see what Iām learning. What, when, and how about it.
I shipped it off to Paul. And asked for some input.
Mike
Hey Journal.
Well, I got some work done this week. I accomplished 3 MMās. I believe these should be the final drafts.
Boy did I struggle with the āthinkingā one this week. It took about 3 days. I just had such a mental block about that one. What goes through my head is how am I going to be using this going forward? I guess itās the framework that Iāve been trying to develop.
So, hereās the PRACTICING one.
So, what I have in yellow there is what the current thing that I am doing. And presently what I am practicing is kind of two fold. I am practicing Mind Mapping, itself. And Iām going through the core trader skills MMās. So, in the future, the yellow will change. I mean, I can see myself wanting to practice a specific personal character quality, like āhow to be objectiveā. (I kind of started one on that) And surely when the time comes, next month, I will be on other subjects directly relating to trading (when Iām being taught it).
Then I did THINKING. Well, this is what I have.
I look at this as a blueprint. On my ālearningā MM I have laid out a schedule. And of course I need to think then. So this will be more on how to thinkā¦about what Iām learning about. I think things will develop more when I am up an running on specific material.
Then I just finished my āTIMEā MM.
I took the approach of whether Iām operating productively or not. (I of course always ask myself that question, and now itās all down for me to see)
I will be filling in the āwhat?ā squares with details, when productive. And if/when I am not being productive, I will deal with it. Problems will arise. And I want to be accountable to something/someone. Sureā¦I can get lazy. This is ālong haulā stuff. I donāt have time as a luxury. Itās minimal. And the best thing that I can do is maximize it. And given the complexity of this business, (learning everything that I have to learn) this journey inevitably is gonna take a long time.
See Journalā¦Iām not getting any younger. Itās not always that easy to wake up so early.
Well, honestly, itās not the waking up part thatās a problem, itās the staying awake part that I struggle with at times. Cause I need to be really accomplishing something. Like this week, manā¦āthinkingā got me stumped. I eventually just resorted to sleeping, after so long of trying. But, one day, it all just clicked. I was in the zone, and let it flow out.
Okā¦yeahā¦thatās nice.
So, I am going to move on. Looks like I got āENERGYā to sure up. I think my āMONEYā was not too bad. Iām going to revisit all of them. And what am I gonna do about the āDECISION MAKINGā and āINFORMATION PROCESSINGā ones? I guess I need to see where their specific functions fit into it all. Everything is so correlated to one another. Itās a good thing I like compartmentalizing stuff. I have my work cut out for me.
So thatās what I will be working on this week.
Mike
Hey Journal.
Letās type. (I love typing!)
Well, I had somewhat of a productive week. I mean, I did get something accomplished, but Iām stuck on something also.
I completed my ENERGY mind map. Yeah, that took some days. But I feel good about it. The way Iām approaching this is like a report. It will need to be updated it from time to time.
You knowā¦Iām sitting here just thinkingā¦about itā¦and I donāt know if I want to put it up. Itās pretty personalā¦okā¦truth be toldā¦I am not proud, or feel good about where Iām at on this factor, of the business. See, these are the main titles. Food Intake. Physical Activity. Sleep. Mental Condition.
I mean, I am honest with myself. I donāt have a good rating in the food category. Yeah boy, Iām not too happy with myself. It doesnāt feel good being under the microscope in this area. Itās tough!! The older I get the harder it is to be in control of my diet. ā¦I donāt knowā¦
Anyway, the point here is, that this is an important factor. My physical and mental condition does and will have an effect on my business. When I think about it, this is one of my ācore trader skillsā. I can hear him sayingā¦āto the degree that you manage your TEaM resources is the degree that you want your business to be successfulā.
Well, I guess the best thing I can do is to be my worst critic. I mean, who doesnāt know how your diet should be like. Yeahā¦mister obvious hereā¦eat more fruits, vegetables, less fatty foods, exercise, and eat less. But doing it is another thing.
I can do better.
And the best way to go about it would be for me to use the Kaizen process, in that area. That means thisā¦slow, gradual, one step at a time, solidifying a lifestyle change with small steps first. (I need to keep reminding myself that this is the only real constructive way)
Okā¦that is niceā¦Letās move on.
Then at around mid week I proceeded to go on to the āmoneyā MM. Man, I thought this was going to be a breeze. Nnnnnnnnope. This is where Iām stuck. I meanā¦Iām stuck. I donāt know exactly how to approach this. Thatās what I should be doing now, once again, every morning. But since itās Sunday, the end of the week, I figured I could talk about it and maybe I can come up with an angle.
And this is where Iām at. How am I going to approach the money MM? How will I use it? When will I use it? Why will I use it? I went back and looked at what I had down on it. All it is is simply stating what is money, and how important it is. Yeahā¦thatās niceā¦but how am I going to use this as a tool in my business? I thought I was getting close by going about it this way. I would follow the money flow. Like what happens to it when I place a trade. Well, first off, I will have a total amount of money in the account, that will be called the trading account balance. Then I place a trade. The trade will eventually end. And the account balance will change. Soooooooā¦yeah, thatās keeping track of the money flow. I donāt know exactly how thatās gonna help me or to be constructive in any way. Thatās just keeping records. And thatās precisely where Iām at now. A dead end.
How can I make my Money MM a good tool? I do have plans on having a āFinancialsā MM in the future. That will be used for tax purposes. Every business has one of those. Financial Statement. Itās a statement that shows where all the money has come from, went to, and is accounted for. But I want something different for this MM. Something a little bit more detailed, and useful. Letās step back for a minute. How can I manage my money, effectively? Ok, the first thing that comes to mind is to watch it. That kind of looks like what I have up there. Money Flow. But when I proceed with that train of thought it starts getting into the trading aspect. Cause I then would want to put down things like whereās the take profit, stop losses, or whatās the % a trade has on the account balance. Those things are a bunch of unknowns at this point in the game. Plus, I donāt even know how much of a factor that will go into a trade yet.
So, should I watch the money flow?
Or, how about having some guidelines that I need to be reminded of?
See, a lot of this stuff ties into the mechanics of a trading strategy. (No wonder we didnāt touch onto this subject. Thatās up and coming.)
Maybe I should just put this one on the back burner. I mean, is this a core trader skill? Well, I donāt see this as a skill. Itās a result. Of all of the decisions that go into a trade, placing it to ending it, money is whatās the outcome. In fact, on my original MM I realized that money is the product. Like in any business you have either a product or a service to provide. Say a business produces something, like milk. Milk is the product and thatās what they make money from. People buying their milk. And the more people buy their milk the more their account balance will go higher. Sure, they have to balance all of their expenses of getting the milk out to the customer to how much money they are bringing in. But, all in all, itās all about growing a profit. They have many more factors going into their bottom line. The quality of the product, and everything in between in getting it out there. In this business, there is no product. But in fact, there is. Itās Money. Itās the account balance that every business has. AND itās the commodity that is being used in order to turn a profit.
deep thought going on**
When I think about it, itās me myself, speculating, in the market place that makes all the difference. What my choices are on a particular instrument is whatās going to cause a profit or loss. So therefore, my knowledge is the most important aspect of how much profit can be made. In fact, this seems to be more like a service. People get paid for what they know, and can do. Kind of like white collar business. What you know as opposed to what you can do (physically). Like being an economist. They donāt do anything. But itās what they know that makes themselves money. So, maybe I am the product.
Ok, thatās real nice, and what does this all mean? I have no idea.
What was I getting at anywayā¦
Money.
I donāt have a MM on it yet. And I think Iām going to move on here. Thatās gonna have to come when the time is right. What Iāve been really really wanting to do is go back to reading that book. And practicing Mind Mapping each of the chapters. But, I do have some loose ends. āDecision Makingā and āInformation Processingā. Oh, I almost forgot, one more. āKaizenā.
As long as I feel that I am being productive and am accomplishing some real tasks of the business, then thatās what counts.
Weāll see.
Mike
Hey Journal! Merry Christmas!
Well, it came and went. And now itās gone. Itās Monday morning, 2:36 am, coffee hot, and Iām am so ready to type. Normally, I would be dragging right about now, cause it would be a count down till I have to leave for work. Nope. Not this time. I am pretty happy right now. I have this entire last week off from work. What a relief. And I got up like a half hour earlier this morning (2), and thereās a good reason. Geeez. Yeah. Well, I did something that I havenāt done is such a long time. Yesterday morning, which was Christmas morning, I slept in. No look. I slept in. I mean, I just didnāt wake up till the sun came up. It wasnāt completely intentional. Mostly the reason was because I was up pretty late wrapping presents. Oh, and yeah, right, me and Trish kinda were arguing also. It wasnāt a good night at the end there. Look Journal, we rarely fight, and it was over something trivial. Honestly. Of course we made up in the morning. But, I knew I just wouldnāt be able to concentrate on anything that morning. And I just let it all go by the wayside. Itās been some years since I did that, just sleep sleep sleep. Thatās probably why I automatically woke up earlier than when my alarm went off, just a bit ago.
Soā¦I am ready. Whatās on the agenda this morning? This is the plan. Instead of what Iāve been working on, which has been reading my book āThinking fast, & slowā, and Mind Mapping each chapter. (Iām on chapter 8 presently). This is whatās in order. I will preface this with how I am, and what I do at the end of every year.
I like (and kinda think itās the only way to be) to see the big picture first and move in. I like to reflect on what has happened, see where I have come from, and where I am going. I do love goals. But, I have been learned that there is a more important aspect to that. The process is more important than the goal itself.
Well, when I think about it, the [I]timing[/I] of a goal is subjective. A goal in itself is always a good thing. Sure. That will always be. Butā¦the timing of itā¦is to be debated. And again, the process is what I need to sink my teeth into.
Yeah, thatās nice. Me and Trish have a tradition. At the end of every year, and it has been at a nice restaurant the last couple yrs, this is what we do. We go back in time and look at the year. What happened. We will put it into the different perspectives. Compartmentalize all of the different aspects. The kids. Our relationship. Where we have come from, as a whole. And where we are going. The biggest events that took place. Looking at what the good times were. The bad times. I mean, really putting a summary to our lives, that took place this year. (You know that all of this comes from me, cause this is just how I like to think)
So anyway, along those lines, what I want to do now is the same thing here. In regards to my business. See, this is the first year for my Journal. Itās been just about one complete year now. And for as much as I like doing this, I donāt see an end to it. I mean, unless BabyPips goes away, I will always be here. Itās a lot of fun. And. Itās me. I want to be able to see where I came from, and where I end up. For as important as this is to me, this is going to be the proof that I can make it. Itās the before. Right now. Sure, I have a goal. My goal is to have a successfully thriving trading business. And as long as I am living, I know that this will come true. I mean, I know this, more than anything. I want this more than anything. Itās like, I will not be a complete person until this comes true. (I became a Dad. That ended up being the first thing. And Iām proud of that. I do believe that I have succeeded fully in that area of my life. Because they will impact this world. They are such good kids. Surely not perfect. But I am so thankful for them, and how they turned out). But, in a trade, [I]this[/I] is who I am. And I tell ya, this would be an absolute tragedy if I would die before it takes place. For the countless times that I have asked the question to the young people in this world, āWhat is it that you want to be when you grow up, more than anythingā, I just know that this is what it is for me.
Ok, letās move on. Letās take a look at my first year here.
Well, we canāt, until I give a little bit of a run up to it. Heyā¦this is the first yearā¦of the Journal.
Actually, I do remember at the beginning of this Journal I did articulate my running start. But I must recap.
I remember it well. Way back in nineteeeeeeenā¦just kidding. It really wasnāt that long ago. Although sometimes it feels like it. At the end of 2012. Between Christmas and the New Year. Thatās when my life turned. I will put it this way. Thatās when God bestowed, enlightened, brought to my attention, the business of trading. I was 45 at the time. I think it came to light to me by seeing a book about it. And I remember being so surprised to know that it was possible to trade online. It wasnāt always like that. Cause back in the day, you pretty much needed to be down there on Wall Street, on the floor, or else you were someone with a whole lot of money and connections to the market. I guess with the progression of the computer came that possibility. And I was a little late catching up with computers to begin with.
Oh, I remember, also, that just before that time came (end of 2012) I was on such a mission. I remember telling Trish that I want us to figure out what business we could start, or get into. Man, we came up with many ideas. And all of the ideas were eventually shot down. There was always something wrong. And the one aspect that I always didnāt like wasā¦people. I just do not like people. Most people seem to be difficult to deal with. Always problems. And you kind of need people to run and help operate the business also. Well then, self-proprietary it is. Sure, a family run and owned would be good. I remember one of the last ideas was, because she is a real animal lover, helping those deal with their pet when it dies. Yeah, itās gonna happen, but thatās a definite need to be met. But, of course, most people just take it to the vet and thatās it. We kind of wanted to make it more of a soft landing like giving people a momento. A business that combines what a vet is, and a funeral home.
Sorryā¦some real memories flying there.
Anyway.
Well, this post is quite long.
And I have so much more coming.
Iām gonna cut this one and come back with the meat and potatoes of my business.
With another cup of coffee.
Mike
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Journal.
Itās been exactly 4 complete years now, since Iāve been on this journey. Iāll tell ya my original plans.
Yep, weāre gonna do this the smart way Mike. Absolutely no way am I going to get into the market until I am completely ready. I mean, what doesnāt make any more sense than to practice on demo, like itās real, and just make the transition to live. Doing nothing different. Having the proof evident. Seeing it work. And only continuing the same method live. Then build the capital needed. Then move into the business full time. As time progressed, adjustments took place. I was kind of smart on not going live until after 3 complete years of practicing. As you can read in the beginning of this journal, the plan wasā¦3 yrs practice. 2 years capital building. If all of the monthly goals met, then go time. Business up on running, full time.
Nope.
Once again, adjustments take place.
So, what happened this year? The first year going live. The first year of the capital building stage.
Well, itās all here in the Journal. But in summary, looks like this. Basically, I doubled the (1K) account. I made it up to 2k. Then crashed it. Put in another 1K. Then crashed that one also. This all took place in the first 6 months. By July I was done. Thatās when I swore I would not get back into the market until I am ready. Boy was I tired of just throwing away $ to the market. Letās face it. Iām not ready.
I walked through the wilderness, trying to figure out my way. Surely Iām not questioning whether this is for me or not, but only of the questionā¦HOW?
When I think about it, of all what happened, this is what took place. The way that I thought was right, the way I figured that this would work, didnāt. The walls came down. Everything I built came down. It was my way. I donāt knowā¦I thought I could do it. Everybody should have their own particular way, right? But this is what I mean by the walls coming down. See, I started out (3 yrs ago) with the idea that all I need to do is document, track, and record the way each currency moves. Find these moves and be able to determine where they want to go. Their habits. Whose the strong one down to the weak one. The top 8 currencies. And boy did I put in a lot of hours doing that. The first 2 yrs was on paper. Then I remember learning how to use excel. That was in 2015. But, each and everyday, I had the daily pip movement & % of each currency against one another documented. And on the weekends I tallied the weekly numbers. That took around 6-8 hours, every weekend. It was such a daunting task. But what eventually happened was that after I crashed the account for good, I still kept these records. It was like a security thing for me. Like Linusā blanket. Without it, I felt lost. I canāt tell you how personal of a thing that was for me. But, that wall came down. I stopped doing that. It was such a game changer. My mental condition was jarred to a great extent. It was only because of my love for the game that kept me in it.
Then, once I got to used to taking that humble pill, I realized that I need to read. I need to learn. From those who know. Now that is the only thing that makes sense. I picked up some very good books. So, it was a combination of being stripped of what I thought was the right way, to honestly learning from experience. And now, since around October, I am being mentored. I fully believe that I have found the right people (Exceptional Trader) to help me become who I want to be. Itās because they are smart. They have always said that they cannot (and wonāt) tell me how to trade. They are more interested in developing me personally. They are genuinely good people. Both Terry and Paul, I believe, came from above. And I am so thankful. They do know what it takes to be the exceptional trader that I need to be. Itās evident.
I see myself as underground now. When I look back on this year, what a ride. I see so many mistakes. Probably the biggest mistake would be to put it like this. I had expectations. I had goals. And it was my way. That was the driving force that led to disaster. What is more correct, now because of hindsight, is I need to embrace the process. Itās the slowing down, taking a hard look at all of the different aspects of the business. And what makes more sense than to start out working on the core trader skills. I do see myself thinking more smartly. Leaning more smartly. Having a trading tool box. Itās the things that I really need to be equipped with before I begin embarking on my system. And this is all in conjunction with slowing down, taking my time, and doing things right. Having the walls fall down helped very much also. My walls were: number crunching, goal setting, ā¦how about whatever is the opposite of being objective about something. Bias. Yeah, thatās the word. Boy, itās pretty tough to be not bias in the market, like rooting for a particular currency. Emotions were pretty prevalent in my mind, I remember.
Lookā¦Iām not going to pretend Iām any kind of smart trader now. Sure, I learned some stuff. But I have so much more learning to go. Experience is the best teacher. Everyone knows that. But, I do know also, that there is definitely some real knowledge that must be acquired. In the market, it does seem like itās mostly a psychological matter. Manā¦I so remember back in the beginning, when I did so much reading, that psychology plays a bigger part than actual market knowledge. I think I read something like itās a 60/40 split. I was very excited to know that because deep down inside of me, I know I am very psychologically minded. I have more control over myself than most. Well, thatās what I think anyway. Who knows. ā¦Who caresā¦
I need knowledge. And it cannot come from myself. I am going to get it.
Ok. Thatās nice.
Where we at now?
Oh, I know. I want to think about whatās gonna happen next year.
2017 is gonna be a good year. This is the plan. By the end of the year I must have 50K in a trading account. Without fail, whatever it takes, this should happen.
Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahā¦
No.
This is whatās gonna happen.
I have no plans. I am not going to plan. I simply just do not know.
I will concentrate on the process. Iām using the Kaizen process. One step at a time. I will get the most out of every single step of the way. I will chew, and chew, and chew on some more till I get it. Get what? Get whatever I am being taught. I will not deceive myself into thinking I know something, or know the market. I will remember the spanking that I took from the market in 2016. I want to be in control of my trading. Thatās what Terry has said. āWe need to be in control of our tradingā.
I do know that come January I will be learning about my trading culture, trading structure, and trading performance. (I have that map posted a few pages back). Itās gonna get interesting now.
It will be a slow process.
I might not be the sharpest tool in the shedā¦butā¦I just might be the most determined one though.
Itās gonna be a good year.
Mike
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Hey Journal!
Well, itās Sunday morning, pretty early. Getting ready for the week Iāve been waiting for. I have such the anticipation. Yepā¦itās going down Journal. Tuesday. 4:30 pm. This is the start of āTrain 2 Trainerā. And for the next 6 weeks, every Tuesday, itās on. I did have a phone conversation with Paul about it. Heās really excited also. I remember him asking if Iām ready for the meat. And he was saying that everything we have learned up to this point will be used. So, yeah, it was a good conversation. But one thing kinda got me to thinking. I donāt knowā¦maybe I just were reading too much into itā¦but. It went like this. See, I told him some more of my background. And that lead up to the fact that I know they will approach me with the āanchor tradeā. Iāve heard it fly in some of the material we went through before. Itās no real secret or anything. And it only makes sense. Terry did mention it a few times and he thinks thatās the best thing. Oh, thatās right, it was when we were learning about the 80/20 rule. Which means that we should concentrate on the top 20% of anything. And the anchor trade should be the one and only trade that we can go to. The one most confident with. The one you have spent so much time on, and just know through and through. So anyway, I told Paul that I know that fact will eventually gonna come down. And of course he agreed. But I told him that I know which one I want it to be for me. First off, I had to explain that I really canāt shake off currencies. I remember back a few months ago I was trying to get into the futures market. I mean, I did give it a good effort. But eventually what happened was I found that you can trade the currency pairs there also. Pretty much any pair thatās in the forex market. I realized that I have such a magnetism towards currencies. So, does it really matter in which market I trade it in? (I can hear Lexy saying one thingā¦volume, is the difference) Weāll see how much of a factor that will play into my strategy, down the road. Maybe that will be the tipping point. I donāt know yet. But, in any case, I told Paul that there is one favorite trade I would want. ā¦I will get to itā¦
See, this is pretty foreign to me to begin with. I love relationships. How things are related to one another. I believe in the big picture needing to be known first, then on in. Putting everything into perspective ALWAYS starts with big. And in the first 3 1/2 yrs that I navigated my way through the market, all I was about, was the correlations that were going on. Remember the Majors vs. the Comms? I did think that that was having some kind of edge in the market, by knowing the correlations that exist. Apparently that was so important to me, because I remember when I first started to hear about an āanchor tradeā, I resisted to it (deep inside). That notion had to sink in to me. First off, how is that any fun? One trading pair? But thereās so much else going on. Sounds pretty boring.
Well, that was my first reaction. And now I remind myself that I just need to step back and learn something. Cause surely I couldnāt do it before, on my own. And I know the fact that Iām not wrong about all of the relationships that are in the market. Itās just, now is apparently not the time for it. I guess I get too ahead of myself. Letās just learn how to trade properly. And see, this is a good thing for me. All I need to do is obey, pay attention, and learn, from those who do know. I donāt have to worry about anything else. And I need to get out of the way. I think thatās a problem with being an older person that I am. Geeeez. Itās true. The older you get, the more you think your right, about anything. Everybody thinks their right. And it starts with teenagers. They come out of the gates thinking they know everything. And what I have realized is that it only gets worse as we get older. And I mean, all the way up to the day we die. Thatās why those who are in their 70ās , well, pretty much do know everything. Until, of course, the brain starts decaying.
Mikeā¦come on back down the bunny trail now.
Yep. Ok. Where was I.
Anchor trade. This is the one that I want.
AUD/JPY.
I think Iām kind of cheating. Because I do believe that that pair encompasses the whole Major/Comm correlation. There is a whole lot going on into that one particular pair. You got the direction of the risk on/ risk off. And you got their own economic indicators playing into it also. The trends that take place can be very lengthy. I wonder what else I can find, like about how they are trading partnersā¦Etcā¦
Look, maybe Iām wrong about all of that. And maybe I should not even take those things into consideration, regarding that pair. But regardless, itās one pair. One trade. And it should qualify to be my anchor trade.
I ran that by Paul. And I canāt help think that he was kind of surprised by it. Lookā¦I canāt explain it. He was a bit quiet about my answer. (cause he did ask me what it would be for me) And all he said was that itās gonna be very interesting to see how this all turns out for me. See, Paulās into the bond market. Thatās his niche. And I just donāt know what his experience is with the forex market. Maybe none at all. But, I do know heās excited for me, and he is with me all the way.
You know, I do have to say, and most surely overdue, is that the men of BabyPips, (Iām sorry, but I do think that they are all very wise and old) are such a Godsend. Every morning I get their email blog. Thereās always around 5 or 6 topics. That has been such a must read for me. Every single morning. I remember a while back my favorite was Pipnoculars. I mean, I just appreciated it so much the time he spends on writing up the session recaps. Want to know what happened? Itās all right there. I loved it. That was when I ate, drank, & slept market. And I have never thanked him.
Thank you Pipnoculars!! For the work you do!!
Another favorite of mine is Piponomics. For as much as I love macroeconomics, I can surely understand this one fact. That guy is a genius! I want to be him when I grow up. Man, do I wish I could be young again, to have the time to study, learn, and just bathe in the knowledge that he has acquired. I donāt knowā¦he HAS to be a very wiseā¦oldā¦Einstein. In my little mind anyway.
Pipsychology is another one of my favorites. I donāt know what I would do without him, his input. Manā¦I just look forward to his articles. The psychological aspect of trading HAS to be the most important part of trading. And he is spot on! All of the points he makes stays with me, cause I will hear it in my mind from time to time.
Ok, I found it. I had to find this article that I read recently. Man was it good. Itās from Pick of the Day. Itās his āreflection of Q4 2016 Forex Performanceā. I donāt knowā¦somehow this affected me pretty profoundly. Just seeing his trades, his thinking behind them, and his hindsight thoughts was pretty awesome. I mean, this is real trading. Itās good for me to see this. I believe learning from those experienced is unparalleled.
Another one I like a lot is āCurrency Currentsā. That guy is smart! Well, of course, because he likes to see the big picture. And I agree with all of his opinions. Yeah, he is an opinionated person. And I love it!! He definitely shoots straight.
Lookā¦I love them all. I just want to take the time now to thank all of you. I donāt know. It seems like you guys donāt get the recognition you deserve. You have made this sight absolutely incredible.
I love intelligence. And I can tell you guys are exactly that. Intelligent!! Market intelligent. The wisdom that comes out of your articles needs to be taken seriously. Thatās what I am doing. And I wish that you would know how much I appreciate all your work. It isā¦on a daily basisā¦that I appreciate you.
Thank you so very much.
Ok. Thatās nice.
I need to get back on track here.
Iām gonna cut this and come back with the other thoughts I had originally.
Mike
Journalā¦
Well, I guess weāre going to be changing gears here soon. I will be talking about the development of my trading culture, style, etcā¦the specifics of trading, once the class starts. But, what have I been doing lately? Nothing? Absolutely not. I guess you can classify it under ābrain developingā. I was mind mapping a lot of that one book āThinking, fast & slowā. That book is so compact with stuff itās crazy. It was pretty hard to mind map, even a chapter at a time. I did 9 chapters. Then the last mind map was the complete characteristics of system 1 thinking. Thatā¦my friendā¦is a monster of a MM. I only wish I could put it out in here, but, I canāt. I tried so hard to make it to be an attachment. I just donāt know how. I canāt make it into a jpeg file, or any of the files that can be accepted. But, in any case, itās huge.
Yep, thatās nice.
So, then what I did is picked up the book āTinkertoysā. I did quite a bit of mind mapping on that too. Now, this book is really good!! Itās all about having, and developing a creative mind. I felt it was very beneficial to work on the right side of my brain (creativity). I picked up on some real good stuff. I didnāt get to the end of it cause itās so jammed packed with great techniques on developing a mind that thinks outside of the box. For instance, let me throw this one out to you. Itās fun. This is a puzzle. This will be easier for someone to figure out if they have more of an intuitive mind, (Right brained as opposed to a Left brained person).
So, what we have here is a circle. And the alphabet. The idea is to find the pattern, what is shown, and complete the alphabet using the pattern. So, which of the rest of the letters will belong inside the circle or outside the circle? At first, when I was trying to figure it out, I thought there very well could be many different patterns possible. And just complete the letters with whatever way that would work. Boyā¦I tried for quite some time. I couldnāt do it. Whatās the pattern? Simply, what makes the letters belong inside the circle and what makes them outside it?
Well, Iām not going to give out the answer. Anytime soon anyway.
I showed this to many people. And surely those who operate mostly with their left brain (logical, mathematical, systematic, etcā¦) will not get it. But those who do use their right brain (creative, no boundaries, flowing, colorful, intuitive, etcā¦) will get it. And guess what? My daughter did get it! I was surprised. But actually, not really. She is such the creative person. She loves to paint and is an artist. For Christmas she gave me a framed painting that she made. And itās so lovely! But anyway, she goes like thisā¦āDad, this is gonna sound stupid, but I think ā¦ā And tells me the answer.
Manā¦do I wish I can develop a creative mind like that.
And thatās what this book is all about. It is totally awesome! I think Iām starting to understand that I, naturally speaking, have a closed off mind, for the most part. I mean, I see everything as most logical. That only makes sense to me. I like thinking that way. But, there is more to see in life than what makes sense. Like how about this exercise. Go through a day with noticing a color. Letās say you pick red. And your job, for a day, would be to notice everything that is red. I havenāt done that yet, but I bet your brain would pick up on more red than you normally would. I guess the lesson to learn is that thereās more that we can use of our brains than what we do.
Hereās another one.
You have to link all 9 dots, with no more than three straight lines which will cross through all the dots. Without lifting up your pencil! So, there will be 3 lines going through all the dots, which have to be straight.
Of course, I couldnāt do it.
In any case, it will be a very, very long time before I can get to exhausting this book. There is a myriad of things to do to developing all of your mind. Iām going through and mind mapping each and every one.
I guess this is going to go by the wayside, because after Tuesday, itās on. Iām going to be, nothing but, concentrating on the material presented to me.
Well, thatās pretty much what Iāve been up to Journal.
Fun stuff.
Mike
P.Sā¦
Some answers.
Every letter that is curved, goes outside the circle. Straight letters inside.
Andā¦ Start outside the box. About 6 or 8 inches out, above the left top corner dot, draw a straight, very slight angled line, and come down at the top left dot. Hit it on the left side, then go through the left middle dot around the middle of it, and then hit the left bottom dot on the right side of it. And keep going down. Then your gonna come back up and go through the middle dots (at a slight angle). Then way up there your gonna come back on down hitting the last 3 dots on the right, at that slight angle.
As is written here, āA surprising number of people will make two assumptions: (1) you must not extend beyond the outside dots, and (2) the lines must pass through the center of each dot. But these were not mentioned as rules.ā
Interesting.
I havenāt seen (or heard of) this book, but you certainly make it sound interesting. 
Iām wondering whether youāve seen any of Edward de Bonoās books? (Iām thinking of the ā6-day Thinking Courseā and one or two others. Perhaps similar. Iām perhaps somewhat biased over him, because heās Maltese. :8: ).
Well, my instinctive āfirst thoughtā when I saw the picture is still my answer now, having thought more about it.
Well, probably I shouldnāt guess in the thread, then? :8:
(The other one, ājoining up the dotsā, Iāve actually seen before, so Iād be cheating if I answered that one.)