Operation: PAPERCLIP by IKC - Journal on Personal Thoughts and Stories
After a 2-year hiatus going off-the-grid, we are set for a return to the global arena.
In our 2-year hiatus, our once great civilization withered away, unkept from time and tide.
Now, we return to awaken the power within…
32 technical pages. 30+ charts. 10s of pages of interpolation. 5 Hours. 2 Grande Cups of Caramel Macchiato.
On my little corner on a Starbucks shop isolated from the noisy students over there, from the networkers scamming their prospects over there, and from the weary workers ranting over there, and all the noise in the world - I was working.
Time off from work would normally be spent recharging your social batteries, filling up your love tank with your loved ones, or chilling out and enjoying life with your own company or your hobbies.
But on this auspicious day, Destiny demands a toll from us. The Universe demands our sacrifice.
The Kittycat just spent 5 hours studying and summarizing a technical trading book (my old reference when I was learnin’) and other studies interpolated to create a new manual of trading knowledge for use in our trading soon.
Objectively, it’s a daunting task to study technical material in just one sitting and summarize it all with interpolations from other studies and examine its application in 10s of charts.
However, be careful NOT to underestimate a Cat and his Coffee!
Phase 1 of Operation: PAPERCLIP is complete.
Our knowledge base is now ready for the next phase of Operation: PAPERCLIP!
I zoomed in 500% and cannot read the content of the spreadsheet.
What kind of help do you want from forum members? Your post reads like a social media post, not a contribution to a group interested in Forex as a discipline.
Cats - in contrast to those who dare, eventually, to comment in exasperation on all the spam, the bots and the forum’s persistent refusal to do anything about them - are clearly not removed under the guise of inaccurate allegations.
Good day, my esteemed hooman! I apologize if it is not to your liking. However, this is my PAPERCLIP personal trade journal and I try to keep it as casual as i can. It’s just the beginning and is a tiny part of the whole. This specific journal is for stories.
It’s the personal side of my trading persona. I shall also have other journals which may be to your liking and they’ll come around soon enough.
So hold your horses and belay judgement. This cat will be worth following and you’ll realize it soon.
I intend to make four (4) journals for each stage of personal and financial development:
PAPERCLIP is the learning stage Kitten for Personal Stories TRINITY is the Young Adult Kitten for Personal Finance SILVERPLATE is the Mature Adult Cat for Trading System Development CENTERBOARD is the Senior Cat for Recording Actual Trades
The Kittycat doesn’t seek help from the forum members (yet) but rather, the Kittycat seeks to PROVIDE help to the new cats on the block.
I am starting to share my trading journey and the lessons will come bit by bit in between the lines.
The journals might not be to your liking but I am hoping that some helpless kitten out there sees value in it.
PS Dont try to zoom it. I intentionally made it hard coz it ain’t time to reveal notes yet. That comes at SILVERPLATE soon.
Don’t worry, this cat is a good cat and is only seeking to share and help out. This journal is for personal stories of my trading and personal finance journey. Watch out for 3 other journals i intend to share soon for other aspects of the journey including the more technical ones. Cheerios!
I understand that. I wish you well and was not questioning your motivation.
What I’m questioning is the forum very recently having banned three very actively participating, supportive, helpful members here and (wrongly, dishonestly) labelling the profiles of all three “sock puppet”, while you clearly and openly have two profiles, yourself, which is against the forum’s rules. They were also “only seeking to share and help out” and had in fact originally been invited here specifically for that reason!! You can doubtless see the irony, there?
Oh, no i only have this profile. I lost the old profile i had here long ago as I was locked out of the email i used for that one. So for any mods watching, this is my only one. Please don’t k!ll the cat.
I clearly haven’t been here in the past years but to hear that is really sad. I hope i can stick around and help more tho.
Operation: PAPERCLIP by IKC - Journal on Personal Thoughts and Stories
DECOUPLING FROM THE HIATUS
What’s my “waking up” story?
Hardships. Lots of hardships.
While not as epic as John Wick, it’s the meat and truth of it: The past two years have been VERY hard for me.
Following The Disaster at Ionith, The HIATUS lasted for more than two years. It was the Great Slumber of our financial prowess.
With no supplementary trading income, I’ve had to live off the 8 to 5 job (just like the average Joe).
It wasn’t easy but as they say: “A hungry stomach, an empty wallet, and a broken heart can teach you the best lessons of life”
It was a difficult two years for me. For the first time in my life, I was actually worried about making ends meet. I’ve always had enough in the past with always a bit to spare. But in the past two years, I was actually concerned with every little bit of expense item I was incurring.
Like blood rushing from a wound and your ears ring for a bit as your eyes refocus to blur the crimson flow, your thoughts race and memories flash in a moment of reflection.
That’s how I’d describe the sensation of the awakening. Finances were draining and pouring down the drain as I watch in shock and horror as years of savings and my emergency fund gets wiped out.
It took over a year to drain but I’m glad I set up my emergency funds as they served as my safety net during my time of crisis after The Disaster at Ionith
It was through the difficulties of the past two years that the fire in me was reawakened.
I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired all the time. I was done being worried about the next bill or the next rent payment being due. I was done with trying to make ends meet. I was done with worrying.
I awakened and here we are where it all started over again: Operation: PAPERCLIP.
Maybe you have your own struggle or disaster that you’re coping from. Maybe you’re in a place of hardship and anxiety. Maybe you’re in a place you don’t like.
If you don’t like where you are, MOVE! You’re not a tree.
Hi, thanks for the reply. I did not say this was not to my liking. I was merely commenting that the concept of Paperclip was not explained. Now you have explained a bit about your background, previous experience on this forum (lost account), I understand. I wish you all the best, and hope your contributions can help other kittens on here.
Thank you so much, @Mondeoman! This kittycat only seeks to share and help.
As a wise old cat once told me:
We learn best when we teach others. We inspire ourselves as we inspire others. We help ourselves as we help others.
I can see you are a helpful and pawesome hooman as well! I aspire to be like you, reaching out to those in need. Keep it up! Let’s do what we can!
Operation: PAPERCLIP by IKC - Journal on Personal Thoughts and Stories
THE TINY RIPPLE EFFECT “It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped each time a man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot of others or strikes out against injustice. He sends forth a tiny ripple of hope , and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest wall of oppression and resistance.” - Robert F. Kennedy
Let’s reflect on this for a bit:
A tiny ripple of hope. A million ripples of hope. A current that can sweep down… anything.
More often than not, new traders or returning traders encounter a strong and difficult block to taking action.
We often find ourselves “stuck” and in a rut of inaction due to a variety of reasons. It could be fear of losing or failing (again). It could be intimidation - it’s a daunting task to trade. It could be a sense of dread that creates anxiety for the budding / returning trader.
This state of cycling between fear and anxiety can take a toll on you and may keep you from taking action.
Like this cat, you end up staring at the wall and pondering if the brick wall is actually made of bricks?
We often break down our big goals (such as trading goals) into smaller steps or piecemeal targets we need to attain by a certain timeframe. We set goalposts and milestones for our trading journey.
So why are we not rockin’ and rollin’ like we projected? Why are we not moving towards those goals?
WHAT IF:
Maybe the steps we set for our trading and investing goals are still too big?
Maybe we’re aiming to take large strides towards our goals so much so that we feel intimidated into inaction by the sheer size and complexity of our goals?
So what do we do? Break it down EVEN FURTHER into much smaller (and hopefully more attainable) goals.
Don’t be embarrassed that your goals may appear too small for others to see. The important thing is that these small steps move the needle FOR YOU TO REACH YOUR GOALS.
If your initial step is to trade and gain a dollar a week ($ 1), there’s no shame in that! It’s a SMALL and ACTIONABLE step on your part! The important thing is you get started and get moving!
Sure, you can move the goal posts soon like $ 10 a week, $ 20 a week, $ 50 a week, $100 a week, etc. But if you can’t get past the goalpost of $ 1 a week, maybe there are still some things you need to work on?
If you set the bar too high, then you get to a point where it’s intimidating and it pushes you to INACTION. So those SMALL, ACTIONABLE, ATTAINABLE, and most importantly EASY early steps will not just move the needle for you, but will also MOTIVATE YOU to keep going.
Those TINY STEPS will give you SMALL VICTORIES to celebrate and push you to keep moving forward.
Don’t worry about your steps being “too small” for your goals. These small steps will one day add up to be seen as MAJOR SHIFTS towards your goal.
All it takes is that you keep on taking those tiny little steps to get there!
Tiny steps, like tiny ripples, will one day add up and MOVE MOUNTAINS!
The purpose of my journalizing experience is twofold: (1) To INSPIRE you to take action and (2) To GUIDE you through my experience (should you wish to follow my path).
P.S. More technical journals are on my profile as Operation: TRINITY by IKC (2 of 4) and Operation: SILVERPLATE by IKC (3 of 4)
I write not of abstract things in the sky, but of things that are real and ON THE GROUND.
When I write about something here, it is ALWAYS a consolidation of research, experience, and technical expertise.
I know I am not the best out there (though I wish I was!) and I’d never claim that, but I simply wish to share with you WHAT WORKS FOR ME. If it works for you too then hey, that’s amazing!
So, on my last post, I mentioned about SMALL STEPS and I also said:
What exactly did I mean with that?
Instead of explaining, let me then SHOW you.
First, let me tell you about my FIRE
Financial Independence, Retire Early.
(Search this idea for a fun and inspiring read)
I came from nothing. I inherited nothing significant from my parents. Generations of our ancestry have worked all their lives. I come from a working class and middle class family.
You could say it’s a generational curse: Study hard, work hard, pay bills and taxes, raise a family on the side, retire, end.
When your kids grow up, they’ll repeat the EXACT SAME CYCLE of work, pay bills, and die.
I intend to be the generational curse breaker! I intend to DESTROY the Cycle of Poverty and Hardships!
Breaking this cycle is what led me into the financial world that we know and love (but sometimes hate).
I then started investing and trading everything I could get my hands on!
I did it with fund investments. I did it with stocks and bonds. I did it with cooperative investments. I did it with forex, commodities, and indices (before The Disaster At Ionith).
Now, returning from my slumber of The Great Hiatus, I seek to re-establish the Glory of the Empire!
Returning to the markets, I come with great expectations and ambition.
Returning to actively trading the currency, commodities, and indices markets won’t be a walk in the park but we’ll make it a fun one!
These are the monumental goalposts I have set for myself. Over the long term, I seek to retire earlier than the usual retirement age and with a robust and flourishing nest egg.
But we ain’t getting there in a week, month, or year! We’ll get there day-by-day, week-by-week, pip-by-pip, dollar-by-dollar, million-by-million, over the next DECADE.
Let’s start looking at square one!
Behold! My TINY RIPPLES!
Those are LIFESTYLE GOALPOSTS that mirror F.I.R.E. to varying degrees. We shall refer to the major lifestyle goalposts as CLASSES: It starts from the EMPLOYEE Class, the SURVIVALIST Class, the RETALIATOR Class, the AVENGER Class, the LIBERATOR CLASS, and the ANNIHILATOR Class.
I shall log my performance in the markets day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month down to the last wooden nickel!
Everything we do from here on is a TINY RIPPLE moving the needle for us towards our goals.
Think of every trade, and every passing week as a TINY RIPPLE coming together to bring down the walls of each Level and each Class
My performance will be measured in NET RETURNS / NET PROFIT (LOSS) against set benchmarks for each category (Headers).
For example, on the First Class of EMPLOYEE and its 1st Level, my actual results shall be measured against a standard of $ 5 weekly gains for evaluation of PASS or FAIL.
Depending on my performance, I can be promoted or demoted from one level to the other
By exceeding the target of the 1st Level, I can be promoted to the 2nd Level. By exceeding the target of the 2nd Level, I can be promoted to the 3rd Level. However, should I fail to meet the targets of the current level and my capital balance becomes less than what I started with on the current level, I shall receive a demotion.
These monitored trading gains (losses) compared to each weekly target of each Class and each Level are my SMALL, ACTIONABLE, ATTAINABLE steps towards my goals.
Week-by-week, our TINY RIPPLES make WAVES that BREAK THE WALLS of Levels or Classes
Like the Butterfly Effect, every trade, every week, and every action we take can impact our long-term prospects.
IMPORTANT NOTE: These steps / levels are customized for my personal circumstances. I do not recommend that you follow them by the letter as we may not have the same circumstances What I am sharing is strictly adapted to my own personal circumstances. Your goalposts, dear reader, might differ from mine. Adjust as needed.
Let’s get right on to it!
A closer look at my TINY RIPPLES will show that:
There will be MULTIPLE LEVELS at which we shall be playing.
The Classes (EMPLOYEE, SURVIVALIST, RETALIATOR, AVENGER, LIBERATOR, and ANNIHILATOR) and their respective Levels all represent LIFESTYLE GOALPOSTS that mirror F.I.R.E. to varying degrees.
This is what each Class and Level means for our lifestyle:
As you can see, the better we perform, the better our lifestyle becomes! Let’s start making those TINY RIPPLES to hit the F.I.R.E.!
We all aim to become ANNIHILATORS one day. But at the very least, I’ll accept an AVENGER as the least level to attain. Let’s do our best, cats and hoomans!
As I always say:
Operation: PAPERCLIP by IKC - Journal on Personal Thoughts and Stories
THE GRIND
It’s Sunday. As the day winds down, I am reminded of the incoming work week ahead.
As I still need my 9 - 5, I once more feel the weight of the incoming work week.
This Sunday is a pause for reflection.
It was an extremely busy and stressful week for me at work.
I am an accountant by profession and here I am reactivating my trading business / hustle.
As I restart the “engine” of the trading machine, I am once more faced with the question on BALANCE.
If there is such a thing as a work-life balance, I need to make sure I keep up with work-trading-life balance soon when the trading machine is on full blast.
Of course, there are techniques to counter the weight of the grind:
Be an Alt + Tab warrior at the Office (Yeah, you’ve done this too! Don’t lie!)
Off-hours pending orders (Placing orders beyond the 8 to 5)
Weekend pending orders (Placing orders on non-working days)
My enemy by then would have to be fatigue. I do hope I can keep up my level of proficiency even when the pressure builds! STAY STRONG, 9 to 5ers! We’ll keep working and doing what we can to get out of the grind! Until then, Godspeed.
Operation: PAPERCLIP by IKC - Journal on Personal Thoughts and Stories
THE APPLE
We’ve all heard the story: This cat named Isacat Newton sat under an apple tree and an apple fell on his kitty head and that single event gave us the discovery and study (and many grueling subjects in school) on GRAVITY.
No cat would wanna be hit on the head with an apple! Ouch! That hurts! But on the flipside, that unfortunate APPLE HEADSHOT gave us Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation
In other words, an event, seen otherwise as UNFORTUNATE and maybe PAINFUL gave rise to a MASSIVE AMOUNT of LEARNING and GROWTH for all mankind.
As a wise, old cat named Napolmeow Hill once said:
Sometimes, the opportunity we are waiting for and looking for lands on our lap in a form we may not immediately recognize. Sometimes, opportunity comes in the form of a CHALLENGE. Sometimes, opportunity looks like a SETBACK or a STUMBLING STONE. Sometimes, opportunity LOOKS LIKE A LOT OF WORK.
The real magic begins when we SEE BEYOND the challenge and difficulty - the clever disguise that opportunity wears and begin to RECOGNIZE opportunity for the rewards it bears.
So keep an eye out! Not every apple that hits the head is meant to hurt you. Maybe it’s meant to teach you. Maybe it’s meant to lead you to the answers you seek. Maybe it’s meant to lead you into greatness.
Operation: PAPERCLIP by IKC - Journal on Personal Thoughts and Stories
THE MENTALITY OF ‘EXTRA’
Mindset Hack: Apply the MENTALITY OF EXTRA to any gains you make.
It sounds so absurdly simple but that’s the way to see things!
Have you had that experience when you were doing laundry and as you were sorting the whites from the colors and emptying the pockets…
…and then BOOM!
DOLLA bills!
Oh the joy of finding a few bills when you were not expecting it!
Now when it comes to trading, is it not a better purrspective to see the outcome of trades as cash found sifting through laundry?
The JOY OF DISCOVERY should be the perspective, not the ANXIETY OF OUTCOME.
Don’t decrease your joy in the future by burdening it with expectation. Let things come and go as they are.
Do not feel anxious or expectant but instead, take joy in the consummation of the process.
I know it’s much easier said than done, but maybe that’s what it takes to keep a fresh and motivated perspective into trading.
This not only staves off fear and anxiety, but also gives you joy and motivation to keep going!
Through the lens of the eyes of a trader and investor, the market can sometimes be seen as the Death Star: A powerful weapon to destroy, and at the same time, a great tool to control and build.
Through time immemorial, the Markets (like the Death Star) has decimated wealth from many a great man across the decades.
Sometimes, navigating through the market to look for opportunities to trade can be like planning an assault on the Death Star.
As Mon Mothma says, “Many Bothans died to bring us this information.”
So the market tells us too that MANY traders have failed before us. Many have tried and failed.
As we formulate and execute our trading plans, we become keenly aware of the LIMITED and TINY chances of our success in the markets.
We have our allies and support groups in this endeavor.
But we meet great challenges in the markets that test (and destroy) us.
Sometimes it can feel like you’re being hunted down and targeted by Vader and his Tie Fighter squadron and you can be tempted by a haunting voice to…
But that’s exactly what they want you to do! Don’t fall for it!
Don’t let your emotions and your gut feel take control where your brain should be working!
You studied for this. You planned for this. You SHOULD be above using your gut and feelings!
To use The Force…
…is to abandon planning and studies and simply rely on your feelings.
To force trades is to be reckless. To force trades is to forego all the planning and study you have done. To force trades is to abandon strategy and simply “shoot from the hip”.
Nay! Stick to the plan! Make sure you keep your emotions in check, execute THE PLAN as you have created it. Win or lose as a trader - a proper one!
There are WINNING trades which are trades that result in GAINS. There are LOSING trades which are trades that result in LOSSES.
But from another perspective, there are GOOD trades where you stick to your TRIED AND TESTED trading plan and trading system. There are BAD trades where you stick to your gut feelings (aka THE FORCE) instead of your carefully crafted plans.
It’s not just about getting the torpedoes to get into the thermal exhaust port!
Let’s aim to stick to making GOOD trades, regardless if they win or lose. Good trades mean that you let your system’s edge take over and is more than probable to be REPLICABLE over a long period of time. When we stick to making GOOD trades, we aim to let SKILL take more provenance of your trading success than that of LUCK.
Let’s face it: The concept of the Force in the real world can be attributed to SHEER DUMB LUCK.
Show your skills! Make sure that you hit not just WINNING trades, but be sure you hit GOOD trades!
Isn’t it obvious with the term we use for saying how we form words: SPELLING. As in casting a spell… with your words.
So think about it: We have this amazing power that can do a lot of good (and a lot of bad) and all we have to do in order to wield this POWER is… to talk.
Now to get into the nitty gritty:
When I say this, I really do mean well.
As you may have known, most of us traders are pretty much ON OUR OWN.
So given that we are a relatively small community, why not make it a PLEASANT community? Why not put our words to positions of power that can help and heal instead of hurt and destroy?
Resistances are what keeps us from moving higher in life. They are our weaknesses, our insecurities, our fears, the uncertainty of this world, the trials and challenges that come our way.
I fervently hope you OVERCOME them. I hope you BREAK THOSE RESISTANCES - destroy fear, doubt, and uncertainty so that you can TAKE ACTION towards your dreams!
With that, I also hope that as you overcome your trials and challenges, you reach a higher level: Whatever that may mean for you - be it material wealth, financial freedom, emotional and psychological fulfillment, high achievement, prestige, honor, social success, etc.
I hope you REACH NEW HIGHS.
It’s a hard and lonely world out there when it’s “You vs. The World” most of the time. So let’s make our little community a warm and safe one.
