Thought-provoking quotes

Trading Discussion
185

Hey @Margaretwantstotrade! Thank you for adding this one! Jesse Livermore certainly has a lot to offer for today’s traders - although I am not sure that one should follow his personal example too closely! :slight_smile:

Yes indeed, especially if one is a fundamental trader (is anyone nowadays?) This reminds me of the short but very appropriate lesson: " Trade what you see". That might sound a bit obvious but I wonder how often we override what our charts are telling us with our own opinions?

That is a very good approach. I would add a few caveats to it. Firstly, mistakes are ok and acceptable provided we recognise them and learn from them. Its all part of the journey.

But losses are a little different. In any business one has to spend money to make money. Trading is no different except that we call our expenses “losses”. Its a misleading term!

Whatever instrument we trade our product is always the same: probability. And if we are trading probabilities then inevitably we are sometimes wrong. In order to be right we need to also be wrong. The issue then is not to try and avoid losses, but to manage them!

If we are in a car trying to find a certain location we may take any number of wrong turnings along the way. But as soon as we realise we are wrong we stop and turn back. Unfortunately, in trading, when we realise we have a wrong position, we decide to continue with it in the hope it might actually eventually end up being right. It rarely does!

186

Well, thank you!
You completed my sentences in a way I could not do them on my own!

Actually, I know fundamental traders that trade stocks and even gold! So that’s what you said!

and that shows the importance of controlling ourselves!
You added really great points, and I appreciate that!

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187

“Out of intense complexities intense simplicities emerge.” - Winston Churchill

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188

"There is no such thing as cheap. There is no such thing as expensive either.
There is just “the price”. " - Tom Hougaard

189

“If you put in 10% effort, don’t expect to get 100% of the outcome.”

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190

I’m glad I read this again. It took me a long time to accept this. Just because I draw a line where 2 points meet, that doesn’t mean price will bounce that. The market doesn’t care what trend lines I draw. It might bounce, it might not.

The best thing for me to do habitually, is to wait for a signal–not just trade anything. Wait for a signal, take the trade, then be patient and see what price does after that.

Don’t close too early over some jitters. Be patient!

One of the hardest lessons to learn is patience. Who would’ve thought that learning analysis is the easier part?

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191

Yes, sometimes I feel so sorry for the poor old market. All these thousands of traders keep subjectively drawing all these lines and adding various values and types of MA’s etc, and they each expect the poor old market to observe their particular version of S/R. But the poor old market only has one price at any one time so how can it decide who to keep happy and who to offend? Its like how does Father Christmas deal with being in the same place at the same time all over the world? At least Father Christmas has time zones to help a bit. But the poor old market is expected to observe everyone’s personal subjective interpretations simultaneously, and even to the precise pip. It is no wonder that the price wobbles all over the place at times. And then all those that were disappointed with it start to rant and rave at the poor old market and blame it for all their woes.

There was a time, a long time ago, when there was no such thing as technical analysis. And the market was free to go wherever the wind blew it. The shortest timeframe anyone could look at was daily. Intraday was just a price stream.

But then along came personal computers and technical analysis and the poor old market found itself trapped inside a cage built by traders who try to tell it how to behave, and where it can and cannot go. Trouble is, some traders demand it to go one way whilst, simultaneously, others are demanding it to go the other way.

For this reason, I don’t really like the word “signals”. It is too close to the core problem with humans. As a race, we always strive to find logic and reason in everything and search for patterns and order. We need these to reassure our minds that everything is “fine” in our universe. The term “signal” suggests something definite and reliable. This does not exist in markets.

This is the inherent weakness with indicators. They are used to find logic and reason by applying mathematical formulas to market data which is variably irrational and erratic. That is not the same thing as random. It just means that any indicator will only work when the market price movement happens to be in synch with the mathematical formula that is processing it

I prefer the concept of “bias”. I think the core benefit of TA, whether it is indicators or PA or both, is to provide some kind of structural identity to the current mood of the market. “Bias” allows the trader to be wrong, and that being wrong is ok. Reading the current bias gives us a directional edge (but not certainty) whilst managing risk exposure helps ensure that the gains from the right decisions exceeds the losses from the wrong decisions. And whilst that is occurring, we can be happy. :smiley:

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192

Cognitive dissonance?? What cognitive dissonance?? I’m a trader not a psychologist…

“Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort that results from holding two conflicting beliefs, values, or attitudes. People tend to seek consistency in their attitudes and perceptions, so this conflict causes unpleasant feelings of unease or discomfort.”

“The inconsistency between what people believe and how they behave motivates them to engage in actions that will help minimize feelings of discomfort. People attempt to relieve this tension in different ways, such as by rejecting, explaining away, or avoiding new information.”

Have you been there? Your trusted chart set-up is showing a great opportunity but your mind is telling you the opposite? You dither and delay and feel really uncomfortable about it. Why? Because you are basically arguing with yourself, yes or no? Trade or not?

This is a really big problem in trading and needs to be eradicated. Perhaps the most common reason for this situation is linking with the experience from a previous failure. Fear of losing more, a lurking lack of trust in your strategy.

The end result can be very damaging:

  1. You ignore the set-up and the price goes as expected and you kick yourself for having ignored it.

  2. You take the trade and it goes as expected and you close it prematurely in relief at booking at least something - and kick yourself when the price continues in the right direction.

  3. You ignore the trade and it would have lost. The decision was right but trust in the method is further diluted.

  4. You take the trade and it loses. The hesitation and conflict between charts and mind deepens exponentially.

It is so important to learn to disassociate any link between the current trade and previous history. Each trade is unique in itself and unrelated to any previous or future trade. It is one step on a winding road. Some step back, some forwards.

If one cannot disassociate the current trade setup from earlier history then one’s mind is not free to see things objectively and without bias.

Easier said than done…but the first step is recognising the present of cognitive dissonance - arguing with yourself.

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193

“Thought is useful when it motivates for action, and a hindrance when it substitutes for action.”
– Bill Raeder

Just saw this on another BP page. Perhaps one of the most thoughtful and pragmatic quotes I have seen in a long time.

Wishing everyone a Happy Christmas season and a Prosperous New Year 2024

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194

I have just finished reading the thread about bots and people leaving BP as a result - and the excellent reply from @Pipstradamus. Whilst I don’t generally post here nowadays, I do visit daily because of the excellent calendar here (and other good non-forum content). And at the bottom of today’s calendar there was this quote:

“We must combine the toughness of the serpent and the softness of the dove, a tough mind and a tender heart.” - Martin Luther King Jr.

I think there are maybe five main reasons for wanting to participate in the BP forum, i.e. because you:

  1. want to get something
  2. want to give something
  3. want to be part of a community
  4. want to sell something
  5. want to cause trouble and enjoy doing so

IMO the first three categories account for well over 90% of the postings here. And the fourth category is expertly controlled by the site mods - so well so, that in fact many people will not even see their posts before they are removed.

The fifth category is perhaps the most difficult - and causes the most harm and problems. But its volume is really very small and out of all proportion with the extent of the damage it causes.

I don’t believe for one second that BP staff/mods “buy” bot services (they have no need) but they are very tolerant of “difficult” threads in order to be fair to all. Personally, I think the mods do an incredibly good job in servicing this forum and maintaining a healthy environment.

And in this respect, I think this quote is very apt and should be the platform from which all genuine posters generate what they write here…

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195

I’m def #3 followed by #1 (advice) and then #2 (for my mistakes etc in trading).

I’m also a bit glad you posted your thoughts here instead of in that thread although it was nice to see so many people participate in that thread it really felt like a community for a bit.

Yes, it really made it seem like this place was burning down or something.

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196

Hi @ponponwei , good to here from you! Yes, It will take a lot more than a few troublemakers to run down BP. It is based on solid principles, strong moderation and valuable products alongside the actual forum. There is also a solid community here. It is just a shame that every now and again a storm rises and stirs things up. But it always blows over and the core is still there in the aftermath. Soon it is all forgotten and the journeys of the genuine move on each towards their individual goals.

Sometimes BP reminds me of that old, old 70’s Eagles song:

""Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place
…
You can check out any time you like
But you can never leave!"

Hmmmm! :laughing:

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197

Ain’t that the truth :joy:

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198

Absolutely Inspiring Quote!! @SovoS Wishing you a prosperous New Year filled with action and achievement in 2024.

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199

Hi @Alpha_John_12 , thank you and best wishes to you, too for 2024. :+1:

I am anticipating an extraordinarily action-filled year ahead in the big picture of things. There are so many major events building up, any one of which can have a massive impact on markets.

We have the Ukraine war and its possible escalation into a NATO conflict. We have the Gaza war and its possible extension into a major Middle East conflict.

We also have major environmental issues with 2023 being officially declared the warmest year on record for the entire globe.

Both conflicts and environmental issues are impacting on another global problem resulting from the mass migration, displacement, and asylum-seeking motives of huge sections of global populations.

We have an overt political, economic, and maybe even military, battle to change the global power structure to a multiple polarity in world order. For example, Russia trying to replace the USD as the trading currency for oil, China’s positioning over Taiwan, North Korea’s focus on missile strength and satellite systems.

All this in a year which is going to be a record-breaking year for elections all across the world - including such major countries as the United States, Russia, India, Mexico and South Africa. Apparently, there will be more than 2 billion voters in 50 countries voting during 2024.

With the current widening divisions between left and right wing politics, there are doubtlessly going to be some major changes in political power and direction during the year!

So, yes, 2024 will almost certainly be filled with action - let’s hope we can ride with it and that it will all lead to a better, more peaceful, more sustainable, and prosperous global co-existence. That, we can surely wish for, but personally, I think WW3 is the more likely outcome at the end of it all! :pensive:

200

This is a typical example of the kind of situation I talked about in the above post. The actual event is small(ish) but the various forces, interests and objectives behind it are global, real and immensely threatening to global stability.

This, unfortunately, is going to be typical of the geopolitical playout well into 2024, if not during the entire year.

201

“Sometimes it seems that no matter how hard you plan your future you eventually end up looking back and wondering how on earth you arrived at where you are now” :laughing: - me

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202

“Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” - Tim Notke

This is another quote off the BP site pages. “Talented” is a term often used to describe successful traders. But what exactly does “talented” mean and where does it come from? Are some people simply “born to trade”? Or is “talent” the end-result of on-going hard work that anyone can achieve? Can one succeed in trading without a magic ingredient of “talent”?

Do so many fail through some lack of a rare commodity called “talent”, or do they simply not work hard enough? Or maybe it is due something completely different.

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203

maybe ¨talent¨ is just another word for ¨he who didn’t quit¨

Sometimes we over-complicate things, and make excuses for ourselves. I think you’ve pointed out something important. You can accomplish so many things in life if you just give your best effort and refuse to quit.

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204

This is how everything should end: with the forgotten remembered, the wounded healed, and the sinners forgiven. by Jenny Hollowell

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