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At 07:30 PM 7/21/98 EDT, CRLeBeau@xxxxxxx wrote:
>
>In a message dated 7/21/98 3:34:29 PM, rshogan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
>
><<For those who have successfully traded for a year or more, what was
>>the single most influential book, author, course, seminar, tutor, etc.
>>that led to your becoming successful / profitable?
>
>
Trading has been a love hate relationship with me for 28 years. The idea of
getting rich and not having to work very hard for it has caused be more
pain than you can imagine. I have made a lot and I have lost a lot of money
over those years. My uncle was my tutor and when I in my 20's I had no fear
except maybe the fear of rejection from the girls. Once I had over time put
on 30 cotton contracts and was down bad but was convinced if I averaged
down cotton would soon turn my way, the old get me out even I don't wont no
cheese deal. My uncle called me one day and said simply get out of your
cotton position now. I regrettably did and took a huge loss and soon after
President Nixon lifted price controls and cotton went to a dollar from the
low thirties. I would have been rich if I had stayed as planned. I never
said a word about that to my uncle. He told me many things some which I
will share for you and my memories of a great trader. He traded both stocks
and commodities. He said the reason he trade commodities was because
starting out he hadn't the capital to trade stocks but favored stocks and
stocks priced over 50 dollars a share. He followed the inside management
and public opinion concerning a stock and only bought it went it made a new
high and always on margin and never answered a margin call in his life,
would just sell it if he got a margin call. He said things to me like "no
need to beat a dead horse to death" when I was in a hoping position with a
losing stock. He always told me your first loss is your best loss be proud
of it. He never spoke of the cotton but I knew that my method in the cotton
although by chance worked this time if continually practice would end in
destruction of my capital. You see I never would have been that position if
I had taken my first loss. He said trading took complete self honesty and
you were responsible for your trading fitness. That meaning being aware of
your emotions, mood and motives. Your state of mine and weather it was fit
for you to trade this day and make decisions. If you had no choice and had
to react to your current positions and the market. Then what to watch for
in yourself to make your decisions balanced to the conditions at hand and
not your personal conflicts. He said the market was always right and I was
to have complete respect for it at all times. He said you can go broke
taking profits which meant learn the disciplined to stay with a winning
position. He said most people will sell a winner and keep a loser so you
have to do the opposite and its much harder than you think. He said in
stocks and commodities never let somebody else do your thinking for you
such as taking their tip's. Tips are fine but do your own homework. All I
can say about all of this is to learn to trade you have to trade and no
book or person can teach you. If your new trade small, mid am stuff for a
while and see if you can make money the amount doesn't matter being right
does, the money will come later. I found over the years I'm not a trader by
nature and for me I really had to learn to change my instincts with regards
to trading. I think much to do is made of entry and not enough about the
hard part of trading called money management. Like Dennis Miller says just
my opinion I could be wrong. Pick a something to trade figure out what
method seems best, fundamental, technical or both and try to have fun
because we all are good at what we have fun at. If your a compulsive
gambler type go to Vegas bet football but leave the futures alone. It can
and has destroyed this type I know this from first hand experienced, I know
from my small town 5 people who have committed suicide over commodities.
Robert
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