- 1999: Volume 8, No. 1 Trader's Coach

Dear Coach:

I always enjoy your articles and answers to readers, so I have a question for you. I would like to get into trading, but I am unable to tolerate noise of any kind, especially in the home. I am not in a position to move from my present, noisy home environment. Do you have any suggestions how I can begin trading with these limitations?

In a permanent rut

Dear Permanent:

First, I would like to begin by promising you that nothing in life is permanent, only our perceptions. On to your problem. Trading can be practiced these days in more quiet than ever before because you can position trade on-line without having to talk to anyone or without having to make contact with a noisy trading floor. Even computer keyboards are now available which are virtually silent. To top it off, I recommend that you go to a music store and buy a set of the special earplugs designed for musicians. These ear plugs are designed to cut out the higher frequencies which wreck havoc on the nervous system. Now, you're ready to trade in peace and quiet.

Dear Coach:

I have been a steady trader for many years who brings in a comfortable income from trading which is in the 20 to 30 percent bracket. I hear about all of these super traders bringing in 70 percent on their million dollars and I would like to do something to bring in those kind of returns. What are your suggestions?

Slow and steady

Dear Slow and Steady:

To make the leap from tortoise trader to hare trader you have to be willing to take a hard look at your own psychology. First, do you really want to be that successful (and don't answer too fast, because you may not be telling yourself the truth)? If so, are you willing to do what it takes? To make 70 percent returns you have to make a total commitment to being a trader, which includes balancing all the parts of your life. You need to rethink your system. Is it capable of doing more? Are you capable of handling the drawdowns that come with higher returns? Just remember, if you become a hare trader, not to be caught napping.

Dear Readers:

Recently, I received a letter from a trader who states that he has been a consistently profitable trader for years. He thanked me for feeding "insane" traders the "worthless psycho-babble" that keeps them "in the dark" and supports his own profit-making by supporting them in making "loser" choices.

I would like to thank this trader, in turn, for bringing up a vital issue for the hundreds and hundreds of traders with whom I have worked. Each individual comes into trading with his own agenda. Not, and I repeat, not every trader comes into trading just to make money. This, of course, is their primary, verbalized goal. But, often, they have other goals that are as important to them or even more important to them than making a lot of money: for the challenge, for the excitement, for an escape from their ordinary lives, for the intellectual stimulation, for the opportunity to pit themselves against an adversary that is inscrutable and unforgiving, for the chance to learn more about themselves, for the opportunity to be their own boss. And, a surprisingly significant group of traders are there, unknowingly, to lose. These traders have a need to repeat a pattern of loss and pain in their lives; trading happily affords them ample opportunity to do so.

For traders who need intellectual stimulation, the financial rewards that come with a purely mechanical approach to trading are not sufficient motivation to stay the course. If it means making far less money but enjoying their trading more, they will do so. Still others make choices for the way they trade based on their desire to have a fuller, more satisfying life than the one they would have if they approached their trading a different way. The only "losers" are those who never receive any rewards for their efforts.