- 1999: Volume 8, No. 5 Trader's Coach

Dear Coach:

I have not been able to trade for the last few days because of the horrible images I've been seeing on the TV as a result of the shooting spree in the Littleton, Colorado high school. This experience has shaken my family and me very badly. Am I right in not trading? Will the upset I am feeling over this incident that is far removed from me actually affect my trading?

Upset Trader

Dear Upset:

Should you be trading? No, or at the very least, you should be in very low risk positions. What you're experiencing is a feeling of being out of control and helpless. You need to take charge by doing something within your realm of control and be actively involved in participation and healing. One of the things you can do is pray. Another is make a contribution to the school where this tragedy occurred, or you can write your feelings down on paper and send it to the school. Make sure that you talk this out with others until there is nothing left to talk about. At that point, you are ready to go back to trading again.

Dear Coach:

I hate my computer and all of the appliances and gadgets I must use to keep my trading business going. I hate being dependent upon them. Last week, in frustration, I heaved my coffee maker across the room. I felt absolutely liberated. I've had so much trouble and frustration with my computer lately that I am getting ready to do the same to it. Do other traders feel this way about their computers and other nuisances that are called conveniences? Is there a better way to handle this build-up of frustration?

Gadget Heaver

Dear Gadget Heaver:

One thing I have noticed is that gadget inconveniences are more frequent during times when people are stressed, which gives me the sneaking suspicion, that while our gadgets have their own issues, the issues that we are going through are reflected in their behavior. In other words, clean up some of your own stress issues and you will find that your gadgets will improve their performance. If not, pull out your checkbook and start replacing those inconveniences.

P.S. Your coffee pot heaving is sounding better and better as I pull jammed paper out of my FAX machine for the millionth time.

Dear Coach:

I have a secret that I can't talk about. The problem is that, in order to protect this secret, I find myself lying all the time. One lie creates a second and so forth. Since this lie has to do with trading, I am boxing myself into a corner. It's both a legal and a moral issue. If I open up, I will lose everything I have. What should I do?

Trading in Secrets

Dear Secrets:

Go immediately to a paid counselor and get help in dealing with this secret. Obviously, you cannot deal with this without help. You will have to make a decision and you need help in making the best decision for all concerned. Then, in the future, have a strategy in place for dealing with issues that require legal and moral judgements.

Dear Coach:

I am a trader who uses a combination of a mechanical and an intuitive indicator to get into my trades. I perfected this system over 10 years of trading and have done extremely well with it. Now, I would like to move on to other things in life and I'm considering selling this system to a limited number of traders. My question is, since you work a lot with other traders who use intuitive indicators, can a carefully developed and well-documented intuitive indicator be taught to someone else?

Intuitive Trader

Dear Intuitive:

Your indicator can be taught to others, but an intuitive indicator is a very individual thing. While it's useful to you, it very likely that it is not useful for others. My experience with others selling any kind of discretionary system is that most people will not be able to make a successful use of it and will return complaining that it doesn't work.