Face the Facts: We Are All Headed For an iDisorder

This is a follow-up to my post last week about smartphones.

"It should come as no surprise that we are all hopelessly addicted to our devices, particularly our smartphones. Why shouldn’t we be? We are now able to carry a powerful computer around 24/7 in our pocket or purse. The new “WWW” really means “Whatever, Wherever, Whenever.” And we are all succumbing to its draw. Just look at any restaurant table and you will see phones sitting next to forks and knives. It is normal to see someone pick up a smartphone, tap tap tap and put it back down while in the middle of talking. Is this healthy or are we all headed down a slippery slope toward what I call an “iDisorder.”

An iDisorder is where you exhibit signs and symptoms of a psychiatric disorder such as OCD, narcissism, addiction or even ADHD, which are manifested through your use — or overuse — of technology. Whether our use of technology makes us exhibit these signs or simply exacerbates our natural tendencies is an open question, but the fact is we are all acting as though we are potentially diagnosable."

I'm not sure if people agree, disagree, or ignore because they see these signs in themselves. For me personally, I'm a bit concerned and becoming more aware of my lack of awareness!

Read the rest here.

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How bad do you want it?

Next Monday is a market holiday, so posting will be scarce for me this week as I take some personal time ahead of the three day weekend. I encourage you guys to use this week to maybe not trade as much as usual, and instead study and work on focus and discipline. Just a thought.

Here is a motivating video - I don't agree with the "no sleep" philosophy, but the overall message is powerful and should get you charged up.

How Bad Do You Want It from Greyskale Multimedia on Vimeo.

I will check comments periodically for compelling trades to post on the blog. Have a good week!

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Make it your own

I saw this (non-trading related) quote today that articulated everything I have tried to say on this blog over the years, and my constant mantra of take what others show (whether it is me, TRADEthemove.com, Dr. Brett, all the other bloggers, writers, trading partners, et cetera) and "make it your own".

"The teacher may make a suggestion that will open up a line of thought for you, or he may point out a way that has proved of value to him; and thus save you much time and trouble. But you must do the real work yourself."

- William Atkinson

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As simple as you make it!

When I saw this, I immediately thought of trading. Well, I immediately thought "that is very true", and then I thought about how it applied to trading. It can be as complicated or as simple as you want to make it. Just like happiness!



Thank you for all the positive thoughts and well wishes in comments.

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KND - 042611

I made this post* back in 2005 (have I really been blogging that long?):



If you follow that advice, it frees up your capital and your brain to take trades like KND. The trigger bar is marked - as you can see, it was a nice offsetting bar pattern, with price bouncing off the 50% retracement and moving up with support from the 5 EMA. I closed half of the position at the Fibonacci extension (FE) and held the other half for the $28 whole number. I usually don't do this (ie, I usually exit my entire position at the FE), but I saw this pattern in a lot of issues today, and it was a bullish sign. You can also make the argument that there was a "beyond the Fibonacci extension" setup in there somewhere.



*link to original post

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Meditation follow-up

I read this quote on the MeditationShift blog, and thought it was a nice follow-up (or supplement) to my post on meditating last week:

"Reality is constantly changing; as the Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, you can't step into the same river twice. Success and failure, gain and loss, comfort and discomfort — they all come and go. And you have only limited control over the changes. But you can exert some control over (and ultimately clarify) your chattering, misguided mind, which distorts your perceptions, mightily resists the way things are, and causes you extraordinary stress and suffering in the process."

- Buddhism for Dummies

Read my original post here.



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Just say "om"

update: after reading the post below, you can read my most recent post on "the meditaitonSHIFT course" here.

I am excited to see most of you have an open mind and want to hear about meditating. There are three things I credit my "success" in life to:

1.) Hard work, practice, and study. Whether it is looking at 100s of stock charts every week (even after almost two decades of trading), or applying those principles to your chosen profession, your relationships, your passions, et cetera.
2.) Positive thinking - in my pre-trading life, I didn't achieve "success" until I grasped the power of positive thinking. I learned to write down my goals, review them daily, and visualize myself achieving them constantly. I learned to interrupt negative thinking and replace it with positive thinking. When I began trading, I initially forgot the success I had in the past, and how I achieved it. Luckily, I returned to it quickly and it made all the difference*.
3.) Meditating.

Meditating means different things to different people. You can find 100s of different ways to meditate, and 100s of different definitions of what meditating is or is not. To me, the objective of meditating is simple - it allows me to see the craziness that goes on in my mind, and once I am aware of that craziness it helps me focus. It also greatly enables the process of positive thinking (see #2 above) and is proven to have a plethora of health benefits, more of which seem to be discovered every month.

Back to what it means to me - there is a term, "monkey mind," that goes back 1000s of years. Basically your mind is always going - 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most of the time we walk around in a zombie-like state and don't even realize that our mind is churning away, thinking crazy thoughts, running through crazy scenarios, bouncing from branch to branch like a crazy monkey. The initial goal of meditating (to me) is simply to become aware of all this activity, to observe it in action like you are an un-attached third party. Once you do learn to observe it, you will never be the same. You will be amazed - and scared - of what is going on, and how little control you have. That is the point where you move to the next step, learning to focus. You don't "force" yourself to quit thinking or anything like that (a lot of people will tell you meditating is about suppressing your thoughts...that is just not true) - you simply learn to observe what is going on, and when you get good at observing (becoming aware), then by default you will start to gain control over the craziness.

I don't claim to be an expert on meditating. And I am certainly not an expert on trying to explain it. But, I will tell you that - without a doubt - it will change your life if you do it with regularity. And, if you combine it with hard work and positive thinking, you will be practically unstoppable (in my humble opinion). You may find that hard to believe. It is a bit like trading - simple, yet hard. Thinking positive is simple. Meditating is simple. At the same time, they are also hard. And frustrating. You have to stick with them, be consistent, and practice daily to see the benefits. But the benefits will come, and they are life-changing.

How do you start meditating? I have read dozens of books on meditating. I took personal instruction back in the late 90s. There are a myriad of methods - becoming aware of your breathing, focusing on a fixed point or object, repeating a mantra, counting. None are wrong, you just have to find what is right for you. I started to meditate a dozen times over the past twenty years, but my most successful attempt only lasted a few months. I finally "broke through" several years back, and now I can't remember the last time I missed a day. Most days, I meditate two or three times. But every day, I meditate at least once.

Do a Google search and you will find a lot of resources. If you don't mind spending a few dollars, I highly recommend meditationSHIFT - this is the method I use now, and I think it is the easiest to stick with and make work consistently. No matter what you choose, though, just do something. I would venture to say that developing the habit of meditating and positive thinking is the most important thing you can do to be successful in life, whatever the definition of success is to you.

Read my most recent post on "the meditaitonSHIFT" course here.

*I have written a lot about positive thinking over the years - check out these tags for more: thetadprinciple, mental.

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Reader comments, Fibonacci lines, and meditating

I am amazed at the comments that are popping up on the posts - you guys have a lot to contribute! I want to foster the collaborative environment by posting comments, setups, and charts from the readers several times a week. To make it easy on me, I need to get some uniformity in how you list your setups and trades; it will allow me to post them and provide consistency for all the readers.

As such, I am asking everyone to use the following format:

1.) Classify the trade as a success or a failed setup so everyone knows what they are looking at from the beginning. It will help people get in the mindset to provide the proper feedback if you are asking for input.
2.) Post the pertinent details - symbol, timeframe, how you plot your Fibonacci lines. If you use MAs, post what you use or just say "standard Trader-X MAs".
3.) Post your entry - "I went long on a break of the X bar. I went short on a break of the X bar."
4.) Post your rationale for taking the trade, along with any red flags or concerns you had.
5.) Post your target, and where you exited if it is different than the target.
6.) Post any questions you have (if you are asking for input from others).

You can post any other details you want, of course. But at a minimum please include the points above.

A few updates:

I told you guys last month that Kernan from TRADEthemove.com had agreed to do a guest post on different methods of plotting Fibonacci lines. Unfortunately, he has been affected by the Japan tragedy as he has friends and family there (so his time has understandably been occupied with more important matters). I received an email this week and he told me he hasn't forgotten, and hopes to get something to me before the end of the month.

I also promised you guys months ago that I would do a post about meditating - something I believe in passionately and practice daily. A few of you have left comments, and I still plan to post on meditating but it is a bit lower on my "todo" list. I will get to it, though. But you should not wait for me before you start looking into it - you can't do it wrong, and the benefits are amazing.

I hope everyone enjoys the end of their weekend.

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What really matters?

This blog received a mention on "The T.A.D. Principle" blog this morning. Click the link to read a thought-provoking post on putting your life into perspective.

What really matters?

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More from Cuban

Last month I pointed you to some posts on Success and Motivation by Mark Cuban. He made another great post which I am reprinting below; this is not necessarily trading related - it can be, but you can apply it to any aspect of life.

From Mark Cuban at Blog Maverick:

Success & Motivation – 2009
Jun 9th 2009 3:44PM

This is the year of WTF. Yep, What the F&&&.

It doesn’t matter what got you to the point of saying it. Maybe you got fired/layed off. Maybe your company went out of business. Maybe you quit because you couldn’t take it any longer. Maybe you are just graduating from school and the prospects of living at home are far worse than cramming in with 12 roommates in a beater house or apartment you call “The Hotel”. Whatever the reason, the question is how do you turn this time into the start of something good ?

I’m here to give you your WTF To Do List.

1. Recognize that its ok to live like a student.

It doesn’t matter where you live. It doesn’t matter how you live. It doesn’t matter what kind of car you drive. It doesn’t matter what kind of clothes you wear. It doesn’t matter. Your biggest enemies are your bills. The more you owe, the more you stress. The more you stress over bills, the more difficult it is to focus on your goals. More importantly, if you set your monthly income requirements too high, you eliminate a significant number of opportunities. The cheaper you can live, the greater your options. Remember that.

2. Take Lots of Chances

If you are living cheap, and ready to find out where your future lies, now is the time to try anything. WTF time means fighting through your fears to take a job in a new industry. It means trying different things to find out what it is you love to do. There will be no such thing as too many jobs. In this type of economy getting a job is tough if not often impossible. So you are going to have bust ass to create opportunities for yourself.

Creating opportunities means looking where others are not. Look outside where all your friends are looking. Make a list of jobs and businesses that are outside the norm. I know you want to follow your passions and get a job in sports, movies, tv, shooting video for Girls Gone Wild, and other things your friends would love. Why fight the crowds ? Go where people are not. Just like you never thought you would ever fall in love with someone else, you will find another industry or job that you will love as much as your first love. Move down your list to other things. Then get ready to work

In this kind of economy, it really is a numbers game. You are going to have to keep on applying for everything and anything that opens a door you want to walk through. You can never slow down. Its hard work finding a job. If you have bills you have to pay, and it means taking a night job in order to keep looking for the day job or to keep a job you want, do it. Be a waiter, a night janitor, wash clothes, sell vacuum cleaners door to door, whatever you need to do, all the while reminding yourself that it opens the door for your future.

Then when you do find a job, remind yourself again that you are winging it. Everyone always sees the bright side of the job they just took. You have to. The new job you just took that you thought would be amazing, will be amazing. Most probably it will be amazing for about 3 months. Then you will realize its not so amazing and you will need to find something else that is amazing. Thats ok. You don’t have to be right everytime. You just have to be right one time. Finding the right job is a lot like dating. Its hard until you start, then when you start, its great till its not. Then its frustrating as hell until you get it right. But when you do, it all comes together.

3. Figuring out if you are in the right job

Its really easy to know if you are in the right job. If it matters how much you get paid, you are not in a job you really really love. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t want to make more money. I’m not saying that you shouldn’t bust your ass to make as much money as possible. Thats not the issue. The issue is whether or not you truly love your job. If you love what you do so much that you are willing to continue to live like a student in order to be able to stay in the job, you have found your calling.

4. Figure out how to be the best

Once you have found out what you love to do, there is only one goal. How can you be the best in the world at it. It doesn’t matter if you are a filing clerk, an athlete, an accountant or a bartender. All that matters is that you do whatever you can to be the best. Of course “the best” is all relative. The one person who you should never believe when it comes to evaluating your abilities is you. The very worst judge of your abilities is you. Self Evaluation is never successful. When you are the best at something, the demand for your services will grow. People want to hire the best. They want to be associated with the best. In 2009, in this economy so many people switch jobs and industries and its so much easier to stay connected via social networks and other digital means, people who need you can and will find you. So rather than trying to convince people you are the best, let the quality of your work do your talking.

5. Start the day motivated with a positive attitude.

You are going to screw up. We all do. I cant tell you how many times I did and do. It happens too often. No matter what happens, every morning, the minute after you wipe away the crust from your eyes, remind yourself that you are going to enjoy every minute of the day. You are going to enjoy the 20 interviews you have. You are going to enjoy waiting in the heat for your roommate to pick you up afterwards. You are going to enjoy realizing how frayed your collar is becoming and how sick you are of your one tie. You are going to enjoy all the bullshit you have to deal with as you chase your goals and dreams because you want to remember them all. Each and every experience will serve as motivation and provide great memories when you finally make it all happen.

Its your choice. What are you going to do ?


Visit Blog Maverick

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Mark Cuban on Success and Motivation

I am not a fan of Mark Cuban a lot of the time, but I respect his business acumen and success.

Over on his blog he made multiple posts on "Success and Motivation", and they are well worth reading. Not just for the Michael Dell and Bill Gates stories - but for a look at how he built his business with and from nothing, and for valuable insights that can be applied to whatever you undertake in life.

As he says, "you only have to be right once."

Grab a beer, sit down and relax, and give it a read.

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A few things for the weekend

Happy Valentine's Day.

Every year I ask the Trading Goddess to be my Valentine, and every year she turns me down.

Bummer.




Over on "The T.A.D. Principle" blog - a blog you should be reading every day if you like motivational quotes - David posted a video that really caught me off-guard.

It is about a man named Nick Vujicic. I had never heard of Nick, and I don't want to go into details about the video because I would not do it justice...just go and watch:

Meet Nick Vujicic

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Five Rules For Life

I like being able to bring readers something that is free but delivers tremendous value. "Five Rules For Life" is a site that fits that description. And I am not just saying that because I was asked to submit my "Five Rules"!

It is no secret to long-time readers that I am a firm believer in motivational materials and the power of positive thinking. "Five Rules For Life" combines both, and offers the reader insight into what other people from different backgrounds consider to be "the most important rules to follow for a happy, successful, and fulfilling life".

Check it out - it just launched today with around 30 submissions (including mine!)...you can literally spend an hour or two going through them and pick up some great wisdom.

And as Jon says, go that extra step and submit your "Five Rules". I can attest that it is a great process of self-introspection much akin to mapping out your goals in life.

Visit "Five Rules For Life"



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Who will you be in five years?

Long-time readers know my feelings about positive-thinking and surrounding yourself with positive influences. Every week I feed my mind with positive thoughts (check this blog for motivational quotes) - I believe it is critical to success.

I have had a long-standing relationship with the creator of "The T.A.D. Principle"...you can read more about it here. Last month I asked him if he would write a short post on goals. I think everyone will find his thoughts and suggestions meaningful as we head towards another year.

Trader-X

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Who will you be in five years?


Every year the majority of us start out with grand aspirations and a handful of "New Year's Resolutions". This year I am going to ask you to do something different - take a longer-term outlook.

I want you to think about what you want every aspect of your life to be like in five years:

• What will you be doing to earn a living? What kind of company are you working for, or are you self-employed? What is your title? How much money do you have in the bank?
• What do you look like physically? How much do you weigh? What does your body look like? What do you eat? How do you feel?
• What is your personal life like? Are you happily married? Do you have children? Are you single and playing the field?
• What do you do for fun? What are your hobbies?

Brainstorm every detail. You have a blank canvas before you - create the masterpiece that you want for your life. Once you are done brainstorming WRITE out the details. Use strong, empowering statements that assume you have achieved your goals:

• I am physically fit. I weigh 175lbs, and I have well defined muscles and a "six pack" of abs.
• I am Vice-President of Sales at a software company, and I have 20 people reporting to me. I make $250,000 a year.
• I am happily married. My wife and I love each other and every day we do something exciting, new, and fun.
• I have $200,000 in the bank.

Continue writing all of your statements until every aspect of your life is addressed. I cannot stress the importance of writing it out - doing so makes you accountable. It takes goals from being thoughts in your mind - a "that would be cool" feeling - to something more serious; something you can see, touch, and feel. You are making a commitment.

This is the first step in achieving any goal. You brainstorm, you become clear on what you want, you commit to it by writing it out, and you review it on a regular basis - preferably daily.

Remember - you can be the best marksman in the world but you will never be able to hit a target you cannot see. If you don't take the time - right now - to perform the above analysis and take the associated actions you will not achieve your goals.

Of course you don't stop at this point. Now that you are clear on what you want you need to take the first step towards your goals. And then the second step. And then the third step. You may not know exactly how you are going to achieve your goals, but you can take steps right now that - once completed - will give you a better idea of what to do next. There is an old saying - "you go as far as you can see and when you get to that point you can see farther". Working on long-term goals is the same way.

Finally, one of the most important steps is to visualize yourself achieving your goals. What does it look like? What does it feel like? I cover all of these steps in more detail in "The T.A.D. Principle".

Back to the five year concept - why is five years important? Having a longer-term outlook keeps you focused on what you want from your life, whereas a shorter-term outlook facilitates the old adage of "not being able to see the forest for the trees". With a five year outlook, a bad day or week will not derail your longer-term goals...provided you stay focused and work your plan as noted above. As challenges arise, always ask yourself "will this matter in five years?":

• You get cut off in traffic - will it matter in five years?
• You have an argument with a co-worker or a family member - will it matter in five years?
• Your cable goes out, or you lose your Internet connection - will it matter in five years?
• The store is out of what you need, the line at the restaurant is too long, you are almost out of gas - will it matter in five years?

Adopting this outlook helps you keep things in perspective. Little problems don't seem so big. None of these "frustrations" will have an impact on what you want your life to be like in five years. They are just noise.

I will close by saying no one can make you do anything. It is up to you to make a decision and take action on that decision. What are you going to do now that you have finished reading this post?

Why not sit down and brainstorm who you will be in five years?

David, "The T.A.D. Principle"

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Hump day...

Suit up!

And don't forget to check out The T.A.D. Principle blog for daily motivational quotes; they posted a great one today - to me, it perfectly captures what it takes to be successful:

"The world is your mirror and your mind is a magnet. What you perceive in this world is largely a reflection of your own attitudes and beliefs. Life will give you what you attract with your thoughts - think, act and talk negatively and your world will be negative. Think, act and talk with enthusiasm and you will attract positive results."

- Michael LeBeuf

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Tags:
trader-x, nph, the tad principle

"The T.A.D. Principle"

06/04/12 edit:

They now have an updated version - "tad - happiness revealed:  insights on thoughts, actions, and destiny". Here is what I wrote about it:

I've been telling my readers about "The T.A.D. Principle" for years, and I just finished reading the new version they released (you can get through it in about an hour). It is on a completely different level from the previous edition, and represents more of an exploration of the things we do that make us unhappy, and what we need to do to find happiness in ourselves as opposed to looking for it externally. If you purchased "The T.A.D. Principle" in the past, you get this new version free. If you have never explored "tad", I highly recommend you do - it could have a big impact on your outlook and your life, and it is well worth the effort.

-----------------------

original post:

I get a question every few weeks (including "Comments" yesterday) about "What is T.A.D.?", which has been at the end of my "Welcome" post since I started this blog.

It refers to "The T.A.D. Principle", which is something I first learned about many years ago from someone I worked with in the technology world. For those of you who are fans of self-improvement/self-empowerment material (and motivational thinking), it is probably the best resource I have ever encountered. If you are not a fan of these subjects, you should be - they have serious applications to your professional and personal life. I don't think you can be successful at any venture (including trading) until you learn to control your mind and what you think of yourself and everything else in general.

I highly recommend "The T.A.D. Principle". I have no doubt that anyone who pursues it will be very satisfied, and will receive numerous benefits that can help change their life for the better (as I have).

You can visit their site at:

www.thetadprinciple.com

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Tags:
Trader-X, The TAD Principle, Self Improvement