Trader Mindset

Subscribe to the show   Alan "Ace" Greenberg had a great rule that he mandated on the Bear Stearns trading floor: "If the name is down coming into Friday's close, it trades."   He didn't wait for stops to be hit. If the prop trader was long and there was an unrealized loss, they sold it before the close on Friday.   This simple, but brilliant rule is one that you might want to employ.   By selling...

Subscribe to the show   Things don't always go as planned.   Give yourself some room to expected the unexpected.   This is the best way to hedge against your blind spots for which you have many.   Click here to get your free copy of The Inner Voice of Trading audiobook .  

Subscribe to the show   Your sole purpose in life is to play superior defense.   Where do you think you can express that ethos the best?   Click here to get your free copy of The Inner Voice of Trading audiobook .  

Subscribe to the show   Nothing happens randomly.   You decide that you want to trade voluntarily.   Whatever happens after that is your responsibility regardless of the outcome.   The best traders I have known over the years are the ones who live in a paradigm of personal responsibility.   Let go of judgment of yourself and others and focus on risk management.   That's what traders are at the end...

I think it's important to trade small at the beginning of your career so that you can find out what your edge is. Once you have it, then you scale and trade larger.  You should think of it like panning for gold (to find your edge). The goal isn't for large trading gains right away, but to discover and shine the light on your edge. 

It's more than rate of return...

Marshall Ulrich is an American legend. As a mountaineer, he's climbed the Seven Summits - completing each on his first attempt.  The Seven Summits consist of Mount Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimajaro, Mount Elbrus, Mount Vinson, Puncak Jaya, and Mount Kosciuszko by order of elevation.  Marshall has completed 130 ultra marathons, each over 100 miles in distance.  Most notably, he's known for com...

Steven M. Sears is a contributor to Barronsonline.com and the former editor of the Striking Price column of Barron's magazine. He is the author of The Indomitable Investor: Why a Few succeed in the Stock Market When Everyone Else Fails published by Wiley. 

Philip Shaw is a farmer in Western Ontario. In this episode, you'll here someone on the physical side of the commodity business discuss how he thinks about what commodities to grow, how he manages risk, and his thoughts from several decades in the commodity business. 

Thanks to everyone who wrote in about September 11. Here are some of my memories from growing up in Manhattan and spending a great deal of time near WTC 1 & 2. 

Don't build it so they will come. There is no connection to spending money you don't have in order to cast a bigger shadow when you have zero potential clients.  Start small. Nothing wrong with it. Grow as your defined needs grow. 

If the instrument you're looking at has a daily volatility measurement that is greater in dollars than you are willing to risk, you must pass on the trade. 

Money you don't spend when you're starting out is money that you don't need to earn. And that's important when you don't fully understand what you're doing. 

The trading world has changed since I began, but the tenets of good trading are still in tact.  Here's how I would counsel myself at the beginning of my career based upon what I know now and the experiences I've had - both good and bad. 

Focus on one style of trading. Build a system for client communications also. Else, your business is going to run you.