WISDOM VERSUS FOOLISHNESS

Wisdom keeps me on the track. It lets me focus in on my goals. Without it I am serious trouble, Ill be fumbling in the dark. Ill stumble and fall. Wisdom dictates that I stick to the straight and narrow - that 1 watch my step and be safe. Without wisdom 1! become sidetracked. Ill stray from my goals. Ill be in constant danger of losing it all. Ill have sleepless nights as I ponder my foolishness. Ill make stupid mistakes as I try t extricate myself from the traps into which I have fallen.

If Im wise and find myself in serious trouble in the markets, Ill realize that it ma\ be that I have trapped myself. Prudent thought will help me to be quick to get out of it, if I possibly can. Ill be able to swallow my pride and admit my mistake. I wont let embarrassment stand in my way. Ill call my broker and get out of a bad trade as soon possible. Il! be persistent and urgent in getting out.

But, if Im foolish, Ill be slow to take action. I wil! have told others about my gn moves. Ill be embarrassed to let my broker know that I have made a mistake, Ill be prone to lie to myself, failing to admit even to myself that Im wrong. Ill persist in the false hope that the market will prove me right after all.

Wisdom will help me to realize that I have to work for what I want - thats right, labor hard for the rewards that I seek from the market. Trading is hardly a get rich quic scheme! Only a very few have been willing to work hard enough to get rich in the markets. A fool may believe otherwise. A fool will lose his money to those who have persevered in learning how to trade.

I think that I can describe a fool. A fool is a constant liar - lying to both self anc others.

A fool blabs his intentions to all who will hear, he campaigns for his point of viev A fool wants to teach everyone else what he thinks he knows. A fool does not know how to keep his own counsel.

A fools heart is full of rebellion. He is going to beat the system. He pits himsel against the overwhelming forces of the market.

A fool cant admit to himself the possibility that he has been wrong - he takes it personal failure.

A fool doesnt heed sound advice, but ali too often he listens to and acts upon t opinion of others.

A fool spends his time scheming about the wrong way to do things.

A fool spends his money on trading systems that hold little chance of working i< him, because he will never follow them exactly - and even if he did, he fails to realize these mechanical systems were created out of a different orientation from his own. not the one the system may have worked for. That is not to say that a mechanical system wont work, but the fool will not work it according to its rules.

A fool is lazy, not willing to make the effort required to really learn how to trade.

A fool is impatient, unwilling to take the time needed to apply the knowledge he might have learned if he ever were wiliing to work and study.

A fool is proud, vain, conceited - when in fact he needs to be humble in order to be successful in the markets.

A fool is daring when in truth he should be terrified.

A fool plunges at the very time he should hesitate.

Wisdom will keep me from being a fool! Wisdom will also keep me from being greedy. Greed will keep me in the market too long, when in fact it is better to get out of the market too soon - but with a profit. Greed wiil cause me to dream of all the things that paper profits will buy, when in fact paper profits are worthless until and unless they are cashed in. Greed will cause me to commit all of my capital at once to a position instead of carefully adding to my position only when my earliest commitments have become profitable.

Wisdom will keep me from letting my desires for wealth get out of hand. I cant te; myself fall for the promises of easy riches that may be held out to me. I cant let such promises seduce me. Wisdom dictates that I run from them. They have been the ruin of many just like me. Trouble comes when you go looking for easy money.

There are reputable brokers and managed accounts to be had. Wisdom will help me to find them, when 1 need or want them.

Wisdom is the opposite of pride, arrogance, corrupted thoughts and self-deceit. Wisdom welcomes good advice and common sense. Wisdom is power, it lets me judge between right and wrong.

All too often Ive been a fool. I can leave foolishness behind and begin learning to be wise. I have a choice and the choice is mine!

The Book

The Book referred to is my own collection of proverbs and other gems of trading wisdom that I have gathered over the years, fuch of it comes from the Holy Bible. Books on trading tactics and strategies, and books that contain wisdom should be studiec on a regular basis by anyone who seeks to better his own trading results.

I have said that there are certain results of learning and applying wisdom to trading markets. I now repeat them so that they wiil be recognized when they are utilized throughout the remainder of this manual. They are:

Self-discipline Knowledge

Patience Self-control

Resourcefulness Diligence Flexibility Concentration

Decisiveness Persistence Discretion Consistency

Perseverance

In addition to the above attributes, there must be total honesty and truthfulness. I must know myself and my weaknesses, be emotionally, mentally and physically fit, and ready to take action when needed - without procrastination. I must overcome greed and have an intensity about me that enables me to control not oniy my emotions, but my thoughts as well. As stated previously, that is a tall order, but it is still not enough. I must also become a top notch manager - planning, directing, organizing, controlling, and delegating,

Hopefully this manual will point out these virtues while at the same time showing how I trade successfully.

How I Trade

I believe that if 1 am going to trade, I must have the best tools I can afford to purchase, and that I must thoroughly learn to use them.

Trading futures is a zero sum game only to the extent that for every buyer there is a seller, and for every seller there is a buyer. Consequently, within the same time frame, for every winner there is a loser and vice-versa in the marketplace. I dont like to lose, sc I want everything that i can possibly have working in my favor.

I assume that on the other side of my trade is a well capitalized, astute, electronically equipped professional. We have a difference of opinion as to which way the market will go. We may even be working in a different time frame. I may have a shorter term point of view as to which way prices are headed, or I may have a longer term point of view. We may both be right within our individual time frames, but for whatever the time frame that I am in the trade, I want to be right.

I use a computer in my trading. I download price data each evening after the markets close, i also use my computer for daytrading. I use the computer for displaying and printing charts for analytical purposes. But the techniques I will show in this manu£ do not require the use of a computer, they can be done by hand, or from charts purchased from a charting service. I traded that way for quite some time.

I believe that the only successful way I can trade these markets as an individual is based on an analysis of the price data I can see on my charts. Since I dont have the billions of dollars needed to acquire and trade from fundamental information, my only choice is to become the best "situational" trader I can possibly be. For my purposes, the price charts, along with a couple of simple indicators, tell me everything I need to know about the markets in order to trade them successfully.

I trade the contracts found on the CBOT, CME, and the New York exchanges. I find more than enough opportunities to trade on these exchanges, so I am unwilling to spend the money needed to acquire data from any other exchanges.