Objective Thinking And Trading

I have been able to completely shut market noise out of my mind now by sheer strong will.
New slate thinking has helped me reach a 20% a month return on DAX index trading.
The market has its own rules to play by.
By keeping away from the market and focussing ONLY on the inter-play of internal demand and supply forces, I can conclude that starting with a new slate helped me a lot because I first tried to observe and learn about the rules of the game which required me to keep enough buffer margin or else slice the trading portions into lost that help to have fact pockets of small slices.

Quoting simnz

Disliked

{quote} I have been able to completely shut market noise out of my mind now by sheer strong will. New slate thinking has helped me reach a 20% a month return on DAX index trading. The market has its own rules to play by. By keeping away from the market and focussing ONLY on the inter-play of internal demand and supply forces, I can conclude that starting with a new slate helped me a lot because I first tried to observe and learn about the rules of the game which required me to keep enough buffer margin or else slice the trading portions into lost...

Ignored

I am very happy for you simnz. I had noticed you cleaned your slate. Now, with this improved approach, are you enjoying your trading more?


Peter

i read this thread and there are great writings.
but, I see us immersing ourselves in emotional things and that’s not good.
in trading, emotions have to be ruled out as much as possible, so it’s a shame to talk about it as well.
this is just an unnecessary philosophy.
not a crime.

Quoting tiborf71

Disliked

i read this thread and there are great writings. but, I see us immersing ourselves in emotional things and that’s not good. in trading, emotions have to be ruled out as much as possible, so it’s a shame to talk about it as well. this is just an unnecessary philosophy. not a crime.

Ignored

tiborf71,

I understand what you are saying, however ......

A REAL trader who is not interested in the hoopla that most people "talk" about, sees that most people merely have an anecdotal idea/understanding of what trading IS and what it actually takes to become and BE a trader. Note - I'm not talking about 'casual' or 'hobbyist' traders or general new aspiring traders. I am referring to people who are serious about being a trader and want to build a career/side career out of it.

Let me educate you a little please - If a human removes/severs/disconnects from their emotions for too long, they become something that I'm sure you have heard of before - either a sociopath or psychopath within their nature. What do these have in common? They both lack the ability to experience and appreciate empathy, compassion and a sense of giving. Most people only know of these things from what they've seen on TV or in movies, but if you've actually met or known someone like this then it changes the way you understand people at a more personal level.

The conundrum and also the oxymoron for "people" is - they want to make money from trading but do not generally want to learn how to control themselves, learn how to properly manage themselves or even just mature on some basic level. What is interesting to note here, is ALL the things I just mentioned ARE THE SAME THING.... just from a different perspective or context. And so, most do not understand the direct correlation between their perception of money and being mature.

And so, now we attend to the notion of people using/trying to use EA's to be the trader 'for them' or merely the thinking that comes from this approach. If one understands the difference between human nature and the human conditioning, you can quickly appreciate how absurd, ludicrous and fundamentally impossible it is for someone to eliminate their emotional state from their trading..... that is, if you wish to remain at least somewhat healthy as a human being.

So my advice to you would be this - WIDEN your gaze. Trading is, by its own definition - just an activity.

Depending on your agenda and you willingness to learn, tiborf71, you will need to determine how much you think is true and real based not on the truth of Life but on your opinions alone.

So really, only the people who don't want to be responsible for themselves will buy into the idea that you can trade without emotions and should try to offload the responsibility onto someone or something outside yourself. Base emotions will make you greedy and fearful but leveled emotions will make you strong and capable. It's the difference between worldly motivation vs something deeper and bigger than yourself.

So I am sorry, tiborf71, my lifetime of competency and experience and life lessons have shown me that people who think the way you do, have more to learn rather than boxing up your opinion and judgment with duct tape.

On a basic level, immature is immature yet this is not always a derogatory word. Sometimes it simply refers to underdeveloped. And while trying to avoid something or trying to find a "work-around" may seem like a good idea, these things tend to compound on themselves and at some point their overwhelming weight will crush you.

I'm sure this will ruffle your feathers, but really, in Life, there is no real reason to postpone quality learning except when people have the self sabotaging audacity to exchange the basic obvious truth with an opinion.


I hope that helps.

Peter

This may give the readers an idea of the trades you can do when you are not influenced by market noise or motivated market news.

1. https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13536821#post13536821
2. https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13536910#post13536910
3. https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13537747#post13537747

Quoting simnz

Disliked

{quote} This may give the readers an idea of the trades you can do when you are not influenced by market noise or motivated market news. 1. https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13536821#post13536821 2. https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13536910#post13536910 3. https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13537747#post13537747

Ignored

Indeed, many people in general everyday life suffer from information overload and wonder why they cannot think properly anymore. Good examples, thank you simnz.


Peter

then I decide what is good for me.
will you allow me this?
Thanks.

Quoting tiborf71

Disliked

{quote} then I decide what is good for me. will you allow me this? Thanks.

Ignored

Yes of course. It's not my decision what you do or don't do. Life is full of surprises and dead ends. Enjoy.

Peter

As much as it annoys some people, I have always found that the more that people want to "argue" about something that requires attention and focus for learning, the more it shows they truthfully do not know or understand what I am talking about. People are stuck using the same language, the same idea of 'how things work' and how much someone genuinely needs to learn and know to participate in the financial markets.

I have said it before and I suppose it requires reiteration here - there is a very real, live difference between a speculator and a value trader.

Speculators only run a % of the race while a value trader understands the nature of what they face, so they do not only scalp or trend trade. Speculators take a perfectly good, whole apple pie and they carve it up into several smaller pieces and begin to judge each section on its supposed "merits/usefulness".

Meanwhile, a value trader understands that the moment you do this, you have just exposed your underbelly to attack and reduced your ability and effectiveness to defend yourself.

From what I have observed, most people who have entered the financial markets after the year 2000, have been put at a severe disadvantage. Why? They have allowed technology to replace common sense and have become very lazy mentally, emotionally and psychologically.

An example of this that is alarmingly conspicuous, is the use and misuse of Wyckoff Theory. This idea is based on how the real world tends to operate in a stage by stage pictorial representation. It's not some fanciful 'nice idea' at all, it is what was used as a basic way to explain how business was (And still is) carried out in and through the financial markets. But people's lack of knowledge and understanding of how things happen in the real world has them turning to "online people" for help or assistance without first testing their own ability to do proper and thorough research on their own.

And so, poor thinking processes and laziness have led to people removing the necessary parts of a complete trading management and strategic awareness plan when interacting with any financial market. Therefore, is it surprising that many normal people are struggling to grasp an understanding of what they've stepped into.

And as far as I have observed, this has led to the majority of people presuming to know one thing or another over other people, instead of being truthful and realizing how foolish it is to remove any basic component of a well rounded management approach.

This is why people argue over Fundamental analysis vs technical analysis and "this" theory vs "that" theory.

The idiots in the world of trading, social media and business, have forgotten about best business practice and instead venture to capitalize on other people's mental meandering and informational ignorance.

This is, partly, why I draw issue with the idiots online and offline. They have replaced high quality, sensible intelligence with hoarding information and lording over other people because of their "station in life".

Of course, when you strip all the masquerading back to its bare bones, these people are nothing more than intermediaries with a big ego and a complete absence of the nature of the real world inline with their thinking.

If people would learn more about how business is done around the world, minus all the technology smoke and mirrors, then they will learn that facts and information are just the tip of the iceberg.

Governments and a company (entities) need to pay people, pay for goods and services, pay taxes, arrive at conclusive capital assessments and many other things. And all of this is done (in one form or another) with a note or lien, or a promise to commit via escrow types of securitised deposits and withdrawals. The "normal people" general population never really sees or hears about these things or simply never thinks about it, which is ashame, because once you pull back the curtain, the global system and business of money and transaction is fairly basic and ridiculously overrated and bloated with layers of unnecessary details.

For people who are not just 'curious' about trading or just a hobby trader, but someone who is genuinely looking to put your own money into a brokerage account and begin to send orders to market, I say this ----

Create a blueprint of all the research you can do for yourself relating to how business goes on worldwide, 'about' trading the financial markets, 'how to trade' using a well rounded approach that includes all of the areas I have spoken of here.

There is one trick to true longevity in trading - realizing that opinions change as often as the wind changes direction. But instead of focusing here on the opinion itself, pay attention to the person and what they're like as a person or human being. It's very illuminating to do this because you will find out very quickly where all their holes/gaps in knowledge and competency based experience really sit. And then, you can learn how not to be if you have even an ounce of self respect. Because it is your self respect that will help you move forward without getting caught up with the posers, wannabe's, "trying-to-be-like-mike's" and others who want to hold you down by feeding you rhetoric instead of you learning to think for yourself and learning properly.

Every time someone looks for the easy way or cheat sheets when related to trading, is when all these other people come out of the woodwork. When, the wolves in sheep's clothing show up. No one should be guarding you money and accounts and trading and financial livelihood MORE THAN YOU.

On this site, for example, just as it is in the physical world, these wolves come in all shapes and sizes. But they always seem to prey on the same weakness - personal ignorance. And they play on your wants, desires, ego, pride, fear and pain. And they sometimes appear to be "helpful" or instructive. But if you cannot think for yourself, you would never know who you're talking to in that situation. You could never determine on your own, what the true motivator is of that person, what wounds of the past they're carrying and how they think and what they use as their ethical and moral compass.

Yes. All of these things are necessary and ever-present.

One thing to consider very seriously, is this - you do NOT need to be "clever" or devious to generate consistent profitability in ANY trading activity. You need to be able to think for yourself. This is how it has ALWAYS been.

People who are drawn to "facts" and "information" as a way to gauge what is happening, run the risk of assuming their definition of these things is constant out in the world. And when you do this, you are at the mercy of the power structure and system to tell you which way is up and which way is down. And in this position, you have NO power or control over yourself.

In trading it is exactly the same.

Please take a minute to watch this very short video and start to learn to appreciate the whole situation rather than just one isolated part .....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EM92ppvT6Y


Peter

I want to share an interesting experience I had. It was an exercise to make it so obvious about what you have been talking about.
On a thread, I found a member talking highly about a hustler and uploading his video.
Another member challenges him saying it can't be and to prove him right uploads a video of another hustler.

The first guy says:

Eon't take my word for it, obviously, you haven't watched enough of his videos to gain any concept of his trading background and experience.

what have you ever done?

have you appeared on CNN or Bloomberg?

do you have a trading resource website?

do you have any videos on Youtube?

do you have a Telegram channel and post real-time, live trades?

do you live stream, live trades every day on Youtube?

did you ever write an article and have it published?

NO NO NO to all of the above

And yet you are able to dismiss good advice just like that, simply saying it is nonsense

And then you offer no alternative advice?

That's the part that is nonsense!

Everyone, please make up your own minds, don't let Techanal do it for you

https://www.youtube.com/c/tradertom/videos


At this point, I join in the conversations with the following comments

Erebus,

I have not done any of those things. Still I trade with 25% gain in a month. Being an adventurer, and my relaxed attitude towards money, I do it mostly for fun on IB platform which offers spot, futures and futures options for trading.

I don't have any interest in seeking attention or followers or my ego massagers or piggyback ride partners and yet I have shared 100% of my experience to FF crowd knowing well it only has 1% of serious and silent learners. It is for those who (a) are highly motivated (b) don't need hand-holding (c) will make their own efforts to find from Google terms they can not understand or need more information (d) don't think it's their birth-right to get effortless solutions to make quick money (e) who prefer to not to lose money but are willing to invest time on learning.

I don't do it knowingly as an act of generosity or a Samaritan act.

I act on the call of invisible forces who have shaped my destiny.

He replies back:


Quoting simnz (https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13570063#post13570063)
{quote} Erebus, I have not done any of those things. 1. Still I trade with 25% gain in a month. Being an adventurer, and my relaxed attitude towards money, I do it mostly for fun on IB platform which offers spot, futures and futures options for trading. 2. I don't have any interest in seeking attention or followers or my ego massagers or piggyback ride partners and yet I have shared 100% of my experience to FF crowd knowing well it only has 1% of serious and silent learners. It is for those...
1. I must follow and read more of your posts for sure

2. And yet you respond to questions not asked of you

My response

I do it hoping for finding learners who are teachable.
But I find comments like you made. Yet I don't get put off by snide remarks like you just made.

Then I go on to talk about how to take people on face value by doing some work and show them the working, addressing the other guy

Quoting Techanalyst (https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13569813#post13569813)
{quote} No it isn't. Watch this video, if you don't get it, watch it again. You will understand that it is not possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK3-DbuwE0E https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7G0OfJUON8&t=6562s
Both are hustlers. I agree.
Both have commercial agendas.
It is a marketing technique of playing on fear and greed popular since ages.
Caveat Emptor (buyers beware) is blinded by the strong feelings of fear and greed.

I was just testing the way FF members get wedded to their own opinion and then how they go out all out to waste their energy in proving each other wrong without ever thinking whether it is humanly possible or not.

Since I have no agenda, I am not going to produce my trading record, but I will show you the logic of accepting my claim or anyone else's claim
DAX 30 index produces on an average High Low of around 473 High Low range pips and Open Close of 60 pips in 1440 minutes, which means chances of 8 times more than the Open close to generate pip gains.

Basics

Margin required : about 12.5%. if 15700 index then margin is roughly $40,000
That means if index is up by 10% in a day on contract value, a trader can make 100% of $40,000 (margin investment) = $400,000 in a day if there was no drawdown putting zero pressure on margin% requiring no top-up of margin money. It was easily possible during March 2020 turmoil.

Working based on a historic high low of 2020

1.. There is theoretically scope for making 4 times more money by trading from two ends (buy and sell) when rotation of trend happens pumped up by spikes, pushed down by pullbacks, halted by consolidation , plunging to generate emotions, if a trader uses EA to move with the price line entering and exiting swiftly making 20 pips, or sets up progression grids in both up and down directions, it is possible to do so.

https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13570115#post13570115

Then two responses from the guy who was defending the hustler as well

https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13570234#post13570234
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13570237#post13570237

Moral of the story: FF has become a forum for sharing untested knowledge.
Nobody even read my working, which was wrong. 100% of $40,000 is $40,000. I put it as $400,000 which is incorrect .

Quoting simnz

Disliked

{quote} I want to share an interesting experience I had. It was an exercise to make it so obvious about what you have been talking about. On a thread, I found a member talking highly about a hustler and uploading his video. Another member challenges him saying it can't be and to prove him right uploads a video of another hustler. The first guy says: Eon't take my word for it, obviously, you haven't watched enough of his videos to gain any concept of his trading background and experience. what have you ever done? have you appeared on CNN or Bloomberg?...

Ignored

Thank you for sharing that experience simnz. It is indeed remarkable just how much people's attitude exceeds their basic observation skills, their knowledge and experience and even their consideration of how much more powerful one's margin is when trading than the usual talk about account balance and leverage and position sizing.

I just don't know how people are going to face and deal with the future changes that occur. Many are ignoring the basics yet are pretending they have everything sorted out and handled. It's very disturbing and concerning.

Yes indeed, if someone says what Kreil does then does what he does then one is a salesman. No question. If people cannot see that then they will be manipulated and used....every time. I don't want to say they deserve what they get but they obviously need to have that experience so they can learn certain lessons. And as both of us have seen, no telling them will help.

For most people, they don't see that fine line between naivete and gullibility. And they do not realize that real naivete (AKA innocence) ends when you enter the real world. And usually this happens when one enters elementary/primary school level education where one is molded and reformed.

I sense most people need to learn the real life lesson that there are indeed wolves in the world and it is the responsibility of each person to learn and to grow up and mature properly so they can live life in a prepared and informed way. This then opens the door for when they have children, they can teach them the 'ways of the world' without fear of misplaced ignorance.

And to add here, speaking of margin, I see that the index layout you described is for a dampener of high to low. That's a good way to determine if someone actually trades because most markets these days offer margin but not all. And so, if people do trade then they would be aware of how to track the course for margin and the dampener a trader can use to reduce risk. Hehehe, yes indeed veeeery interesting how people do not really read some things. Perhaps they just gloss over what they don't understand hah ?!! Hehehehe.

*** What concerns me the most is the children. What could they possibly be learning from people who do not even live in the real world?

Thank you for sharing simnz. And I hope your back is doing better.


Peter

Things have taken a dramatic turn - diversification helping me get 30% return a month and with a maximum drawdown of 14%.
Based on trading with gut feelings in my last two months and using multiple symbols (10 maximum) I have now given it a formal shape
My Business model for Speculation
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13567631#post13567631

My open secret sauce
Bid rotation, spoofing, and collusion in repeated auctions ...
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13569731#post13569731

My psychology pain pills
Margin preservation is my answer to Stop Loss.
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13569749#post13569749

Quoting simnz

Disliked

{quote} Things have taken a dramatic turn - diversification helping me get 30% return a month and with a maximum drawdown of 14%. Based on trading with gut feelings in my last two months and using multiple symbols (10 maximum) I have now given it a formal shape My Business model for Speculation https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13567631#post13567631 My open secret sauce Bid rotation, spoofing, and collusion in repeated auctions ... https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13569731#post13569731 My psychology pain pills...

Ignored

simnz,

I have looked these over and it looks good. I won't say too much here as I don't want to steer you off your current path. Your main consideration now, "could be" ....

- Data transfer from country to country.
Money is more data than physical presence now, so ... let's say you are in China and you want to benefit from the passive denominated exchange rate from GBP to Chinese Yuan. Holding a GBP account with a UK brokerage house (Where the account denomination is GBP) and dribbling passive exchange profits would be very easy. Although I have found some frown upon this practice, it is widely used as an alternative to carry trades. Doing this adds a minimum of 20-30 p.a. to my 'bottom line' as it follows the same basic principle of money exchange.

NB - It's important for people to keep up with the current rules/laws associated with this practice. Sometimes it is necessary to use a different branch of exchange eg. a bank such as HSBC etc as they offer Multiple Currency Foreign Exchange accounts etc. If you do you research you will find what you need.

Most people do not talk about this stuff but it is very useful if you have done well with your trading and just want to add a small cherry to the top of the ice cream.

I'm glad you are enjoying your trading.


Peter

Literal Thinkers Beware......

Most people that enter the world of trading just assume they're ready for what is to come. This is the first Life lesson.

Usually, a large percentage of people try to follow what other people do. This is the second Life lesson.

Most of the time, people assume it's safe to believe what they see in front of them. Wisdom is not gained from gathering information and some knowledge, it is generated by living Life and paying attention to the many details that present themselves, be it big or small. This is the third Life lesson.

You will know you are learning when "new things" do not upset you, frustrate you or frighten you. This is the next Life lesson.

When you have practiced how to extract meaning and understanding from something that appears completely unrelated from what other people are talking about, then you know you are improving your Life skills. This is a very good Life lesson to learn.

Once you can assimilate new information in a way where you are open to many possible ways to interpret that information, you will know that you are learning. Most people have to learn the hard way, that almost everything has several meanings. This is the next Life lesson.

When you realize truthfully, that sometimes ambiguity and context are your greatest allies to see what other people are too ignorant and/or lazy to see then you can be glad you are learning. This is one of the greatest Life lessons.

While other people assume what they think/believe they know to be "true", you are learning to gain insight and make connections between things that they can never see because they use a linear way to see the world.

Below are some great examples to help train yourself to better observe and think....



For the physical part.

Attached Image (click to enlarge)

Attached Image (click to enlarge)

For the mental and psychological side. I chose these as their details are not necessarily in real life natural order and will require you to research and place them in order for yourself.

You, as a person, as a trader, must come to accept that your personal psychology is paramount. It is far more important than any strategy, bank account or profit margin.

This is not just about having a positive attitude, it is about learning something that you have never known about yourself. And what most people are terrified of learning about themself. The simple truth of how they function and the fact that "experts" are really nothing but someone with "different information". Not better or more real, just "different".

The easiest way to help you see how vital this is, would be through a simple example - Let's say that tomorrow ALL trading of the financial markets was banned and no one could trade the markets anymore. It would be for governments and corporations etc to transact and no one else. Now here's the question - What have YOU learned about you and other people and the world you live in, that is broadly transferable to other parts of your existence?

Your job is to think about this and do whatever investigations are needed.

Most people are trying to isolate 'trading proteins' so they can synthesize an outcome for themself. However, when did burying your head in the sand start to be healthy and useful? How can you improve if you do this? How can you protect yourself if your thinking is too lopsided?

I have spent decades observing people and one thing is true and clear - people lie to themselves more than they tell the truth. And yet they wonder why they don't get the results they crave? ..... Or "believe" they deserve or are entitled to?

Tony Robbins and Jim Rohn and Robert Kiyosaki and all those other people cannot help you with this problem. This is not about filling the gaps and ignoring the rest. It is about realizing the simple truth - most people believe they're idiots/incapable (in one or many ways) and they continue to do things in ways that reinforces this self loathing belief.

More information is not the solution .... and never has been.

Observe, observe, observe.

Throw away opinions as useful for anything but the beginning of an investigation.

Do not isolate yourself to just one train of thought nor any one methodology of understanding.

Understanding = A way to think and feel where your human sides are strengths and having the willingness to learn the differing aspects of a complete situation. It is done without taking sides and must be driven by your genuine interest in learning for that same reason and no other motivator. What you need or want comes later.

Seek the basic truth that exists and build from there.

Trading really IS strangely simple when you just stop and think about it all.


Peter

Thank you for the feedback.

1. I have done that by borrowing funds from the private banks, which lend money on the cost of funds (LIBOR or US prime like benchmark)+ their markup against portfolio pledged with them, from 0.25% to 4% depending on the account size. If it is quite big they even go down up to 0.125%.markup.

2. Buying Option: Qualification is you must have skills to trade like betting on bulls or footballers and are not willing to wait for the final outcome . I trained myself for 7 years in buying options. Time decay is the red bull chasing you, so you have to take hard and fast decisions on a daily basis to exit with or without profits.


3. Because the exchange is giving you leverage free of borrowing cost without asking you for any margin collaterals, your sourcing of undervalued options is critical if you want to be a jackpot winner all the time. It can be done.
You can trade, for example, a contract of EURUSD option (US$125,000) and buy a Call ticket of 10 pips ($125 value of lottery ticket) on a day before expiry of the contract, you can end up with $12,500 if EU shoots up by 110 pips. Options don't move like 1 to 1. It will be 1 to 0.97.
Put buyers made a big killing when oil plunged in March last year


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-04/oil-s-plunge-below-zero-was-500-million-jackpot-for-a-few-london-traders

It all boils down to whether you want to invest your time in yourself or not...

Zero to Hero is the model that I have chased since 1982 when I did not have money to buy even a single option contract. I used to engage an investment banker friend in conversations over a few beer bottles, to understand the power of buying options. He became my mentor ultimately when I could get money from my wife to invest in buying options.

Quoting simnz

Disliked

{quote} Thank you for the feedback. 1. I have done that by borrowing funds from the private banks, which lend money on the cost of funds (LIBOR or US prime like benchmark)+ their markup against portfolio pledged with them, from 0.25% to 4% depending on the account size. If it is quite big they even go down up to 0.125%.markup. 2. Buying Option: Qualification is you must have skills to trade like betting on bulls or footballers and are not willing to wait for the final outcome . I trained myself for 7 years in buying options. Time decay is the red...

Ignored

Yes OK.

"4." = Where is your 'insurance trade variant"?

I always use one as I don't like to gamble, so I reach into my bag of tricks and setup a counter offer that has a very high proportionate recovery. I like treasuries myself by way of their movement. This way I have increased the leg spread but without diversifying, so even if I lose I win. I am however not suggesting you're not doing this but I couldn't see the variant there in what you described. Hehehe or perhaps I just need to clean my glasses.


Peter

I have found diversification or putting in a basket different unrelated assets is better than me spending my limited time on devising insurance strategies.
Now that you have mentioned about UST, I will put that into my diversifived assets basket.

It may be of interest to you. UST and EU relationship.
https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13574784#post13574784

Quoting simnz

Disliked

{quote} I have found diversification or putting in basket different unrelated assets is better than me spending my limited time on devising insurance strategies. Now that you have mentioned about UST, I will put that into my diversifived assets basket. It may be of interest to you. UST and EU relationship. https://www.forexfactory.com/thread/post/13574784#post13574784

Ignored

I can understand that. Diversification really is a gradient tool and "should" never be considered as a black and white focal point. That link on UST and EU seems to be based too much on comparable data mapping but I use a fiscal relevance and corporate participation when I look at all of this. That is also why I like treasuries. I do the same thing regardless of relationships and the markets that catch my eye.

It was just a note to consider anyway.


Peter

For a long time now, I have known that a major downfall of following other people, is the fact that you take on both their strengths as well as their weaknesses. And usually you do not get the chance to choose if you want this to happen. And now, to take it a step further. You also take on their blindspots.

In trading, a blindspot develops in the same way a cancer grows. In the beginning, it is undetectable, then later as it gets bigger and has more influence over its host, other characteristics start to appear and can show up on closer inspection. This analogy was offered by someone while we were conversing and I thought it a good way to paint a picture of blindspots.

One way to look at your trading, from the perspective of learning and improving, is to see the way other people approach their method of learning. From what I have observed on this site and others re: trading etc, there are the people who just want to get their foot in the door and understand everything that people are talking about. Then there is the person who is trying to assimilate as much information as they can so they are able to see a way to approach their own trading. Then there is the person who has had some success in being consistent and intends on becoming more specialized in what they do. Then there is the person who has specialized in their trading definitions and perceptions. Then there is the person who observes the people trying to learn and understand the world of trading, is watching them chase after someone whom they "like" or feel comfortable with, to help them in areas where they think this person can be helpful.

But most of the time, there is one question I don't see people asking.... where is this person's limits toward what they know and understand?

This is a very necessary question to ask because you are essentially "trusting" this person you are hoping will help you via the "answers" they provide to your inquiries.

Unfortunately, observations I have made are showing that many people simply do not trust themself in any truly measurable way, to determine with enough real life accuracy, whether they are really learning or, whether they're simply imitating and crossing their fingers and hoping, that they can deal with what comes from following that person down that path?

This is what I call a blindspot.

For most people who choose to put their responsibility of thinking, in the hands of others, this blindspot can lead to legitimately real, real life problems.

On the brighter side, once a person realizes that the other person cannot be and will never be, responsible for their thinking OR their money, then a very natural conclusion becomes clear - you need to learn to think for yourself in a way where you do not rely on information alone, to help determine the answer to the question - "what is the situation?"

On this site for instance, I have witnessed many disasters come about, because people have chosen to forgo the responsibility to take charge of their own thinking, to do their own independent research. And I am currently witnessing many future disasters back building. This is not to say that these situations are irreversible, but to say that generally, people on a site like this are not usually your friend, perhaps in real life a real friendship has been started and online it is considered a natural comfortable extension, but usually, the people one interacts with online are not really people you know well in any personal way.

So genuine due diligence needs to be performed. Common sense needs to be applied whenever and wherever possible.

And certain questions must be asked if you are to properly and thoroughly perform the task of doing your research.

The irresponsible mistake many people make on this site and elsewhere, is focusing too much on one side of the situation or the other.

Tell me if this sounds familiar ......

"I think you're a liar."
"I think you're a fraud."
"I don't see how that's possible."
"That's impossible."
"That cannot be done."
"That's not how it works."

...... And all the other things people say merely to cover up the real reasons.

The other one that always makes me laugh ......

"XYZ started ignoring you". Just when you thought people couldn't get any less mature, that "happens", or "they do it themself", whichever way you want to look at it.

Something people obviously have yet to figure out is this ..... trading is about relationships and connections and transactions and relative knowledge. And it's about your thinking and the market's thinking and activity and then the blending of all of it.

Either what you know and understand is true and correct, or it's only half true, or it's completely wrong and therefore untrue. This is the basic truth of trading. Not metaphorically or philosophically, but as a very simple and basic observation.

And blindspots are exactly the same.

For me, it's really not important if I point out to someone that they have a rather major flaw in their "plan". Why not? I cannot control another person's desire to learn. If I have to resort to literal forceful persuasion or trying to con them, then they cannot learn. If they are not genuinely open to learning then no approach will be effective. It's the same with language. If someone assumes the position of attack or defend, then me saying the word "idiot" is going to stir up all sorts of feelings and thoughts. Never once would they consider it a "flick to the ear" to help wake them up to themselves, to snap them out the mental/emotional funk they're currently experiencing.

(To add here, I have said the word idiot many times to people and about people. But never in a static way that defines them. It is always the ear flick that I hope will give them a kick in the pants to grow up. This is how it was utilized when I was growing up. The difference between then and now of course, is now, people are definitely more hyper-sensitive, over-reactive and now with the introduction of "political correctness", there's most certainly going to be blood in the wash with misinterpretations running rampant.)

No. What's important is that they (the presumed more experienced trader) usually have people "following" them and through this other problems ensue, for eg. when the person they're following has never experienced certain situations that could/can derail the "plan" without their permission or knowledge.

Blindspots can be very destructive and harmful if left unattended. I'm sure by now you can see why.

In the world of financial markets, the ignorant lambs and presumptuous young wolves always get slaughtered in the end. But it's never usually by the ones you would expect to be doing the slaughtering. Usually, it's by their own hand: Too over-confident/egotistical, too cautious, doing things that are based on too many assumptions, too emotively reactive, too jaded, too accustomed to "go along to get along", too quick to dismiss someone/something ... and many others.

A blindspot can offer a world of insight and knowledge for the right person who's open to learning about a person, people, society and of course trading the financial markets.



Peter