Monday, August 22, 2016

Personal Notes Series 010: The 6 Digits Trader



For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?


Everybody has a dream. But dreams are not without cost.


It was the last quarter of 2010, I remember having the typical Filipino dream of going abroad to work, travel and see the world and then retire at a ripe age and come back to build a nice house somewhere near a beach. I also remember that I haven't really figured out what I wanted to do. It would have been nice to be able to do what you want, have fun and get paid for it. DOTA 2 and eGames wasn't that much of a thing that time.




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After some time observing the markets I understood that making +5% to as much as +50% in a day was very possible. But of course I had to be realistic so +10% every month for a year would do. I then began to imagine the possibilities. For sure I'm not the only crazy bastard right?

I was aware that losses can happen as well, but who cared about losses really? When you look for a job or start a business, do you look at the cost or risks first? No. You look at the potential profits. Kaya nga nag hanap ng trabaho or patayo ng business para kumita diba? I was young and foolish.

One reason why people consider going full time in trading is when they experience gaining profits equal or greater than their salaries with lesser time than they would with their jobs. 

My salary or allowance during my practicum abroad (before graduating college) was around 18-21k php. It was a good amount since I was excellent at saving, but it was barely enough for anything extra I wanted to do or have.

...


And then that day came.



In just two days, I was able to gain 3 months worth of my salary. I felt I could conquer the world. It was at that moment when I decided to go full time after I finish my contract and graduate from college. 

I finally found what I wanted to do.

I decided to go full time into trading with a 6-digit port. I didn't know it was a suicide mission. And by full time trading, I mean not getting a job or business and just dedicating my time and energy to the markets as my sole source of income.


You see, there are many traders out there who would say that paper losses are okay; that it is okay to "sit it out" because eventually it will recover. But you see, pain demands to be felt. It demands your immediate attention. If you let a wound go untreated, it gets worse and could eventually turn lethal.





This is the difference between full time traders and those who are just wannabees. A wannabee can commit a mistake or a loss and stick to that loss. They can be wrong as long as they want, until they eventually become right and say "I told you so." They can afford to feed their egos because they have a backup plan - it could be a job or business or maybe they just have a lot of money - a fallout shelter when everything falls apart. 

A full time 6-digits trader however, doesn't have this luxury. Pride and ego won't put food in his table. Every trade will mean life or death to him. There is no backup plan. If he wishes to survive in the face of a grave mistake, he accepts the loss and cuts to trade another day.


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There's this story I've read somewhere. It was about this King going into war with another from a faraway kingdom. He sent his whole army across the continent with their best ships. When the armada reached shore and finished making camp, the lord commander of the king's army immediately ordered the burning of their ships.



As the fire started to consume the shoreline and lit up the dark night, the lord commander announced to the king's army "We have burnt our finest ships. The only way we are going back home is to win this war!"

This was the kind of situation I found myself in. My ship was burning. There was no turning back. The kingdom was the prize. Home was the dream.

It wasn't easy. There were seasons of battles where I lost. I questioned my will and sanity many times. 

"Have I made the right choice?"  




I ventured into this world with my family's blessing. I had to bring them honor. I had to show them I was a warrior. That I could take care of myself amidst all the uncertainties that the market brings. And I failed. Many times. But every single time I fell down to my knees and started to lose hope, I found myself in the presence of the Lord of Heaven's Armies. 

"Do you believe?" 

"I still do. You didn't send me here to fight for a dream and die."

"Get up!" He said. "I will fight for you and bring you to your destiny!" 


The rest was history.

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To the the full time 6-Digit traders out there who have burnt their ships and are fighting for their first seven and their dreams, you have my mad respect! You aren't alone in this war - seek out the Lord of Heaven's Armies. Believe. Receive.


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Let me end with this story... 

In the beginning God created the heavens - the moon, the sun and the stars. He created the earth and everything that lives in it - the huge beasts and the little creepy shits that crawl. And God saw to it that it was good. 

Then God created Man. And in each and every one of them, in the deepest depths of their hearts, He placed dreams.



A soldier with the initials Z.F. found his dream. Now this soldier asks those who read,


"What are your dreams?"






Friday, August 12, 2016

Bottom Fishing WEB and The Tiny Frog







This stock has been the talk of the town this week. So much money lost in such a short amount of time. You can feel the fear in almost every trading group and even in normal news feeds. It was quite an exciting time for some of us in ZFT who bought the reversal. The tension became greater when it got suspended. 

"See you at the floor."

I would be lying if I said I wasn't affected. We were talking about what we'd be doing if WEB would do a "TAPET." Open ceiling. Close ceiling. Everyone who had WEB in the tribe was mentally preparing for the worst case scenario.

But the thing is... we aren't fundamentalists. Nor are we speculators. We are technicians. Yes we have emotions but rather than guessing and stressing over the things we cannot control, we instead act upon the things we can control.



Of course this post wouldn't be complete without those lovely port snapshots to prove our point. Here's that lovely link (In case you're wondering, we don't do group trades. It's just that we use the same system and usually end up trading the same set of stocks. )


Because if you're all talk but no show, you're prolly a scam.


Let me end this post with a story... 





The Tiny Frog

“We must stand guard at the doorway of our minds”

Once upon a time there was a bunch of tiny frogs who arranged a climbing competition. The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants. The race began.

Honestly: No one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower. You heard statements such as:  “Oh, way too difficult!” “They will never make it to the top.” “Not a chance that they will succeed.” “The tower is too high!”

The tiny frogs began collapsing one by one – except for those who kept a fresh tempo and kept climbing higher and higher.

The crowd continued to yell, “It is too difficult!  No one will make it!” More tiny frogs got tired and gave up.

But one continued higher and higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up.

At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top.

All of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it. Another contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal.

It turned out… the winner was deaf.  The wisdom of this story is: Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic. They take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you if you let them– the ones you have in your heart!

Be deaf to the people who tell you that you cannot fulfil your dreams, goals and aspirations.

Author unknown


Happy weekend everyone!