Before the year ends, I'd like to give honor to where it is due.
God - the creator of the universe, for allowing me to experience life in 2019 with its victories and challenges. This has been a purifying year of my character. And I wouldn't have been able to achieve, the things that I have achieved - in trading or in the community without God's wisdom, provision and strength - especially in the times that I don't deserve it.
Sharing with you all an excerpt from Deuteronomy 8 - (Read the whole Chapter if you Can)
But remember the LORD your God, because he is the one who gives you the ability to produce wealth, in order to confirm his covenant that he promised by an oath to your ancestors, as is the case today.
"Maslow's hierarchy is most often displayed as a pyramid. The lowest levels of the pyramid are made up of the most basic needs, while the most complex needs are at the top of the pyramid.
This hierarchy suggests that people are motivated to fulfill basic needs before moving on to other, more advanced needs."
For several months now I've been busy with a project that hopefully would become a game-changer in the trading community. I haven't quite figured a way to express everything in words without sounding like a passionate madman. But In a nutshell, it's a project for traders where all the levels of Maslow's wonderful pyramid would be hit! And the best part of it? It's a win-win for everyone.
If you've been lurking or participating in the trading community for a while, you know how toxic it can get. It's like Marie Curie and the discovery of radiation.
For those of you who skipped science class, spoiler alert:
It doesn't end well.
It's an ambitious project that will take time and require everyone participating to cooperate. This will be me and my team's legacy to the trading community. And we are going to make sure this will be a success.
Wait for it next year.
--------------------------------------------
I know some of you aren't here for my ramblings, and it's been a while since I last contributed to the trading community in terms of ZFTs technical and psychological wisdom, also tips and tricks especially now that our market is acting like trash.
Well, let me share to you one of the many sessions that I do with my Masterclass. Btw, For those who are still thinking of applying, click here.This will probably be my only batch for 2020 as I will be focusing my time on The Trading Republic.
Enjoy and don't forget to take down notes and watch in HD.
If you still haven't opened an account for Global Trading,
You can practice using a virtual account or go trade directly using their platform. They have a CopyTrade feature as well if either you're a good trader looking to build capital and manage funds - without managing funds directly and exposing yourself to risk, but reaping the benefits of profit-sharing, or if you have the capital but just want other people to trade for you because of some reason.
You can have a 30USD Discount with this code : vitaminC
Having a journal is extremely important especially when you're planning to be a professional in this industry. The best thing about Edgewonk is that they have created a journal that's top of the line and can be customizable according to your needs. A bit pricey but that's a one time fee and you'll get it forever - no more subscriptions.
--------------------------------------------
2019 has been such a forming year for me. Not much as a trader, but as a person who has embraced the realities of life. I've always mentioned that I am an idealist. I still am. I think.
If I would give my younger self advice, this would be it:
Five things :
1. "Charisma without character is postponed calamity." --Peter Ajisafe
Be careful who you trust, specially those who make it their job for you to like them. Fidelity created by money will be broken for money. On Sunday church I learned, there are two sacrifices.
Sacrifice that benefits the self, and sacrifice that benefits others. The road between the two will eventually diverge. Wish them well and walk your own with the people who shares your vision. There are only a few self-sacrificing people, and that is fine, because you will attract one another.
2. Life isn't fair - and it never will be. Don't rely on the government, your friends, not even your family. Rely only in God and take ownership of your life. Don't play the victim.
3. When choosing your circle, it should always be character over skill - because skills can easily be taught, but character? That's priceless.
Surround yourself with people you want to be influenced from. It is inevitable that they will. Be very strict about whose character and energy you engage with. Their negativity, drama, toxicity is a strong force. Even just one can poison an entire well from which everyone drinks from.
There is no lack in this world, cut them off, so the right ones can occupy the space they are contaminating.
4. Be part of the solution, never the problem. Nobody likes people who play the blame game and whine. Have you ever seen someone you respect who nests in negativity and complaints?
If you get burned in a trade, you deserve it. But what you do after that is going to be the make or break of who you will become.
5. Finally, embrace pain. You don't have to seek it out, but when it comes, look at it objectively and learn from it. Nobody likes it but pain is necessary for growth.
The sooner you accept these truths, the easier life will be.
But this shouldn't be an excuse to not raise your standards. Always set the bar high but lessen your expectations - I promise you, you'll be happier.
Idealism is good. Everyone should have it in order to build a better future, but we need an equal amount of realism to survive the journey. Seek balance.
As with anything in life, if you want to have the right things, then build the right foundations. And no I'm not just talking about skill, I'm talking about character and integrity. You can't properly reach the "Top" of the path of that which you choose if the foundation you built is weak.
System hopping and FoMo is a bad mix. It's like drinking a mix of Tequila and Milk. It's a common problem traders have and I got tons of this kind of message in my inbox - this guy asked everything in one go and so I'd like to share what I told him in response.
I don't think "hindi mo talaga siya maiiwasan." - you can. it's just that nagpapadala o nafofomo ka sa ibang traders. My advise? Start to unfollow all trader friends na nkikita mo sa social media. And focus on a system that would fit your lifestyle and do that for at least 6 months - don't force systems that aren't compatible with your lifestyle, otherwise, this:
You can also read comments from other traders in the FB post by clicking here.
There was once a man who was known to be an outstanding pianist and a teacher of this art. The teacher was known to be strict in his ways, doing things by his book and as a result, almost all who come to him for lessons eventually become great pianists as well.
But there was one student he just couldn't get through. The student was young, brilliant but unorthodox in playing the piano. After months of training, the teacher and the student were both frustrated with their results.
During one of their breaks, the teacher contemplated what was wrong with this particular student. The student was brilliant as he but didn't quite hit the right keys. Sometimes the pacing would be too fast or too slow, or sometimes the student would use alternative keys instead of the ones in his grand book.
After some time, he had an idea.
The teacher asked the student to pick any piece from their practice sets and play it as the student liked and not by how they usually did it.
The student enjoyed playing and the result was stunning. It was so surreal, the teacher decided to join in.
And with this, the teacher learned something very important:
While he did everything by his book and produced amazing students, he forgot that everyone is unique - in strength and in weaknesses - and by doing everything as he did, he took away his student's creativity. The teacher forgot how to have fun with his art just as he did in his younger years, and it was this unorthodox student that made him remember.
------------------------------------
I tried to recreate the story from an Anime I watched when I was in college. (Nodame Cantabile)
I remember in my early years of mentoring, I did things by the book. It was fun in the beginning. Everybody learns your style and when the perfect opportunity comes, you all make money and everybody is happy. But after the course finishes, this is where the real test begins. I found out there's a high mortality rate and my mentees would often feel lost. And while this is part of the whole "process," I later realized It wasn't all because of the students, and that they didn't try hard enough - in fact, they did.
The core of the problem wasn't the system as well as it was highly adaptable in any market conditions as long as you followed certain parameters and principles. The problem was the putting of students in a box and giving them a plug and play mindset towards trading.
Just like the pianist, I forgot the uniqueness of each person, their strengths and weaknesses, and most importantly, their circumstances in life.
If your student wasn't comfortable with playing bounces even if it gave the best returns in the shortest amount of time, then don't force him to do it. There are tons of other setups to choose from! If you're a full-time trader, don't force your ideology that being a full-time trader is better than being part-time and vice versa. Wag mo e-pressure. It might be easy to say because you're already set in life - but what if that mentee has a family to feed and no other source of income?
It took a while for me to realize this.
------------------------------------
It's been such a ride looking back on my experiences as a student, trader, and mentor of the markets. I guess what I'm trying to say here is this:
In every progression, don't forget to have fun.
You can't spell Chart without ART.
(Snippet from a Reaction Paper from one of our Masterclass Students.)
There are days when people message me on my page asking for help because they want to go full time into trading. Syempre tatanong muna ako bakit nila gusto gawin yun. And usually, it's because of a major life event, eto yung top 3:
Kaka-break sa jowa.
Pagod na sa buhay abroad.
Nawalan/Mawawalan ng trabaho. (top 1)
I understand that me being a full-time trader and fragments of my documented journey through my blogs brought about some kind of inspiration for many to follow the same path. But what people forget is the time I spent mastering the craft. I didn't magically become good at trading overnight. Siguro 3 years din akong nag dusa sa "trusting the process" before I finally became profitable (net profit by the end of the year kahit na maraming losing trades). And magnanine years na ako this year.
When people tell me na "wala kasi akong oras para aralin yung stock market", I usually reply "In short, di mo priority." And that's okay. Ganyan din ako dati. Di ko priority kasi I didn't see the potential in it before - until "life happened" and I saw the opportunity. Then my priorities changed, less time para gumala and do stupid shit and more time learning about trading stocks.
Points ko lang dito:
1. Don't go full time into trading or investing if you're not prepared. Otherwise, magsusunog ka lang ng pera. Sunugin mo nalang ng literal para at least, nahawakan mo pa.
2. Respect the process. Professional doctors, athletes, etc spend many years in their craft before they earn their titles. Trading is no different. If kumita ka on day one, pwedeng sinwerte ka lang. But how long before your luck runs out?
3. Prioritize mo rin sarili mo. Invest in yourself and invest early. You can't help anyone if you're stuck, depressed or dead right?
Many consider trading as a performance sport. And if professional athletes have coaches, I have my own.
Meet my trading psychologist/peak performance coach Rooting For Celeste. And let me give you a glimpse of what she does.
-------------------------
Today was quite interesting for me as I started to dive into the FX markets with real money. 400USD lang muna since newbie pa and getting a feel of things.
Take note:
1. I have a system I am adapting into.
2. I know the rules and how to execute them.
3. I have mentors that are currently guiding me.
And as you all know, our beloved PSE went wild today with several issues flying - 8 in my watch-list, 3 of which were in my port ready for selling for a switchblade.
It was chaos.
By the end of the trading day, I hit at least 500k in profits and took a nap. Pag-gising ko, BOOM! 400USD in my FX account got decimated and I am left with a measly 22 bucks. 18k pesos down the drain.
Dali-dali akong pumunta sa workstation ko and went Sherlock on my trading day. And in these special cases, called my coach for help. I wish people can see how these sessions are done, iba grabe! You know that feeling when you're a level 2 trader and you just "discovered" a high probability setup while doing your backtesting and you think to yourself "this is the shit that my life has been missing!" - that's the kind of feeling I get whenever I have these psych sessions. Will try to record an actual session one of these days so you know what I mean.
After the session, we got to identify what went wrong. I traded even if:
1. I didn't get enough sleep.
2. I lacked the focus.
3. My current psychological state wasn't sharp and healthy.
4. I was busy doing other things I shouldn't have been doing during trading hours.
5. I was aware that I was getting high on certain negative emotions (manifested by my right leg restlessly fidgeting.)
Consider this: Professional athletes make sure they are at the optimal condition when they play or fight. Because it would be stupid to play at the championships when you're injured - physically or psychologically. And today, I was stupid.
There are things you discover about yourself on your own and that's cool if you do. But its amazing when you are able to unlock and see yourself through the elusive 3rd and 4th panes of Johari's window.
I knew what I was supposed to do, but I messed up on my actual execution. I may not have lost 100k pesos today, which is my initial psychological pain threshold, but I lost a certain level of discipline which I need to recover as soon as I can. I'm sure that you are aware that big institutions that handle millions and billions of funds have risk managers and performance coaches employed to help their fund managers. Because a single professional fund manager that is left unchecked, no matter the years of experience, has the potential to deal enormous damage to their funds. At kung ginagawa nila, why not we retail traders do the same? This is one of the reasons why we advocate having accountability groups/partners in trading. Hirap kasi pag wala kang kausap at ka de-brief sa mga ganitong bagay diba? Wag lang kayo mag hawakan ng kamay pag pareho kayong naipit. Hindi ito prayer meeting.
So always remind your accountability buddy to CUT THEIR LOSSES
Thankfully, I have a beautiful performance and psych coach keeping an eye on me, making sure I don't dig my own grave.
