PipStop

Life isn't all about trading.

I know, I know, you're shocked. There are so many more priorities in life that take precedence over trading. One of those times are when there are family concerns.

I'm going to be out of the office for two weeks, and it isn't as much a family "concern" as it is a new addition. My wife will be giving birth to our second child this week, and it is naturally a pretty hectic time.

On Friday, we had a big lunch where we ordered in enough Thai food for our entire building, I think. It is a great thing to be able to break bread with those you spend so much time with - and to those who know me, know I love food, and the spread was fabulous. Kudos go out to Jennifer for putting it together.

It was a happy time to be together for one last time before I go off the radar for two weeks (but again those who know me well, know that I will slip in an email here and there).

As we start a new week, it's trading that has brought you here. It is most likely with the thought that becoming a successful trader can help you spend more time doing more things you want to be doing.

At the same time, trading can be all consuming, sapping you of any ability to prioritize and focus on what's truly important to you. I am looking forward to spending the vast majority of my next two weeks with my wife, my daughter, and child to come. My challenge to you is to reflect on your life and ensure that the priorities remain straight as you strive to be a more successful trader. 

With that, before everyone scampered home on a late Friday afternoon, I was able to gather those in the office together for a picture. I awkwardly wedged myself in the middle as I ran back to the couch after setting the delay timer, but the picture got all of us in!

Yes we are real people, we don't just occupy some bandwidth in some far away land.

I recently picked up the February issue of Golf Magazine - it was the cover that got me thinking. And yes this does have to relate to trading.

The headline on the cover states, "Revealed: The Best Ball for You." I remember looking at it and thinking (as I often seem to do) "Gee, this is just like trading and all purported ways to be a successful trader there seem to be out there." "Gee, this is just like the trader out there who is looking for the best system, isn't it?"

In all 54 balls were tested. Each ball has a different dynamic that might relate better to a particular golfer than another. So many variables seem to go into something that is so elementary - or is it? Well the article will tell you that it's far from elementary.

What if all golfers played with the same clubs and same balls all over the world? Well studies like the one above have shown that for best chance to succeed customization is needed. In other words you need to know yourself (the mind) and test various clubs and balls (the tools) and practice, practice, practice to become proficient. There are those who don't become proficient despite seemingly having it all together, yet they still continue because they enjoy it.

Now trading isn't quite the same, but similar elements exist. Despite the protestations of many "solutions," there is not one system that will universally catapult one into trading superstardom. True success comes to those very lucky few who just "have it." Even if Tiger Woods never practiced he'd probably still win many tournaments - but Tiger is one in a million.

In reality it requires hard work, commitment, persistence, a shaping of the mind (not becoming too cluttered), as well as the proper tools to give yourself an opportunity to truly be a successful trader. I can safely say that you're probably not a Tiger of trading.  

So the keys that I deduced from my Golf Magazine epiphany is a) discovering who you are, and b) what tools you truly need to succeed - and for this, you need to practice and experiment.

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Trading isn't just a self-contained activity. It touches all areas of our lives, and for that reason it seems we can relate it to anything we deem to be of value.

I love to golf, but I have never golfed less in my life. That has to do with a variety of different things, including being with a growing family. So it seems quite timely that I read in The New York Times how more Americans are giving up golf. It's really an indication of how busy we are. 

I say all this, and see that Titleist has released a new Scotty Cameron putter, and I begin to wonder what it'd feel like in my hands ... 

Trading site of the week: www.leftbraintrading.com

If we were an issue-less people, I'm sure we would all be fairly successful traders. We'd be successful because we'd come across logical trading systems and we wouldn't let what truly impede the masses deter us from true success.

Last night, I invited two guests to the Vancouver Forex Trading Meet-up. Lewis Evans, who is the author of Left Brain Trading and his wife Olga Sheean presented on two topics to us: mindset and technique. Olga is the mindset guru, and Lewis is the technique guy who introduced us all to the Absolute Fibonacci Framework. 

It was an extremely insightful time, and even though conversations with other participants afterwards was mixed - in terms of approach (the comments of "he trades the opposite of how I do" from a technical perspective), the consensus was that what the team of Lewis and Olga presented was definitely with merit, and if anything I think any trader would benefit from buying this book.

While I don't think there is one infallible solution for all, I think Left Brain Trading is definitely something that requires more than an hour presentation to grasp.
  

Just a thought or two on our monthly event that we had yesterday.

For the past half a year or so we've experienced some technology issues with the Adobe Connect platform we use for webinars. Our biggest issue seemed to be with sound quality - it was really hit and miss. 

It was a huge issue for us in the January TP Tuesday, so we quickly worked on a solution and thanks to our IT duo of Frank and Shaz who came up with a great solution this month's event proved to be (knock on wood) free of past issues that we seemed to have been plagued with.

The day went fairly smoothly, and I thank those who presented and those who participated.

With our technology smoothed out now we will add more unique guests - those who have never presented on TP Tuesday before - and we'll make a bigger push for participants. It's a unique event, that I don't really see anyone else doing out there.

So keep an eye out as we'll continue to ramp up TP Tuesdays, and if you didn't know already, we've set the dates for all TP Tuesdays in 2008.

I've been having some great conversations with clients and former clients of Trading Post over the past few days.

It's a great to have an introspective look at how we do things, because we care to do things a heck of a lot better. One thing that I appreciate is the openness of opinion. I can differentiate between level-headedness and irrationality.

Many things have changed at Trading Post, but it's for the better with a long-term look at things. I appreciate the patience of those who are understanding. Our evolution hasn't been as smooth as we'd like, but our bottom line goal remains to make individuals better traders.

I'm getting ready for my Trading Post Tuesday session, which coincidentally is an update of Trading Post for 2008.

To those I have spoken to in the past few days including Michael, Ali, Nancy, Daryl, thank you for your time!

Another Trading Post Tuesday is upon us today (Feb. 19) and it's another full schedule, and I encourage you all to drop by for a session, or for all sessions. It's the only type of webinar buffet you'll find in the Forex industry.  

It gets underway at 8 a.m. (Pacific Time) with Steve Croft's tremendous Mind of a Trader session. We'll see you all there!

The evolution of blogging and of social media in general has been driving transparency in business like never before.

I love this medium because I'm able to reach out to others in the industry, and honestly relay my comments here. One who I have a healthy does of respect for, and who I have mentioned in the past on this blog is Francesc Riverola, CEO of FXStreet.com.

I've been opinionated in sharing my feelings with him, especially as one who has an influential voice in the industry as the head of the largest Forex portal in the world. 

It was therefore great to see his post with his thoughts on the FX Solutions acquisition last week. Keep up the great work Francesc.

It's not just with Francesc, but I communicate with other bloggers and individuals within the industry and I can see how things are changing - not just in the way we're all communicating, but in the way we all do business.
 

I'm always amazed at how substandard and yet how much our Internet access is in North America compared to some progressive parts of our world.

I also was absolutely stumped last week when I received an America Online mailer advertising among other things their DIAL-UP INTERNET SERVICE! I can't believe that there is still any sort of significant market for anything under broadband.

If there is a trader out there with dial-up Internet access, I ask you to stop OR get broadband. Give yourselves the best opportunity for success, and in online trading a capable computer and dedicated Internet access are vital.

Heck, if you don't have broadband (aka high-speed Internet) I plead with you to get it, and I would even go as far as to say Trading Post can make its contribution to your technological progress with a few months of free Online Training Room service.