Why did he blow up? The profits he was making weren't enough. He needed to make more, because he wanted to be more. He wasn't enough as he was.
What killed his trading was an illusion: an image of success that ever receded beyond his grasp. Long time readers might recognize this video. It's about the illusions in life that try to change you and what happens when you take great risks to become a different person.
Look hard at the final image of the mechanical doll in the video. That is the trader I knew.
Trading can be an expression of self esteem; it cannot substitute for a self. To change yourself is noble, but only shattered dreams come from efforts to change your self. You will succeed by becoming more of the person you are at your best, not by overreaching in vain hopes of transformation.
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The Doll Face Trader
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The Doll Face Trader
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16 comments:
The art and wisdom of contentment is hard to practice in today's society, much more so in a competitive environment such as trading.
Yes, Brett, I recall the Doll Face video, which I have now shared with my Facebook, so that I can disillusion myself when the going gets tough!
Thanks for the reminder.
I was thinking of getting out the Bug Spray and Zapping that thing off my screen> thought it was a bit odd
Yes but you never said why he blew up?
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Dr. Steenbarger,
Sorry to hear that your acquaintance blew up, but let's put it into perspective: he's lost his money (all of it really? does he still have a car he can sell?) and taken a big hit to his ego. Like the millions who have been fired and have lost or are on the verge of losing their homes. Are they giving up their dreams for good or will they simply rough it out and find a way to get ahead again?
You make a fine point about change (and IMHO, the Doll Face Trader is one of your best posts), but while I believe we should strive for balance in our lives, I'd rather err on the side of overreaching and live with failure than under-reach and die eaten by regrets.
That trader may have lost this round,he may have even been knocked out of this one combat, but it is never over until the fat lady sings: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1tXhJniSEc&feature=player_embedded
Best trading,
Jorge
truly insightful, after a long time i was now trading with some gains now and just as i had closed my trades to book profit an urge inside me asked me to trade again to make more money, i in the end lost some money again...wish i had read your post a few hours ago.
Thank you.
...profound.
Brett, how do you come up with such amazing INSIGHT on a regular basis??
...thank you
I am in bad situation, I managed bad a position and now I have BIG debt I am trying step by step to cancel it, the problem in these cases is try to solve the problem all at once with the risk to blow up yourself without way out
Ah, *this* is really why I read your blog every day. You make a profound point. And Jorge makes an excellent counterpoint. So now that you have Clockwork Orange'd us with a deeply disturbing video, please tell us, Dr. S., where do we draw the line between being the Wright Brothers and being Icarus?
History is equally replete with examples of those who have persevered against all odds and succeeded, and those who failed.
If Edison had given up the quest for a practical electrical filament after try no. 799, you'd be reading this by candle light. On the other hand, Tesla, though equally determined, went to his grave without ever discovering how to transmit power wirelessly.
So where do we draw the line? How do we know when we have "Been All That We Can Be", but no more than that? I'd very much like to hear your further thoughts on this topic.
Dear Dr.Steenbarger,
Reading through your recent and past blog posts, and through painful personal experience, I have realised how important it is to conserve trading capital and trading confidence to see the light of another trading day.
It is my personal experience that money can be made and lost equally easily in the stock market. As you always stress, what really matters is the commitment to trade with spirit and passion. Done that way I am sure the bucks will chase us and we need to just enjoy trading.
Your blogs carry nuggets of profound trading wisdom and anecdotes, which have really changed my perspective of trading. Thank you for all your painstaking effort.
My daughter (who works in UK) who calls stock trading "nothing but gambling", has just ordered a copy of your book, "The Daily Trading Coach: 101 Lessons for Becoming Your Own Trading Psychologist" for me from Amazon UK. I am dying to just get my hands on it!
I would encourage your friend to try to find something positive out of this. People are capable of so much more. If he didn't lose all of his money I would encourage him to go out and give some money away too or donate or volunteer.
And the trader reads this I would say to such trader that anyone who can trade and be even remotely successful can do a lot more.
As in your Daily Trading Coach, you express the importance of only setting goals that one can control. Sometimes one can lose with the best of odds.
We can't always control what happens to us but we can control how we handle it. It may seem a loss but such experiences may often lead to wellspring of potential and the discovery of deeper and more relevant personal truths.
Beyond struggle one may find peace in service. The one who embraces service will never be subjugated to servitude. Beyond the everyday, far above the roof tops of the world, Toward vistas, art, living blazing fire vital and alive, eternally eternal,
Wish your friend the best. Thanks.
King Solomon wrote a lot about this post.
I appreciate the comments and the support. Michele asks a great question. The great person persists in the pursuit of their talent, staying faithful to who they are. (Ayn Rand's book The Fountainhead nicely illustrates this theme). The person who blows up is trying to be someone they're not, as in the video.
Brett
As always Brett-thought provoking insight into the mind of a trader. Keep up the good work.
Paul
As always Brett-thought provoking insight into the mind of a trader. As for your friend:
"Let the fear go around you, through you, over you and when you turn around to lookk back all you will see is yourself"
-Dune
Keep up the good work Brett
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