Moving Forward by Giving Back

Over a most enjoyable lunch with Francisca Serrano and Sergio Malagon, one topic that came up was "giving back".  Both made the point that the students who attend their classes make particular efforts to share ideas and experiences with one another.  As a result, the number of teachers expands exponentially, as everyone is both teacher and learner.  When they first asked me to speak at their Madrid workshop, they made it clear that proceeds would go to a cancer research charity--particularly meaningful, given Francisca's experience as a cancer patient.

This topic came up in my interview with Ima Sanchis of La Vanguardia.  How can one maintain emotional balance when periods of uncertainty and loss are assured in trading?  One answer is that successful trading must become more than a profit/loss figure at the end of a day, month, or year.  Successful trading is an opportunity to learn and develop, to participate in the learning and development of others, and to use the proceeds of success to make the world a better place.  Francisca and Sergio provided an excellent example of tapping into deep personal motivations to energize their development as traders and trading educators.

One way to give back is to leverage the online medium to share ideas broadly.  That is the great strength of StockTwits, as well as trading blogs.  Through webinars, the world becomes a classroom, with the potential to apply lessons to markets in real time.  In that vein, I look forward to participating with the Big Mike Trading Forum in a free seminar on trading psychology on Tuesday, June 17th at 4:30 PM ET.  The focus will be on specific psychological techniques for dealing with the most common--and challenging--emotional disruptions of trading.  Registration for the GoToMeeting session is available for all TraderFeed readers and Forum participants.

If past experience holds, giving away ideas and techniques will lead to worthwhile contacts with others eager to share their work and we will all profit.  It's yet another way in which trading is like life:  best lived as a team sport.

Further Reading:  Teamwork and Trading Success
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