It's an important question. How many of yesteryear's Market Wizards would earn that designation from their recent returns? Not one of the Wizards in the original text was a true quant. If the book were being written for the first time now, we would see several math wizards highlighted.
Times change. Edges in markets change. Today's success does not guarantee a bright tomorrow.
How can we achieve, not just success, but lasting success?
Greatness in trading can be found outside of trading hours. It can be found in how traders prepare for tomorrow's ideas and positions, but it also is found in how traders prepare for the long-term growth of their businesses. A good trader has an edge. The great trader is always developing edges for the future. Great traders treat their craft as a true business, maintaining an ongoing research and development pipeline.
Show me how a trader utilizes their time outside of trading and I'll show you the odds of their long-term success.
One trader I worked with years ago made a spectacular effort to teach himself programming, data management, and quantitative analysis while he held a full time non-trading job. With his new skills, he joined a portfolio management team and together he and his partner achieved multi-million dollar success. It took evenings and weekends of effort to get to the point of being prepared for success.
A major challenge is that traders don't feel they have the time for building their pipelines. They are so busy trading that they have little time and energy for cultivating tomorrow's sources of edge. They try to manage their time and create opportunities for research, but aren't productive in those leftover hours.
In a recent Forbes article, I wrote about how we can find our success by focusing less on time management and instead energizing our time. Happiness inspires productivity, because we are most likely to immerse ourselves in activity that is intrinsically rewarding. When we find opportunities that truly speak to us, the work effort *gives* energy. Research and development is no longer just another task in a to-do list; it is the pursuit of a vision that provides joy and meaning.
This is why so many traders who experience long-term success display unusual intellectual curiosity. They are driven, not just by money, but by the process of discovery. Exercising a strength is not work; it is a high level of play. Our trading success is most likely to last if it is part of a process that exercises our highest capacities. You can find tomorrow's edge in what intrigues you today.
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