4/17/2026 - A big mistake is to think of mindset purely in emotional terms. Imagine two intersecting dimensions drawn as X and Y axes. Positive/negative mindset might be the Y axis, describing our emotional mind frame. The X axis might be focused/distracted, capturing our cognitive state. We can be distracted because we're fatigued or disorganized in our process, not necessarily because of emotional factors. Focus does not have to imply freedom from emotion. That sniper who is laser focused on a target is also in a super aggressive state.
Of course, the worst quadrant for trading is to be negative in our emotionality and distracted. The two feed one another. When we are positive in our emotional state and opportunity focused, that is when we are most likely to be open to what markets are doing and receptive to patterns that emerge. One reason I like to start my market day with research is that it is inherently opportunity-focused.
A great exercise for breaks in the trading day: Draw the X and Y axes and then identify where you're at in your focus and your emotional state. Stepping back from trading and getting back into sniper mode through biofeedback, meditation, visualization, and searching/researching can turn your trading day around and build the right habits for your trading psychology.
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4/16/2026 - What upsets the mindsets of many traders is frustration. They don't want to lose money and they wait patiently for a good entry setup and the market roars ahead without them. They are careful to not lose too much money and end up stopping out at the worst time. They want to make money, markets are slow and choppy. All of these are frustration scenarios that traders are familiar with.
Another kind of frustration is frustration with ourselves. We don't do our homework thoroughly and miss an opportunity. We break one of our own rules and lose too much money. We take a vacation at the worst possible time to be away from screens.
All of us have been there and done that. It's not that successful traders don't get frustrated; it's that they channel their frustration productively. Very often, we're frustrated because we know better and sense that we could be making better decisions. The frustration can become a prod to tighten up our processes and do the right things.
In the upcoming "Ask Me Anything" webinar with Agnieszka Wood (Wednesday, April 29th at 7 PM ET), we'll be fielding questions from traders and helping them use their frustrations for self-improvement rather than self-blame. Our frustrations are there for a reason and have something to teach us. I look forward to learning together!
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4/15/2026 - Here's a mindset factor that I've found consistently differentiates the best from the rest. The majority of traders reach out for coaching help when they're struggling. By that time, they've tried everything they can think of. It hasn't worked, and they're frustrated. A big part of the coaching is getting past that frustration so that they can approach opportunity and risk in a different way.
The best traders and teams, however, reach out when they're doing well. They are energized by their success, and they're looking to grow their businesses. Their goal is to get to that next level of success, and to do that, they have to understand what has worked for them to this point and how they can build upon it.
In the majority of cases, the request for coaching is driven by need. Among the best traders, however, the coaching is all about defining, expanding, and achieving a vision. It's great to identify and correct weaknesses--all great performers do that--but simply eliminating the negative will not achieve the positive. As I mentioned in my recent talk at the SMB summit, you are meant to do something great. The right coach never loses sight of who and what you're meant to be.
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4/14/2026 - Quite a while ago I wrote a blog post called The Devon Principle. If you weren't around 20 years ago when I wrote it, it's worth a read. The basic idea is that we are always absorbing life experience. What we do and who we do it with become parts of us. Many times, we find ourselves in the wrong mindsets--with diminished energy and productivity--because we're doing things in life that don't play to our strengths. The wrong jobs/careers, the wrong relationships: these drain us. When we are doing what we love doing and do best, our efforts *bring* us energy.
What about the *process* of trading most excites you, plays to the best within you, and represents your unique talents? If what excites you is merely P/L, you'll always be vulnerable during inevitable periods of drawdown. The key to success is finding a way to engage markets that also engages what we love doing.
Life is way too short to be lived without passion.
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4/13/2026 - How does mindset help us win in life? In the middle of the night it came to me: In an ideal mindset, we approach life as venture capitalists, looking to invest ourselves in people and activities that are amazing, unique, and promising. Put yourself in as many interesting situations and opportunities as possible. The adventure is seeing what stands out as worthy of investing your time and energy. That mindset sees the world as a place of limitless creativity where there are always people who inspire.
Too often, in markets and relationships, people focus on how they can avoid getting hurt and so they never truly invest themselves in the opportunities that are all around them. When Margie and I went on a cruise to Alaska, we were amazed at the icebergs and the wildlife on those. Our ship was too large, however, to get very close. So we rented out a small boat and an experienced guide and went right up to the birds and seals and caught a sweet view of a whale. It was a bumpy ride, and it led to a lifetime of memories.
Dream often.
Dream big.
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4/12/2026 - If I had to identify one mindset quality setting successful traders apart from the others, it would be a *hungry* mindset. The really good traders actively look for where they might be wrong. They love information and making sense of information. They dig and dig: in news reports, in conversations with other traders, in their readings. Because they're integrating more information, their views tend to be more nuanced. For instance, they'll dissect an inflation report, drilling down to various parts of the economy, to identify relative winners and losers. They don't just say, "Stocks are going down because inflation is rising".
The desire to know--that intellectual curiosity--came through as a primary predictor of success in the research I conducted at several hedge funds. Very often, the confident mindset and the defeated mindset are focused on one or two things, such as recent wins and losses. When a trader hungers for the big picture, they're more likely to come up with multiple ideas and big ideas. The best traders demonstrate that intellectual hunger in other parts of their lives and at previous points in their life histories. It's a talent, not just a skill.
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For the recently successful traders, it's as if they are looking for what is stretched and where they might take profits or hedge when things go their way. When things are going against them, they're looking for areas where good trades now are becoming great trades. They are sized in such a way that they are never really big or small in an idea...they always leave room for getting bigger or smaller. Instead of trying to predict how things will go in world events, they're creating multiple scenarios and preparing themselves to pounce once one of those is playing out.
A flexible mindset creates flexibility in trading.
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