Lessons From The Next Book

 

5/24/2026 - The next book, tentatively titled Professional Trading Psychology, is going to be a look at trading and trading psychology from the vantage point of successful traders who trade and invest for a living.  In other words, the book will look at the actual trading practices of great traders and how those contribute to their winning psychology.  There are plenty of texts that help developing traders cultivate discipline, avoid emotional trading, etc.  This will be different.  This will be a look at what it takes to be very successful.  As a result, the first part of the book will summarize the lessons of great traders over the years and identify what they do that accounts for their ongoing success.

One of my eye-opening observations is that great traders are genuinely excited about the ideas and themes that they uncover through their research.  Whether they are trading an individual company's stock, the entire stock market, or fresh developments in a particular country or region, they develop a vision of the future and become energized by that vision.  They are not just trading chart patterns or signals or directional hunches.  They see a bigger picture.  Even when the trading is quite detailed and technical, there is an underlying idea that defines the trader's perspective.  And they are excited about that idea.

This fits with the idea that successful money managers and traders treat their work as an entrepreneurial venture.  They develop a vision regarding opportunity and they are consumed by the pursuit of that vision.  And, yes, they reach some dead ends and disappointing avenues, but often they discover their beautiful paths by getting lost in the weeds of research, discussion, and review.  The energy level is not just about making money, because it is sustained even when trades aren't being placed.  The energy level of the great trader is not so different from the energy level of the research scientist or the businessperson pursuing a new venture.  It's about vision and discovery and bringing something new to life.  When you find your path in life--whether it's in your career, in markets, or in relationships--your efforts bring you energy because you are fueled by inspiration.