11/1/2026 - Peak performers keep growing. They experience success--and then push the boundaries of performance to create even greater successes. An excellent example of this can be found in Market Wizards: The Next Generation by Jack Schwager and George Coyle. The authors explain that "Even very successful day traders tend to discover that they can do even better by lengthening the average holding periods of their trades" (p. 32). They cite Kristjan Kullamagi, who found that expanding his holding period made trading less stressful and less time consuming (p. 32). They also cite Lance Breitstein, who achieved his best performance years after expanding his holding period (p. 32).
Of course, these Wizards did not simply expand the holding periods of all of their trades. They developed criteria for figuring out which trades are worth stopping out of; which are appropriate as short-term opportunities; and which have the potential for larger moves over longer holding periods. I believe that this meant that the Wizards became keen observers of market environments--and keenly able to adapt to the environments they were in.
The peak performance idea is that, even after distinctive success, great performers keep working on their games and keep getting better. That means that they always see room for improvement. Breitstein, in his Wizard interview, advises developing traders: "Don't have any limiting beliefs...Limiting beliefs will limit you" (p. 76). After success, there can always be new ways to improve and new challenges to pursue. Peak performance is about constantly raising the bar. The greatest limiting belief is the belief in the need for comfort. Greatness is a process, not an end point.
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10/30/2026 - To win the game, we have to stay in the game. When we read the accounts of the Market Wizards, we see the fascinating combination of tight risk management and the ability to go after situations that prove to be promising. Many of the Wizards claim to have a win rate not significantly different from 50% in their trades. They are hugely successful by keeping losses small, recognizing when the market is going their way, and sizing up trades that are working. It's the money management that occurs *after* the initial entry that differentiates success and failure.
Great traders have a process for trade management and money management that is as detailed as their processes for finding opportunities. They know when to hedge, and they know when to size up--and all of those are rule-based.
Very recently, we've seen a hack of a crypto exchange that has resulted in significant losses. I agree with Paul Krugman that this may be an early indication of vulnerabilities associated with artificial intelligence. Certainly we've heard of warnings coming from AI firms and experts themselves.
To win the game, we must stay in the game. What if internet connectivity is lost due to hacks? How will that impact commerce? Bank access? Financial markets? A winning approach to life is to go for opportunities and also hedge risks.
We have new risks on the horizon.
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10/29/2026 - An interesting observation from the book Daily Rituals: How Great Minds Make Time, Find Inspiration, and Get to Work by Mason Currey is that great artists, scientists, writers, and creative geniuses are productive in large part because of how they organize time. They all have daily routines/rituals that enable them to get work done, and they use that time to absorb themselves in their work. When we read through the Market Wizards texts, it becomes clear that great traders do much of the same thing: they develop rigorous routines that tap into their capacity to generate ideas and exploit those. I particularly like the quote from science fiction writer Octavia Butler in the follow up book Daily Rituals: Women at Work: "Screw inspiration". She wrote each day no matter what. Productive, successful people don't work when they're inspired; they immerse themselves in their efforts and that eventually leads to inspiration.
Peak performance follows from "daily rituals": things that we do each day that provide us with a depth of experience and that expand our abilities. This challenges our notion of creativity as a sudden lightning bolt that strikes us. Creativity comes from immersion in the act of creating: the insights come because we have seen more and different things. This is important with respect to peak performance in markets. If we are focused on trading, we don't necessarily immerse ourselves in markets. It's the rituals that keep us focused on markets that enable us to generate creative insights.
Everything that is important in trading needs its own processes--its own absorbing rituals.
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10/28/2026 - One of the best books I've read in a while is Protocols by neuroscientist Andrew Huberman, Ph.D. It is a collection of research-based best practices for health and wellbeing in just about every facet of life. Some of the best practices are simple and straightforward, such as "view bright light in the first hour after waking to increase your morning cortisol levels" (p. 359) and "stay hydrated" (p. 317). Others are a little more complex, such as "incorporate micro rests into your learning bouts" (p. 486) and "resolve inner pain points through expressive writing" (p. 527). In all, there are protocols for sleep, exercise, stress control, nutrition, light, focus/motivation, and personal growth, the sum of which Huberman calls "an operating manual for the human body".
Peak performance results from the combination and integration of these protocols, which requires a sustained sense of purpose. The protocols are elements in a life workout, and the peak performer is treating each day as training. Too often we go from activity to activity without clear goals and without sustained intention. Organizing our lives by protocols for how we eat, exercise, sleep, motivate ourselves, etc. becomes a structured approach to personal growth.
Another way of putting it is that we cannot grow in our lives if we're not pushing our limits and growing in our daily activities. Routines are necessary for efficiency; protocols are necessary for growth. The peak performance life is one in which exercising our protocols becomes routine.
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10/27/2026 - Peak performance demands resilience. When we seek challenging goals--and continually move our goal posts forward--we inevitably fall short at times. The safety of doing things comfortably ensures a lack of growth. Successful performance requires challenge, but that also ensures setbacks. The peak performer is one who is energized by the challenges that setbacks bring.
Nowhere is this more true than in trading. In the best of situations, it is not unusual to lose on a sizable portion of one's trades. When markets change and become less predictable, those losses can grow quickly. This is why Tom Hougaard titled his book "Best Loser Wins". Success requires persistence in the face of inevitable loss. The great trader is one who learns from loss and thus turns it into a success.
In their book Momo Traders, Brady Dahl and Nathan Michaud refer to trading as a "journey without a guaranteed destination" (p. 286). They point out that "even after years of learning, hundreds of hours spent in the chair, once profitability is attained, it still must constantly be sustained. The market is ever-changing. Not only must you claw your way to the top, you must fight to stay there, too" (p. 286).
A peak performer has a process for losing. They review performance, they solicit feedback, they embrace the loss as something that will teach them how to succeed in the future. And when a peak performer wins? They review performance, they solicit feedback, and they embrace the victory as something that will teach them how to succeed going forward.
Losing, winning: all are fuel for improvement for a peak performer. As Tom Basso notes above, a loss that results in learning is an important win. That enables us to face challenge with serenity.
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10/26/2026 - We can be super productive without burning out.
Imagine someone who goes to the gym day after day and works out obsessively. Eventually their body breaks down and they collapse and need to rest. Then, at some point, they go back to their obsessive routine, feeling guilty that they took time off.
It is difficult to imagine that such a workout routine would lead to fitness--either physical or emotional.
It's not so unusual for people to approach their work in a similar fashion--including their work in markets. They pour themselves into their efforts, only to hit a point of exhaustion and a need to withdraw. Their routines become cycles of overwork and collapse.
Cal Newport, in his book Slow Productivity, describes "the lost art of accomplishment without burnout". He advises, "Don't rush your most important work. Allow it instead to unfold along a sustainable timeline, with variations in intensity, in settings conducive to brilliance" (p. 116).
That sounds a lot like the strategy of a distance runner. Keep it sustainable and leave yourself the opportunity to sprint when you need to. An interesting part of his advice is to work "in settings conducive to brilliance". When we're in an inspiring setting--whether it be the right team environment or the right physical space--our efforts give energy. We don't burn out.
Peak performance requires working at a pace that enables us to sustain the highest quality of our effort. Life is a marathon, not a sprint. How we approach trading will determine the sustainability of our success.
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Every change begins with a challenge--a pushing of our boundaries. And when that challenge itself becomes routine, we push the envelope even further. When this kind of peak performance is an ongoing quality of our lives, the result is an internalized sense of mastery. Each thing we do--in our family lives, in our physical development, in our trading, in our relationships--can be taken to a higher level. That helps us live life at a higher level, with greater inspiration, energy, and fulfillment.
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