Well, so far so good. The market is behaving as expected today. One thing is for sure, I don’t want to get used to it or take it for granted.
First thanks for your time. My question is: what about oil?
And oil is behaving as expected, which is an indirect answer to the easy question above. Here is a more direct answer – oil is going up. It has nowhere else to go when the global economy is sucking the pipeline like a straw in a delicious, chocolate milkshake. Simply, oil producers have absolutely no incentive to curb the price on a finite commodity the world is addicted to and speculators have absolutely no incentive to quit their gambling with the price of oil. On top of both those reasons for the rise of the price of oil is the fact that the transformation from oil to other forms of energy is finally underway. Oil producers will squeeze every last penny out of the black ooze before oil is finally left alone in the dark holes deep in the earth. More than likely, oil will break the $100 price level sometime in 2011.
Speaking of addiction … Actually, I am referring to the idea that addiction is both a physical and mental phenomenon, with the latter of greater interest, especially as a segue to the question below.
What would be the best recommendation for a book on Neuro-Linguistic Programming in regards to trading?
I am big on the Shakespearean notion that “There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Neuro-linguistic programming is one of those things.
The name sounds high tech, yet it is purely descriptive. “Neuro” refers to neurology, our nervous system – the mental pathways our five senses take which allow us to see, hear, feel, taste and smell. “Linguistic” refers to our language ability; how we put together words and phrases to express ourselves, as well as how our “silent language” of movement and gestures reveals our states, thinking styles, and more. “Programming,” taken from computer science, refers to the idea that our thoughts, feelings and actions are like computer software programs. When we change those programs, just as when we change or upgrade software, we immediately get positive changes in our performance. We get immediate improvements in how we think, feel, act, and live.
Can one train his or her mind with regard to becoming a better trader? Absolutely. Does one need a scientist, or better yet, a neurologist, to accomplish this? It wouldn’t be a bad thing, I guess, but I am old school when it comes to improving or changing one’s behavior. Put your nose to the grindstone and get to work. True, our brains are like computers, but never forget, humans program the software that runs the computers, at least for now. If you want to become a better trader, get a book on trading, learn the craft, and then get a book on retraining who you are when it comes to trading. The only recommendation I have for a book is the same one that psychologically turned me around – Trading In The Zone, Mark Douglas.
Trade in the day; invest in your life
