11/26: Reflecting on my journey in the quest to increase my skill level, one thing became obvious only after much time and experience. One of the things I discovered was the best market information and market understanding could be found for free. Having said that, a tremendous amount of dedication and time is necessary to assimilate the wealth of information that is offered. I have spent thousands of dollars on education in the academic and the psychological area's. I have also spent many thousands of dollars trading real-time. All of the effort in real-time trading is valuable, that is with an honest evaluation of the results as it yields experience in general and must be included in ones curriculum. Most of the academic information was of little use in terms of market understanding, simply because 90% of the theory’s taught use price alone as the touchstone. Some of the education acquired was valid and did act as a catalyst for further market research, that being said though, most of what is taught is simply useless in the quest toward professionalism. Most trading seminars are taught over a week or weekend, and are simply regurgitated technical analysis that you can find in any bookstore or within any market software. Additionally, the psychological aspects of trading are never discussed unless you willing to spend thousands on a trading coach, that is if you can find one that understands the market and is willing to work with you. Experts such as Dr. Brett Steenbarger work with Wall Street firms exclusively. In my experience, retraining our brain to think in an extremely fast and agile manner allowing one to reevaluate market action as it occurs, is an ongoing process that the best in their fields, such as Dr. Steenbarger, admit is an ongoing and arduous process. Other guru's, many that charge thousands of dollars for their secret formulas, and years of analysis, leave the student unprepared for the market. The student fails to become an independent thinker and researcher hence the student becomes dependent on the teacher, their learning curve diminishes and the only thing that grows is the pocket book of the guru. Most of the gurus that I studied under all had one thing in common, the strange absence and explanation of one fundamental point; if you asked a handful of traders how a dual auction market functioned and what its purpose is, at best the trader might rejoin, "people buy and people sell". I myself could not answer that question after years of market participation. My question to you~Can you define how the dual auction market functions, and what is its purpose? Those answers are most critical, as they lay the foundation for market understanding. In my experience, simply a cursory understanding of Technical Analysis is not enough to join the ranks of the professional trader, one who creates a great day everyday and makes money consistently. Dig deep and find the answers to those questions within our Auction Market Theory Academy, then start to build a foundation that is strong while developing your art of trading. In closing, a quote from Dr. Steenbarger " Trading the financial markets is among the most challenging of human endeavors. At its best, trading is a celebration of the human mind's capacity to master complexity. Rarely does any single activity so reward individual initiative and the exercise of the reasoning mind. And yet financial rewards are only part of the allure of trading. In mastering the markets, we are called upon to exercise extraordinary self mastery. Like any noble undertaking such as art, science, or athletics, trading is a means of self development in the service of one's training and ideals."

11/27: I have seen many people lured into trading by the tremendous financial rewards the markets offer only to wonder a short time later what the hell just happened. I can remember the touts almost verbatim “You have to trade the emini S&P, you have got to see this, 1000’s a day, be done by lunch”! Maybe most of us believed that in the beginning, if you’re still trading one of two things have happened; your brokerage account has lots of incoming credits from your local bank, or you have dedicated yourself to hard work and study and are succeeding. The market is made up of two general groups, the informed and the uninformed. The professional and the public make up those groups respectively. The uninformed public retail investor typically looks at the market as an investment. Not since stocks in general paid dividends to their stake holders has the market offered any kind of investment. Those who think about the market in that context are uniformed. If I offered you a partnership in a business making some gadget for a large sum, but didn’t offer you any of the profits, but rather only the right to resell your stock at any particular price in the free market to someone at a higher price then you paid, would you consider that to be an investment? I say that it would be more of a gamble! When stocks in general paid dividends, or a share of the profit, you had an investment that yielded real return, and also the right to control and sell your stock certificates at higher price than you paid. The real purpose of the market is to manufacture and merchandise securities. Ever hear of IPO’s, M&A, CDO’s, CLO’s, CMO’s, DERIVATIVES? The group that understands this is the professional trader. You can only become a professional with education and experience. Why do people think they can join the ranks of the best in the world simply with market data, software and a brokerage account is beyond me now, but at one time was closer than I would like to admit! Trading is no different than that of a qualified doctor, engineer, lawyer etc. Actually, I would argue that it is more challenging simply because no day is the same, the speed of decision making has to be extremely fast and agile, and the most important component, that of human nature and emotion. Yet the majority believes that they can look at a screen and trade online with little effort. The facts reveal a different picture. Over 80% of people lose all of their money to the professional trader. For those traders in the ranks of the elite, financial freedom is realized, and the ongoing rewards of self discipline and dedication become a way of life in one of the most complex arrangements on the planet.

11/29: Quote~"First, you must conquer the fear of losing, only then can you conquer the fear of winning." SSK 07'