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That confidence will be shattered when they have to wire more money to their account after their superbly written trading program blows up. |
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The point that I am striving to make is that in order to have genuine confidence, a trader has to ground that confidence in faith. If the feeling of confidence is being created by the trader's ego, then the confidence is in fact false. The confidence that most new traders possess is based on nothing more than quicksand. In other words, the confidence is built upon false evidence that appears real. That is correct for those of you sharp enough to catch it. FEAR. It is the ego operating from a state of fear that generates the illusion of confidence. Most novice traders, told that their confidence is based upon this illusion, would vehemently deny it. However, in almost all cases everything a novice trader does is based on fear. Fear in all cases is evidence (references) that appear real but that are in actuality false. In most cases the evidence presented consists of untested beliefs (our own or others), untested/invalid trading methodologies (our own or others), and references that have not been validated. Confidence is an illusion if it is not founded upon faith in our own references. It is an illusion if it comes from our ego, and involves arrogance and conceit. |
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Confidence must be built on the virtue of faith, and in order for that to happen you must acknowledge how your ego is distorting your perceptions of reality. The level of confidence needed to become an outstanding trader is based on a deep inner conviction of faith that your abilities, and ultimate methodology, will triumph in time. When you have real confidence in your ability as a trader, you will not care what anyone else says about the market direction. Real confidence will allow you to have the persistence to remain with your trading methodology. Your level of confidence will allow you to base your trading perspective on your own research. In fact, when Richard Dennis taught his novice tradersa group who would later be called the "Turtles"he always asked them a simple question to see if they understood. The question was basically along these lines: "If your methodology is telling you to get short sugar tomorrow on the open, and you find out this evening over dinner that I am getting long sugar tomorrow on the open, what do you do?" The only correct answer is "I would still go short sugar on the open." That is real confidence derived from faith, with the ego in check. |
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Allow me to ask you a question: Are you confident that you can drive your car to the dry cleaner? In any type of weather? Of course you are. Why? Is it perhaps your level of faith that derives from your confidence is based upon your own valid references? Would you be interested in having me tell you over the next six pages how to drive there? Why not? |
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