Opening Position January 2008
With technology having advanced
as much as it has, it's easy to forget what life used to be like. Along with
this advancement have come new business models, which of course have crossed
paths with the financial trading industry. Products keep entering the market,
making trading seem like a get-rich-quick scam. We are now faced with black-box
trading systems that promise to make us successful traders just by the click
of a button. When things sound so easy, there is all the more reason to be
suspicious.
Just think about the financial markets for a moment. Why do you think they exist? The answer is simple -- they exist because of the intraday traders who are constantly making bets with each other. Their objective is to get as much as they can, no matter what it takes. All they want to do is outwit their opponent. It's a heartless occupation, but it is because of them that we have financial markets at all. Financial markets are risky and when anything is this dangerous, it creates a type of excitement that cannot be compared to any other activity.
Think about where you fit in amid this whirlwind of activity. You're just a microscopic speck in this huge pool of action, but you, just like everyone else, want your piece of the pie. And the only way you are going to get it is by having total control over your actions.
Being successful in the markets is not merely about number-crunching or blindly following a trading system; it's not even about technical indicators or charting patterns. These are tools designed to help you get an idea of which way prices are heading.
You'll have to take it one step further, though. To become a successful trader, you're going to need a creative edge that makes your methodology unique. The best way to achieve this is to learn as much as you can about the markets but keep an open mind about how you can use what you learn. Instead of focusing on finding that holy grail of trading, learn -- about indicators, trading systems, behavioral patterns, and anything else you can get your hands on.
Your goal should be to understand the markets. They're unique, they have a mind of their own, they're unpredictable, and most important, they are risky. There's more to them than numbers. Your job is to find out what's behind those numbers.
Let that be your goal for 2008.
Jayanthi Gopalakrishnan,
Editor
Originally published in the January 2008 issue of Technical Analysis
of STOCKS & COMMODITIES magazine. All rights reserved. © Copyright
2007, Technical Analysis, Inc.
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