Interview w/ Mark Douglas - Trading in the Zone Author
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Live Interview w/ Mark Douglas
Author of Trading in the Zone and The Disciplined Trader
The Day My Emini Trading Changed Forever
For several years after my initial foray into the world of Emini Futures Trading, I was encouraged by many fellow traders to read a book. Not just any book... this book I was told, would change my Emini Trading forever. Awesome. Overjoyed I would always inquire each time it was suggested, what are his setups? His time frames? His indicators?
Again and again I was told "It's not that kind of book". Huh? A book about trading with no setups, time frames or indicators? Why that's no trading book at all. At least not for this Emini Trader. Later I would understand that what i was in search of equated to Trading Porn. So I continued the hunt, the search, the endless Googling into the wee hours of the morning... searching for that 1 magic bullet that would put a stop to those pesky stop outs and just put me in the "good" trades.
I mean hey... I was just looking to make money to do good works, why wouldn't God simply manipulate the market on my behalf and stiff a million other traders in the process? I learned painfully that there is no "secret". No secret indicator, time frame, or setup. I also learned "He" makes the rain fall on the just and the unjust. Perplexed, depressed, at the end of my rope, a good friend and soon to be business partner, suggested yet again, I read "Trading in the Zone" by Mark Douglas.
My heart wrenching story is fully detailed here on this very website.
Reading In The Zone
After a dash across town to retrieve the 1(one) Hard Cover Edition available in the city. Years had gone by, but now that I had decided my next stab at salvation was the "book", I had to have it then. No overnight (2 days till Tues.) for this trader. After the hurry, scurry, treasure hunt I parked it in my Lazy-Boy (from my lazy man's guide to sitting kit - thank you HSN) for a cover to cover read. Michael had already told me which chapter held the "stuff" an emerging E-mini Futures Trader like myself needed, but as this point, I wanted the full Monty. If this book didn't open my mind to something new, something different, then my career as an emini trader was coming to a rapid close.
It takes 7.5 hours to listen to the Audiobook . Since I read and then reread many pages, I probably clocked a 10 hour plus sitting. Minus 2 - 5 minute breaks for the obligatory nature call. I never expected to find what was unveiled that evening. I was prepared to learn the proper entry method, even more so, the analysis that lead to the entry. He shut that door pretty quick.
No fear, and a carefree state of mind were far more important than the analysis or the entry. No matter how profound my analysis or deft my entry, long-term success would never be mine until I learned to let go. This burning desire to know what would happen next Mark managed to turn to dust in the wind, with just a few well thought out words.
From A Game Of Skill To Thinking In Probabilities
Of course one needs a basic skill set for putting on and taking off orders, but this late night Googling till my fingers bled, had brought me no closer to consistent profitability than my Fib Guru or any of the other late night posters on forums I'll leave unnamed. Once I understood (not just read), but truly understood that I did not have to know what would happen next to make money... a thousand pound weight was lifted from my shoulders. Until this point, I was convinced that either my Guru, or the other guys on the late night forums who were "killing it", or somebody somewhere...actually knew where the next tick wold be. Right? Is that what you think?
Nobody knows friend. Not me, not you, not nobody. He may have a deep voice, tons of charisma and a swagger in his walk, but God gave it not unto man to know the future. We use our tools of the trade and become pretty good at guessing... some of us do. That night, I finally faced the fact, the black cat in the dark really wasn't there.
Moving Forward As A Real Emini Trader
I was now free to trade instead of hunt. Within 6 months I actually forgot my credit card number. I no longer needed to buy things to find success. Everything I had ever needed was in front of me and more importantly inside of me. I learned to think in probabilities. No longer spending my time and treasure in search of what would happen next, I began to see what was, in the moment... right now.
That was enough. I was now at peace with the market. I could see it and all the participants clearly. There was no conspiracy. The market was not out to get me. Nor was I any longer compelled to beat, break, or outperform Wall Street. It was just me and an endless flow of opportunity.
What's Bugging You?
(from MarkDouglas.com)
What are some of your most pressing trading challenges today ~ or any trading day? More importantly ~ what is it you feel you have yet to accomplish with your trading?
- Do you want to be more consistent?
- Have you realized a steady and upward equity curve?
- Can you take advantage of opportunity when you see it in the markets?
- Do you wonder why you may not follow your rules all the time?
- Have you developed and maintained a professional trader's mindset?
- Are you still afraid of losing?
Tune In Next Friday @ 1:30pm EDT. The answer awaits.
To listen to the broadcast archive from Friday August 21, 2015, click the link below
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