I have been reviewing the comments on this blog since the beginning so I can reinforce any relevant aspects of Kiki's training. I have found it interesting that the focus of peoples' questions seems to be on the indicators and settings rather than any other aspect.
To me, it is as if a student arrives at medical school and immediately asks: "where do I cut?"
There is so much more to trading than setups. The setups are important, sure, but unless all the other aspects are learned first, the setups are useless and will not make you money. We, and I include myself in the "we",underestimate what is involved in trading because it all looks so easy. We look at a chart with the "magic" indicators and can say, yes, I would have bought here and sold there. Easy! All I need is these indicators and I can quit my job. Those of you who are just beginning, and are hoping for transition into a successful trader, hear of the 90% failure rate but cannot conceive that you, an intelligent and successful person, could fail at something that looks so easy.
Others, who have been struggling, sometimes for years, also smart and previously successful, are painfully frustrated at not being able to understand why "it doesn't work for me".
I'm not a believer in New Year's resolutions, but those of you who are reading this blog to glean something that will assist you in your quest, please take this one thing from the blog: It's not just the information you get, but how you learn it. It's as if you have to implant it into your DNA so its part of you. After teaching a number of people to trade over the years and now with teaching Kiki, I am convinced that Kiki was successful because of how we went about it. I am not trying to blow my own horn here but I really want to emphasize that the "how" is as important as the "what". It seems that the structured progression we worked on together did its job, together with the huge focus and dedication that Kiki imposed upon herself. The actual trading methodology using range bars were part of the story, but it is the cohesive "whole" that did it. I am convinced of that. I'll talk about all this and more at the webinar
And speaking of New Year Resolutions, please remember The Macmillan Cancer Nurses and Kiva.
I think you are selling your readers a bit short with your thoughts in this post.
ReplyDeleteThe first point is, if you want the focus to be on the "how" and not the "what", you should just share your chart definitions on the blog and be done with it. The best educational sites that I have been a part of give you the charts right off the bat for exactly that reason.
I used to train new employees on hospitality software, and I shared your frustration that they always seemed to want to know just what buttons to press and not hear the background first. When I flip-flopped my training schedule and gave them the software first and taught the background second, I found them much less distracted and more responsive to the learning.
Lastly, at least a few of us here are already active traders, with our own setups and charts. Like you have said, good traders are always looking to learn and refine. If there is something in one of your chart settings or indicators that can refine what I do, improving my trading, then I am interested in it.
Hope this helps. There is definitely a difference in methodology when teaching one on one vs. sharing in a blog....
I should add that I do understand your point and agree 100%, the path of learning is critical to your success in this business, and there are no shortcuts to that success!
ReplyDeletebetheball, I don't understand your comment. All the chart definitions have been set out in the blog a number of times. Also, I have offered to provide my MD chart definition file if people email me. This offer still stands.
ReplyDeleteI've never seen you extend the email offer. Maybe you did so in the comments? Not everyone reads the comments, certainly not all of them.
ReplyDeleteI've seen screenshots of a couple of the MD setup screens, but not the CCI or the MAs.
My comment was rather simple. If it bothers you that most of the questions are about chart setups, post the chart setup files on the right side of your blog. That way your readers can see what you see on their own charts and the focus of the comments and questions can move to the more interesting "how".
bethe ball, it's not "bothering" me. What I am emphasising is that there are other parts of the process in becoming a successful trader that are equally impoprtant and are to a great degree ignored by most people. Hence the 90% failure rate.
ReplyDeleteTom,
ReplyDeleteit's absolutely true what you say and you put in the right words. Being able to trade in a consistent way and to let it become second nature (part of the DNA) is something I still work on. My main sources for issues are information overload, putting pressure on oneself and the lack of a real routine. So quite a bit to work on.
@betheball: I asked Tom about his specific indicator setups a few times and others did as well. So with a bit of dedication it is possible to gather the needed information - if one is willing to do so. With a bit more dedication it was possible for me to set everything up with another platform accordingly.