24.04.2022

Trading in the Zone

Anyone who learns how to place orders, open and close positions can claim to be a trader.  But when comparing the properties and qualities of steadily earning traders and most other market participants, it turns out that there is little in common between them.

 (Mark Douglas)

To say that Mark Douglas is an experienced trader is to simplify the scale of his personality to the level of a linear diagram.  This man has been studying the psychology of trading for more than 17 years and was what is commonly called a coach for brokers.

Over the years, he came to the conclusion that the main obstacle to success is the way a person thinks, which is not consistent with the principles of the functioning of the market.

More precisely: the uncertainty, doubts and fears that are inherent in a person are powerfully fueled by the natural chaos and illogicality that reign in any asset market.

This leads to the fact that only a few are able to consistently earn on the exchanges. Good long-term results are shown only by confident, cold-blooded and disciplined traders.

You might say: “I’m no robot! I can’t turn off my emotions!  Does that mean I have no chances?”

That ain’t true.

You can become successful in the market if you learn to think like a trader, that is, react to failures with a cool head and take responsibility for them. Any fear and uncertainty provoke reckless actions that lead to losses. What you fear is what you end up attracting. But if you learn to remain calm, then the chaos of the market will obey you.

Go to the stock exchange as you would to a boring office job: disciplined, but without emotions, without expectations, without anxiety. 

How to achieve this?

Mark Douglas is sure that nothing is impossible and gives a lot of sensible advice for practicing traders:

• How not to succumb to the euphoria of an easy victory?
• What does taking responsibility mean?
• What is risk taking?
• How to learn to accept defeat in cold blood?
• Why does intuition deceive less often than fundamental analysis?
• Why does fighting stress make it even worse?

If you are ready to master 240 pages of text, then you are more than guaranteed to comprehend Zen.

Buy book here

If you are used to audiobooks then listen to it here

Mark Douglas is the main inspiration of the Letit trading terminal.

His seminal book has become a philosophical basis for creating an intelligent assistant on exchange, an AI predictor.

Best quotes from “Trading in the Zone: Master the Market with Confidence, Discipline, and a Winning Attitude” by Mark Douglas:

“If you are unable to trade without the slightest bit of emotional discomfort (specifically, fear), then you have not learned how to accept the risks inherent in trading”. 

“The defining characteristic that separates the consistent winners from everyone else is this: The winners have attained a mind-set – a unique set of attitudes – that allows them to remain disciplined, focused, and, above all, confident in spite of the adverse conditions. As a result, they are no longer susceptible to the common fears and trading errors that plague everyone else”.

“Even though most people who trade consider themselves responsible adults, only the very best traders have reached a point where they can and do accept complete responsibility for the outcome of any particular trade. Everyone else to one degree or another assumes they are taking responsibility; but the reality is that they want the market to do it for them. The typical trader wants the market to fulfill his expectations, his hopes, and dreams.”