The vertical thinker says, “I know what I am looking for.” The lateral thinker says, “I am looking but I won’t know what I am looking for until I have found it.”
• It doesn’t matter what you think, it’s what the market does that matters.
• What matters can be measured, so keep refining your measurements.
• You don’t need to know when something will happen to know that it will.
• Successful trading is a probabilistic business, so plan accordingly.
• There is an edge to be gained in every aspect of your trading system.
• Everyone is fallible, even you, so your system must take this into account.
• Trading means losing as well as winning, something you must learn to live with.
• Trend followers are right for the trend and wrong at each end. • Seykota: “A system should support and reflect the attitude of a trader.”
• Seykota: “There is no best system any more than there is a best car. There might however be a best car for you.”
• Seykota: “If you can’t afford to lose, you can’t afford to trade.”
• Money is only a means of keeping score.
• Taking losses should be easy. You should have them quantified before ever entering the market.
• Trust your trade. If you can’t trust it, don’t trade.
• The exact turning point, the top or bottom, can’t be known until it is over and a matter of record.
• After you take your signals and enter, trading becomes a waiting game.
• The more volatile the market, the less you risk. The less volatile the market, the more you risk.