Janice Dorn, MD, PhD
Neuropsychological Trading Coach
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D., has been a full-time futures trader since 1994. Doctor Janice holds an M.D. in psychiatry and is board-certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in general psychiatry and addiction psychiatry. She holds a Ph.D. in brain anatomy. A graduate of Coach University, she is a pioneer market psychiatrist and financial neurobehaviorist. Doctor Janice has written over 500 articles on the financial markets and coached over 600 traders worldwide. She is the Global Risk Strategist for Ingenieux Wealth Management Group, Sydney, Australia.
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To produce is to draw forth, to invent is to find, to shape is to discover…Martin Buber
I started playing the piano when I was 4 years old. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, but I was pretty good at playing songs completely "by ear," as in without any knowledge of how to read music. By age 6, I took piano lessons with a very old woman who had a nasty habit of lightly slapping my fingers with a ruler whenever I made a mistake. I was forced to practice every day and a timer was set on the piano to ensure that I put in the requisite time. By age 10, I was playing in front of very large audiences. By age 12, I was approached by a promoter who wanted to manage my professional musical career. My parents were in complete shock. What was going on? Was their daughter about to turn into a concert pianist, or a rock star keyboardist or something even more ominous? They did not understand any of this and neither did I.
The promoter took me aside to have a serious conversation about my. He told me I was a prodigy and a true musical artist, but I was not going to make it in the business unless I changed just about everything. In the course of these seemingly interminable discussions, this promoter taught me a powerful life lesson. He told me that I was a true artist, but I was not a craftswoman. I could play anything by ear and sight-read any piece of music placed in front of me. That was the artistry. He then proceeded to tell me that artistry would get me nowhere without learning the craft of becoming a professional pianist. In order to learn the craft, I would have to do all kinds of things like set goals, have a vision, pick just the right piano, understand microphones, learn how to rehearse with an orchestra, become fluent in the legal language of contracts and "package" myself in a certain way. I was 12 years old and couldn't care one bit about this whole "craftsmanship" thing. I loved making music and people loved to hear me play. That was all I cared about and I told him so.
The promoter went on to tell me that artistic success meant being controlled by those who had the money. Success as a craftsperson meant that I was in control of the money and in order to achieve that control I would have to give up everything that was important to me and really learn the business. I told him "no" – and that was that. I was too young, too burdened with family matters and not in that kind of mindset. I wanted to be an artist, have fun and make life as pleasant as possible.
What does this have to do with success in trading and investing? I have written to you on many occasions that trading is a game that combines art and science. Said another way, it is a combination of artistry and craftsmanship. For example, you may be a trader or investor with fabulous instincts about the art of making money in the markets, but you lack knowledge about how this game is really played and are unable to use your artistic and intuitive talents to make money.
We need craftsmanship to achieve trading success. The craft consists of a number of different skills, such as recognizing the difference between hype and true market research. We need to be able to filter out the signals from the massive amount of noise that comes thundering at us during the trading day. Most of all, we need a solid plan and good system that overrides our rat brain and allows us to stay centered and focused.
It is only when we master these crafts that we have the luxury to afford and enhance our intuitive and artistic instincts in the realm of trading. Without the craft (the trading plan, strategy, focus, goals, determination and discipline) we will not be able to win. We will be victimized by our rat brain that does what "feels" like the right thing at that time. This is the equivalent of taking our hard-earned money, putting it in weighted bags and dropping it into the deepest part of the ocean.
If we want to play the great game of trading, we must–first and foremost–become true craftspeople. Once we have mastered this, we have the luxury to slowly introduce the artistry into our financial lives in order to merge our wealth with a healthy, happy and well-balanced life.
At 12-years-old, I did not know this. Now I do. I don't regret the decision I made then, but I am forever indebted to the promoter who taught me my first lesson about money and the meaning of life. Every morning when I sit down at my piano, I am grateful – not to the piano teacher that slapped my hands with the ruler, but to the promoter who taught me my first lesson in how to use the artist within me to craft the life I truly wanted. My wish for you today is that you are able to achieve your vision of becoming a great trader by combining both craft and art as you advance toward the goal of living your best possible life.
An artist's working life is marked by intensive application and intense discipline…John F. Kennedy
Until Next Time,
Good Trading and Brain On!
Janice Dorn, M.D., Ph.D.
janice@thetradingdoctor.com
P.S.—Take a sneak peek at my new book, Personal Responsibility: The Power of You, published in January, 2008, at www.personalresponsibilitybook.com.
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