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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My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man's doing but my own. I am the force; I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze. My choice; my responsibility; win or lose, only I hold the key to my destiny…Elaine Maxwell
Independence Day is the ultimate celebration of the United States of America. It is a time of reflection and celebration that culminates in the glorious and colorful spectacle of fireworks.
The majority of people who come into the financial markets do so because they want independence. They want to break free from the chains that bind them to working for someone else. They want to be their own boss, make their own decisions, be able to work from home and have a better life. For these traders and investors, success equates to financial and personal freedom.
I believe that everyone can attain personal and financial success. In the highly volatile and competitive environment of the financial markets, however, the attributes necessary for success must be honed with precision. They must be practiced and carried out in a consistent and disciplined manner. In-depth studies show traders and investors who operate at the highest levels of profitability have certain elements in common. It is the repetitive, consistent and diligent application of these principles of success that is the hallmark of market success.
An example of someone who epitomizes these qualities is our very own John Lansing, the founder of www.trending123.com. I've had the privilege of communicating with John for many years and through many market cycles.
I urge you to make a promise to yourself right now to observe and model these qualities, and you will begin to grasp what it takes to be successful -- both in the markets and as a human being. The more you watch and listen, the more you will see the following prerequisites for success.
- Self motivation and total commitment. This is the willingness and dedication to do the work. It is a total investment of energy in learning what and how to trade.
- Intellectual independence. This is the rare ability to stand in your integrity and trust your own judgment in the face of many who will oppose you or try to dissuade you from what you think is the proper course result based on your own study and experience.
- Unwavering self-confidence. This is not to be confused with overconfidence, a cognitive bias that causes traders and investors to assume they know more than they really do. Rather, this is almost an epiphany that comes as a kind of "Ah-ha!" moment. It is the realization that your brain can learn and accept the truth as you apply it with positive results to make consistent trading profits.
- Radical honesty with yourself. This is the journey that takes the longest and is often the most difficult to achieve. Because of the way our brains are designed, the biggest lies are the lies we tell ourselves. To get to success, it is necessary to get past this "stinking thinking" and be able to accept yourself for exactly who you are. I have never met a perfect human being. We are each unique and quirky. It is only through total acceptance of oneself that one gains the strength to persevere through any situation in trading and in life. This is how we become brave, courageous warriors on the market battlefield.
- Absolute and total commitment. When you are really committed to making money in the markets, you know it. It feels like a switch turning on inside of you. Traders have told me that they struggled for years until one day, "the earth moved and I felt it inside of me." That was the moment of true commitment. There is that time for every serious trader and investor when they finally "get" that this is not about the money. It is about total dedication to the process of the work itself, and money is a byproduct.
I suggest that each of you take some serious time from the celebration, barbeques, picnics and fireworks this weekend to pick one of these five factors, write it in your trading journal, make time every day to write about it and incorporate it into your journal for the week. Keep doing it until you are ready to move to the next success criterion. You can do it! You can prevail and you can have every bit of financial and personal freedom that you dream about. All it takes to turn your dreams into reality is the willingness to look at yourself in the context of these five factors. It's time to begin now. If not now, then when?
I know the price of success: dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen…Frank Lloyd Wright
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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