Mark Douglas Quotes Page 2

“The fact is that if traders really believed that anything could happen at any time, there would be considerably fewer losers and more consistent winners.”

“The hard, cold reality of trading is that every trade has an uncertain outcome.”

“The typical trader doesn’t predefine his risk, cut his losses, or systematically take profits because the typical trader doesn’t believe it’s necessary. The only reason why he would believe it isn’t necessary is that he believes he already knows what’s going to happen next, based on what he perceives is happening in any given ‘now moment.'”

“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.”

“There is a random distribution between wins and losses for any given set of variables that define an edge. In other words, based on the past performance of your edge, you may know that out of the next 20 trades, 12 will be winners and 8 will be losers. What you don’t know is the sequence of wins and losses or how much money the market is going to make available on the winning trades. This truth makes trading a probability or numbers game. When you really believe that trading is simply a probability game, concepts like ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ or ‘win’ and ‘lose’ no longer have the same significance. As a result, your expectations will be in harmony with the possibilities.”

“Those traders who have confidence in their own trades, who trust themselves to do what needs to be done without hesitation, are the ones who become successful. They no longer fear the erratic behavior of the market. They learn to focus on the information that helps them spot opportunities to make a profit, rather than focusing on the information that reinforces their fears.”

“Trading rule 1: Predefine what a loss is in every potential trade.

Trading rule 2: Execute your losing trades immediately upon perception that they exist.

By predefining and cutting your losses short, you are making yourself available to learn the best possible way to let your profits grow.”

“Unless you learn to completely accept the possibility of an uncertain outcome, you will try either consciously or unconsciously to avoid any possibility you define as painful.”

“What makes trading so fascinating and, at the same time, difficult to learn is that you really don’t need lots of skills; you just need a winning attitude.”

“What separates the 'consistently great' athletes and performers from everyone else is their distinct lack of fear of making a mistake.”

“When I put on a trade, all I expect is that something will happen.”

“When you learn the trading skill of risk acceptance, the market will not be able to generate information that you define or interpret as painful.”

“When you learn the trading skill of risk acceptance, the market will not be able to generate information that you define or interpret as painful. If the information the market generates doesn’t have the potential to cause you emotional pain, there’s nothing to avoid. It is just information, telling you what the possibilities are. This is called an objective perspective—one that is not skewed or distorted by what you are afraid is going to happen or not happen.”

“When you operate from the assumption that more or better analysis will create consistency, you will be driven to gather as many market variables as possible into your arsenal of trading tools. But what happens then? You are still disappointed and betrayed by the markets, time and again, because of something you didn’t see or give enough consideration to. It will feel like you can’t trust the markets; but the reality is, you can’t trust yourself.”

“When you trade from a carefree state of mind, everything about your trading changes. Remember, that the primary skill that we are talking about here is simply trading without fear. This is a trading skill. It is the primary trading skill that you will have to aquire to create consistency – to trade without fear.”

“Where does passionate interest come from? My personal view is that it comes from the deepest level of our being—at the level of our true identity. It comes from the part of us that exists beyond the characteristics and personality traits we acquire as a result of our social upbringing.”

“Why do casinos make consistent money on an event that has a random outcome? Because they know that over a series of events, the odds are in their favor. They also know that to realize the benefits of the favorable odds, they have to participate in every event.”

“Why do you think unsuccessful traders are obsessed with market analysis? They crave the sense of certainty that analysis appears to give them. Although few would admit it, the truth is that the typical trader wants to be right on every single trade. He is desperately trying to create certainty where it just doesn’t exist.”

“You can learn how to redefine your trading activities in such a way that you truly accept the risk, and you’re no longer afraid.”

“Your primary goal has to be to learn how to think like a consistently successful trader.”