The power of intention

When I started to trade, about a year ago, it was mostly because of the intellectual challenge. Everybody have their reason to trade, might it be for excitement, money or what not, but I now realize I wanted to beat the game.

When I started my former IT consulting company, some 16 years ago, it was primarily an intellectual challenge. I couldn’t stand be an employee and to be told what to do. I wanted to create my own path and therefore I thought I had to know the sum of what everybody else knew about programming computers, so that there were no paths that were closed for me. A huge challenge, and of course it took a lot of work and a lot of sacrifices were made. I can’t say I ended up knowing that much either, but I picked up a few things down the road.
It was never about the money, it was always about the challenge.

The last year, the year before my trading career started, it was about the money for the first time. With that, I got some perspective and I think that the solutions I developed actually got better. I wasn’t caught up in all the details all the time, I learned to let go.
I wouldn’t say that I intended to make money, it just happened in my mind, I got older perhaps, don’t know.

I think trading is a fascinating game, not only market wize, but what it does to you as a person, or should I say, what you let it do with you.
I realized quite early on, that to succeed in this game, you got to start learing about yourself in the deepest possible way.
Some people just got it, they just have it. They don’t have to spend that much time working with mumbo jumbo personal development. Some are born poker players, snipers and what not.
But we who don’t have it naturally, have to work on it until we are snipers and poker players in our soul and heart.

Lately, I’ve discovered the power of intention.
Every trading session I do, I have an intention to do something. It can be, to spot icebergs, to scalp for one tick only or just watch without taking a trade. Every session, I break down to small pieces, sometimes 30 min slots, depending on how much I’m able to focus that day. If I’m totally off my game, it can as small as 5 min slots, just watching the cummulative delta for 5 min as an example. I also use it when I workout, spending time with my children, reading a book, everything.
– I intend to spend the next hour 100% focused on my daughter. There is no conflict, I don’t have to think about anything else during that time.
– I intend to focus the first five minutes after the open, without taking a trade.
I’ve realized that intention is a very powerful thing and it really works.

Last night, Mark hosted a great webinar on pullbacks in trending environments for the members of thedaytradingroom.com . Mark ended the presentation with a real eye opener for me.
– Ask yourself, why are you in this business! Is it because of the excitement or to make money?
For me, to be honest, it was the game, to beat it, not to make money, although I love money.

– I intend to make money!

/J