When it comes to finance, politics, and corporate culture conformity is rewarded. There is a homogenous way of thinking almost to the level of military precision. There is a reason for this. It serves a purpose to have everyone moving in the same direction with a swiftness and efficiency that does not leave room for questions and debate in order to take direct action. 

Charismatic leaders and people who have been cultivated in a culture of dogmatic thinking have strong monolithic thought bubbles which they thrive in. Why would they bother to hear from others who don't have what they have? There is a saying that 'if you do what they do, you will get what they have'. So be discerning about which opinions and voices that you let into your mind. Your mind is a temple treat it as such, however, it can also lead to a blind spot and that blind spot can cost you. Sometimes that blind spot can be catastrophic. There is value in asking the question "What am I not seeing?" 

It takes courage to open up and hear what may not be comfortable nor convenient. And it takes a level of bravery in order to take in information from a new point of view. However, as we learn from one another and give value to all voices and perspectives we find out how those lived experiences align with our core values. We may believe that we are living our core values until we choose to take a broadened view to understand the impact our actions have on others and whether or not they have the intended effect on the extended community and the individuals it is comprised of. Are actions actually solving problems? Or are the actions merely cumbersome and performative to feel that we have some sort of control over the inevitable chaos and risk that is inherent in living life in this modern age? 

There will always be risk in life. There will always be elements of chaos and there will always be humans trying to mitigate that risk. We all look at problem-solving in different ways given our life training and lived experiences. We have grown up with discussions of "us" and "them" in one form or fashion. We have learned to devalue certain perspectives given the group that we are a part of. Some of this has to do with survival. Some with priorities and preference. It really doesn't matter how we got there. What matters is what we do with this information. 

It is important to take a step back and look around at the people who are around you. Particularly as a leader. Is it a little too comfortable? Who is your dissenting voice in the crowd and how are they treated? Are they invited and welcomed to the conversation? Is there a sense of emotional safety in order to speak freely? If you have a monolithic and uniform perspective are you exposing yourself by not taking in the full picture? 

When we talk about investing or taking a day trade, we talk about looking at things with multiple timeframe analysis and take in the perspectives of colleagues to make a fully-informed decision. At least with all the best information that we have in the moment. For example, if you take a one-minute trade without taking in overall market sentiment or bias you can find yourself in a very bad place. That is a level of risk that can be seen as reckless or foolish. Yet, so many make decisions based off lack of diverse information. It is one thing to look around a table and see different kinds of faces and that is wonderful! It needs to be taken a step further however, if all of those faces are saying exactly the same thing in exactly the same way then something needs to be looked into further. None of us have had the same experience therefore there should be some different ideas coming to the table. It is in this rich soil of experience that the best decisions are grown.

What are you missing?

What aren't you seeing?

What is another way that we can go about this?

What impact are our actions having on others?

What is the cost of that impact?
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What is the feeling people leave with after interacting with your brand?

These are just a few of the questions that can be addressed in order to focus on co-creation of a more fulfilling, enriching brand experience. 

A new trader said something that set off all my alert sirens in a recent conversation I had with my trading group. They asked about how to make money on "parabolic trades". After further inquiry it was determined that what they were referring to was actually more of a 'morning pop' type of trade and not a full parabolic move. This concerned me for several reasons. 

1. If you don't know the difference between a parabolic move and a 'morning pop' play, you are not experienced enough to be trading them. 
2. In this case the trader had already lost some money and was trying to make it back quickly so as not to cause relationship problems. Trading with a strong fear of loss is NEVER a good place to start. 
3. If you are going to be in a quick trade like the pops off of the open, it is VITAL that you understand the context you are trading in, in relationship to the market and the overall stock trends.
   
4. You can make your woes much worse trying to copy someone else's trade with no awareness of what the chart is telling you.
   

​Let's unpack that more...

What new traders do not realize at their peril is how many things a successful trader needs to consider in order to execute a successful trade. Far too many for me to go into detail here but just some surface level considerations are:

• Overall market bias and trends
• Overall long term stock trends (monthly, daily, weekly)
• Lower and Higher Time frame trends (60', 15', 5', 3', 1' etc.)
• Volume and Spread considerations

These only scratch the surface of a myriad of considerations.

With this said, even with an awareness of the previously mentioned criteria and much much more, most seasoned traders stay away from aggressive morning pops because they know that the risk is often too high for the reward especially when taking a substantial share size. So if seasoned traders aren't doing it noobs shouldn't be anywhere near these types of plays. 

It is NEVER a good idea to trade with money that you are not willing to lose. First, because no trader has a 100% success rate on all trades there are too many variables to make that possible. Second, if your mindset is in a risk avoidant and panicky state most traders will start to take unreasonable risks and will make mistakes because they are not thinking clearly. This will cost them money, dig the hole deeper, and cause the types of nightmare scenarios that it is a trader's job to avoid. Going in with the wrong mindset is probably one of the worst things any trader can do. 

I have heard of stories in the world of gaming where people have paid over a million dollars for a developed character. One that already has all of the cool gear and XP. Traders seem to think they can do something similar by copying trades they see called on Stocktwits or other such sites. But unless you know what you are doing you cannot get in and out of a trade fast enough and at the same price point. So unless you understand what is happening you will not get the same results. You have to earn experience. You have to be able to take in all the information. For people who drive you know the difference between when you had to think about every part of the driving process. All the things you take for granted now that you speed down the highway eating lunch and answering messages with you Car Play or whatever it is that you're doing. As we get more experience we can take in greater amounts of information with quicker speeds. I am not yet to the level that my mentors are, but I can see more now than I did when I started.

Trust as a newer trader that you are not seeing all that you need to see yet. It is during this time of being new that it is better to look for patterns that already have a history of success. (If you want to learn technical patterns take a course from a reputable company and they can teach you what to look for). 

So, although we all want to get to success as quickly as we can, there are no short cuts. It takes time to learn how to spot good patterns and manage them well. Take the time to learn. Trading is definitely more fun that way! Enjoy the journey!