I’m currently reading “Predictably Irrational”,  “The Forex Trading Course”, “Leading with Kindness”,  “The Little SAS Book”, “The Blended Learning Book”, “Time Shifting”, a couple books on mental discipline, an aikido book, and a couple python programming books.

This current mix brought me back to a moment years ago – exactly about this time of year during the last recession.  I decided to make a living trading stocks.  There is nothing like learning to trade and trying to pay your bills to focus you.  But that was 6 years ago- and another story.

What lesson that came out of that period was how I could be trading or preparing to trade for hours and I mean hours and hours and yet come out even or worse down for my efforts.  Other days i was so in tune with the process, the markets, and the psychology(both mine and other traders) that I could place one trade in the morning and justify my decision of not looking for a “job”.  On those days I might go into the park with a good book and walk or read in the sunlight.  That life went on for a while – what I and another friend later termed “The Year of Sundays”.

I yearned for an existence that balanced my efforts and growth.  To be profitable enough, and not sacrifice myself to the churning markets.  That “market” can and will take the naive or greedy and spit you out.  I didn’t know what to call this calling- but blended living seems a good name now.  To take the pieces of our lives – the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical parts and give each its due each and every day.  The right mix.

I tried to fine tune the process.  A rather enjoyable personal version of my own “Ground Hog’s Day” – except I didn’t want to ever escape.  Wake, get the mundane out of the way, anchor, assess myself, target goals, protect against risks, take a break, compile trading ideas, watch the market and CNBC, listen to Bloomberg radio, zone in on a trade, wait it out, and exit.  Then I’d work out, or take a walk, or do the other daily rituals that prepare our days.  I was done by noon most days.  

It sounds enviable, yet it was very intense.  Early on, I would have to take a nap some days.  I wish I was a runner back then.  The lessons learned from “Run less, run faster” would have paid off handsomely.  I wish “Enhancing Trader Performance” was written earlier.  Still the 40 or so trading, finance, psychology books I read prepared me enough to let me trade for almost 2 years.  My account size is what forced me back into the 9 to 5 employment life.  You can’t make 5 or 6% and spend 8-12% and expect to keep that going for long.

But I’m still looking for the right mix.