Chapter 6 Entry: W - The most effective and functional trading belief that he can acquire is "anything can happen." A - I know he also talks about being open to the opportunities as they come and I felt like these pieces combined into this idea of the market as this ever changing flow and we can't get caught up trying to force what we want to happen on it, instead we have to be open to taking what the market is giving us. A - In my recent "turn around", I've just found myself less concerned about trying to "will" a trade in my favor and more just taking the information that the market is giving me and using that to control the things I can. For instance, just the other day, I took an ORB down on $NVDA, but because I'm more focused now on just taking what the market is giving me, when I saw signals that for me meant I would take a reversal, I closed out of the ORB trade and took the reversal because I was open to anything could happen and I just went with it. Sorry I can't be there in-person anymore :(

W When finding your edge, it is important to apply the basics of trading to your trade. You can have your edge but it doesn’t escape how stocks work no matter how good you think it works. What is needed varies per week as my edge is not totally formed. A Mark said something about how to predefine the risk before entering A Last week it hit me while in a trade and different time frame that I didn’t know where I was going to exit a trade when I got into a trade. I think beyond letting my trades run that I need to define the risk before entering. This week the way that I plan on doing the apply part is to focus on leaving my stop outs on any of my standard range or Moving Average breaks.

Chapter 6 Entry: W - "What the typical trader doesn't realize is that he needs an inner mechanism, in the form of some powerful beliefs, that virtually compels him to perceive the market from a perspective that is always expanding with greater and greater degrees of clarity, and also compels him to always act appropriately, given the psychological conditions and the nature of price movement. The most effective and functional trading belief that he can acquire is "anything can happen." Aside from the fact that it is the truth, it will act as a solid foundation for building every other belief and attitude that he needs to be a successful trader. Without that belief, his mind will automatically, and usually without his conscious awareness, cause him to avoid, block, or rationalize away any information that indicates the market may do something he hasn't accepted as possible." -Mark Douglas A - Mark states that the most fundamental belief every trader must possess if they want to be a successful trader is the belief that "anything can happen" in the market. That means regardless of how much education, talent knowledge, experience the trader has; it will be of no use to the trader until they accept the cold hard fact that the outcome of every trade taken is uncertain and the market is unpredictable. A - Chapter 6 was a wonderful read. I have noticed that in my own trading the more I internalize this belief that "anything can happen" in the market, the more confident I become as a trader. This thinking has freed me psychologically to focus on aspects of my trading that I can control, such as, risk management, exiting my trades and taking profits at levels that I have predetermined with the understanding that no matter how well I execute my plan there is no guaranteed outcome. 🙏

Chapter 6 W: “A trending market is a distinction about the market’s behavior we can ordinarily perceive, but this distinction can easily become invisible if we are operating out of fear. The trend and the opportunity to trade in the direction of that trend don’t become visible until we are out of the trade”. A: Even when the market gives us the most obvious signals and opportunity to take a trade, we fail to recognize them. Our “narrow minds” and the fear of the “unknown” prevent us from perceiving the opportunities with an open mind; prevent us from embracing the unknown (outcome). We need to accept with grace “anything can happen” and be ready.How many times we said to ourselves: “how did I miss that entry ….” “what was I thinking when….” “I should have stayed longer…..” and the list can go on One of the issues I’m still working on.

Chapter 6 As always; Mark doesn't disappoint....this book makes me think and it is so so good. I think for the rest of my forseeable trading career I will reread this once per year (minimum)! I am finding new things & interpreting much differently than 1st time around....I love books like that and "trading bible" is really an appropriate nickname in my humble opinion W - Mark talks about 2 things we must master... "The 1st is to learn to keep your mind focused on the "now moment opportunity flow". The 2nd hurdle has to do with the division of labor between your left & right brain. Your left brain specializes in rational thought, based on prior knowledge. Your right brain specializes in creative thought. It can tap into inspiration, intuition, hunches or sense of knowing that cannot be explained rationally. Ultimate success as a trader cannot be realized until you develop a resolute, unshakeable belief in uncertainty. When we believe in something we operate out of that belief naturally, without struggle or effort. A - Mark is telling us 2 very deep psychological changes we have to make to become successful traders. He literally says this is why so many fail; lack of wanting to psychologically adapt. He states that to focus on the "NOW OPPRTUNITY FLOW" we need to fully believe and embrace uncertainty. That needs to be a part of our core belief system where other beliefs stem from... A - I do believe "anything can happen", but there is work I can do to even further strengthen that belief....I am going to do what I know & further research this and discuss in my chat time in the next week or 2.... I feel like I am fairly decent at acting on my creative thoughts & I easily believe in things I do not see....I believe we can create a lot of our reality and that perception is reality....we can have 2 people in the same room having a completely different experience (one could be enjoying the smells/ambiance/music while the other could be uncomfortable with all of those things....the way we are perceiving the info (in this example smells, visually, etc) based upon our past experiences in life will dictate the state of mind & emotions we elicit about the room or anything else....all these principles can be applied to trading/charts/anything. Lastly - "If anything is possible; there is nothing to avoid"!!! Talk soon!!