By Gabe Velazquez, Online Trading Academy E-Minis Instructor*
Posted: Mar 5, 2010
As human beings, we have certain built-in emotional characteristics. These have evolved – and rightly so – as survival mechanisms. Fear is one of these emotions. When we're put in a situation in which harm may come to us, fear is what triggers us to recoil or seek a safe harbor. It's almost instinctual that we avoid, or quickly move away from, any situation that might cause us to experience pain.
Conversely, we're attracted (like moths to a bright light) to experiences that provide us with pleasure. Whether it's great food, fabulous wine or lengthy vacations to beautiful destinations, we all desire as many of these things as possible. In fact, marketing agencies make millions of dollars (as do presidential campaigns looking to win elections) by tapping into these feelings of pain, fear and pleasure.
In 1989, a book titled Market Wizards, written by prolific and accomplished author Jack Schwager, was published. It featured interviews with a number of exceptionally talented and successful traders in stocks, options and futures. It proved to be highly successful and popular, a best seller among financial titles. The success of this book spawned a plethora of other "interview" books, most of which, in my opinion, were mediocre in comparison to Market Wizards.
