Now with Dave Landry
What I'm Reading
I'm still consumed with creating the new member's experience (keep reading) that I haven't had time to read much. This will probably be cntrl-c, cntr-v for a while. I did manage to finish The 80/20 Principle: The Secret To Achieving More With Less by Koch. Toward the end he seemed to go a little off tangent by discussing topics such as investments (which I do not agree with as a trader) and happiness (which I am a fan of, but, it didn't seem to fit the book). Overall though, I would definitely recommend it. We all know the Pareto principle, but do we live it? Work to focus on creating more of the 20% of your trades that produces 80% of your results. Do the same for your business, life, etc...
What I'm Thinking About
I'm still thinking a lot about the macro vs. the micro. As mentioned in the last Now, life is really made in minutes. And, since there don't seem to be enough minutes lately, on every activity, I've been asking myself, is this moving me toward or away from my goal? True, all work and no play make Dave a dull boy, so I do allow for some guilty pleasures. However, I'm now forcing myself to recognize a break vs. avoidance behavior.
I found this graphic animation below (from my Master Trading Psychology course) while writing this piece. In your trading, are you being in the moment? Are you moving toward or away from your goals?
What I'm Trading
As I've been preaching, now's the time to take the "can't stand it" test. If you simply cannot sit on your hands because the opportunity looks so great, then take the trade. On anything else, pass-especially given current choppy conditions.
In stocks, I'm long a couple of IPOs (HPR & SURF). The reason that I'm still keen on IPOs now is because they can often trade independently of the indices. "Can" being the key word in that sentence (as I learned this week!)
I'm still long the ETH/XBT pair in the cryptos. Although it's doing quite well (did I just jinx that trade?), the jury is still out on whether trading the crypto pairs will be a viable longer-term strategy. The pairs can trend nicely but can be quite "spikey" at times. In Forex I remain short the EUR/USD based on an hourly pattern. I've taking partial profits an dam allowing the trailing stop on the "free" position to widen with the ultimate goal of having an hourly trade turn into a longer-term trade. In case you're wondering what I'm doing on the hourly, in these efficient markets (especially Forex!), I like trading the hourly because that's where the potential to catch an inefficiency lies, especially when they are coming off of major highs or lows. Keep in mind that I AM NOT daytrading. I might go weeks or even months without a trade here. Also, once in, again, the ultimate goal is to hold on for a long, long, time...
This Week's Content
In working on the member's area (see below), I continue to find some decent content, if I say so myself. This week, I polished up and republished a checklist for traders.
This became fodder for the Week In Charts. Unfortunately, somebody forgot to hit record. So, that one got away. It's a lot of fodder for another time, I suppose. I'll re-record the lecture part first chance.
I did a webinar for MetaStock, showcasing my setup expert advisors (and explorations & templates). It turned out very nice IMHO. Keep an eye out for the recorded link here at DaveLandry.com soon.
Around DaveLandry.com
Same as last week: I'm doing a tremendous amount of work on the website back end. Again, the ultimate goal is to enhance the user experience. I'm making a lot of progress.
I'm making a lot of progress. I now have 60-something lessons in the learning management system (member's area). Once I hit 100 or so, I think I'm going to launch. I'm ready to take on a few beta testers. Let me know if you're interested.
The Holistic Trader
Nothing worth reporting here: I ended up working out of 2 offices, had appointments to keep, plus everything else mentioned threw a wrench into my diet and exercise plans.
Upcoming Appearances
I'm excited to announce the Charles Kirk has invited me to be his special guest for his upcoming retreat in St. Lucia.
On Thursday (05/10/18), I'll be playing the role of Dave Landry in Dave Landry's The Week In Charts. Other than that, my dance card is wide open. Anybody need a clown for their kid's birthday?
May the trend be with you! (and May the Fourth be with you if you're reading this on Friday)
Dave Landry
P.S. Now that you know what I've been up to, leave me a comment below to let me know what you've been doing.