Hi Elliott Waver, In 1984, EWI Founder Robert Prechter won the United States Trading Championship with a then-record 444% return. After Bob won, many subscribers asked for a list of tips, or even a breakdown of his trades, to try and replicate his success. Bob knew that wouldn’t help, so instead, he created a short list of “rules” that every trader needs to be successful. Here’s one: |
The Discipline to Follow Your Method This requirement is so widely understood by the true professionals that among them, it almost sounds like a cliche. Nevertheless, it is such an important cliche that it cannot be sidestepped, ignored, or excepted. Without discipline, you really have no method in the first place. It struck me one day that among a handful of consistently successful professional options and futures traders of my acquaintance, three of them are former Marines. In fact, the only advisor, as ranked by Commodity Traders Consumer Report, consistently to beat my Telephone Hotline record from 1983 to 1985 was a Marine as well (he has retired from the advisory business). Now, this is a ratio way out of proportion to Marines as a percentage of the general population! Why should this anomaly exist? Think about it. At some point in their lives, these people volunteered to serve in an organization which requires, above all, discipline. These are people who asked for the opportunity to go charging through a jungle pointing a bayonet and pitching grenades, surviving on roots and bugs when necessary. That's an overdramatization perhaps, but you get the point. These people knew they were 'tough,' and wanted the chance to prove it. Being 'tough' in this context means having the ability to suppress a host of emotions in order to act in a manner which would strike fear in the hearts of most people. I was never a Marine, but years ago while attending summer school with Georgia's 'Governor's Honors Program,' I was given a psychological test and told that one of my skewed traits was 'tough-mindedness' (as opposed to 'tender-mindedness'). I didn't exactly know what that meant, but after trading and forecasting the markets for fourteen years, it is clear that without that trait, I would have been forced long ago to elect another profession. The pressures are enormous, and they get to everyone, including me. If you are not disciplined, forget the markets. |
Sincerely,  Derek Bruce
Elliott Wave International
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