The Art and Science of Trading Quotes

“It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many times you almost get it right. No one is going to know or care about your failures, and neither should you… All that matters in business is that you get it right once. Then everyone can tell you how lucky you are.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“If you truly understand loss, you can accept that loss, make it a part of who you are, and use it for your success.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“As a trader, your losses are your cost of doing business and you cannot have profits without those losses. You must learn to think over the next 20 trades, not the next single trade. You must avoid attaching too much importance to any outcome.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“you also have to be able to detach your sense of self-worth from your results (because those results will be highly variable), and you must have motivation that goes beyond the markets. The”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“So, here is my “open letter to myself: today, a loser, but tomorrow, probably not:” If you are reading this, it is because you are within ______ of your loss limit today. Let’s slow down and consider how we got here. There are three ways this usually happens. If you got here because you lost track of your risk on a trade or a number of trades, you are just an idiot and I can’t help you. It is also possible that you just aren’t seeing the market clearly today, for whatever reason. Think hard about that. If either of those things are true, maybe you should pack it in and just go home. Tomorrow is a new day. However, it is more likely that today’s market is not the kind of market that plays to your strengths. You have a specific skill set, and within this realm you are probably as good as anyone out there. You understand the ebb and flow of a trending market, and how to press trades in those markets to maximum advantage. You usually don’t get shaken out by noise—you can hold trades in this kind of market better than almost anyone else… and, more often than not, you catch the turn at the end so you know when to get out. You do need to remember that maybe 1 in 5 trading days really rewards this style of trading. Chances are, today is not one of those days or you wouldn’t be reading this right now. What do you do now? Well, first of all take a deep breath and go for a short walk. Now. You are not going to make a brilliant trade in the next 15 seconds. You do not have to be here. In fact, your brain chemistry is compromised so you aren’t quite in your right mind—you cannot make good decisions right now. There is a really good chance the next trade you make will be your last one for the day, and then you can sit there and think about what an idiot you are for the rest of the day. Not pleasant or productive, so go for that walk right now. When you come back to the screen, the right course of action is to chip away at this loss. Think carefully about your next trading decision. You are going to be tempted to put on a lot of risk to try to make a big dent in your loss, but you know that almost never works. On a day you’re really in sync with the market, you can recover this loss in a single trade in a few minutes, but this clearly is not that day or you wouldn’t be reading this right now. Make a few ticks on small size and then use that cushion to take larger risk. Make $10 at first… $5 is even ok. Green is good. Hit singles, not home runs.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“Be careful of “I am ____” language. I am afraid. I am nervous. I am angry. No… you are not. You are feeling afraid, nervous, or angry, but you are not these emotions. Particularly for traders, the flood of emotions can be overwhelming. Simply being aware of the self-talk and natural tendency to think “I am ____”, and then to gently contradict that—this is one way to achieve powerful clarity and perspective.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“Do you take care of your body? Do you walk regularly, or perhaps go to the gym? Move! Is your diet a reflection of who you are and who you want to be? All things in moderation, but it’s hard to imagine performing at an elite level if all you are eating is junk food.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“Change your beliefs, and you change your world. Change your beliefs, and you change yourself.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“Identify where you want to be or what you want to do, and then think about why you are not there. Identify beliefs that have gotten in your way. These are limiting beliefs. Think about these limiting beliefs. Where do they come from? Why do you believe these things? What anchors, things you see or experience, reinforce this belief and lead you to think it is true? What emotions and life experiences are associated with this belief?”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“Sit down with a blank piece of paper and write stream of consciousness lists of your strength and weaknesses. Spend time doing this, and come back to it every day for a week. At the end of the week, edit and categorize the list. Reflect on the list, and let it grow over another week or two. Make sure that you bring your focused attention back to this list several times each day, even if for only a few minutes. Alternatively, make five lists (personal attributes, values, emotional characteristics, habits, needs and desires) and work in filling out those”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“You have to commit to the work and commit to continually evolving as a trader. You must commit to the process.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“In trading, being disciplined means that you are always disciplined.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook

“Do not expect perfect regularity. This applies as much to your trading results and performance as to market action itself—expect that periods of good performance will be followed by lackluster performance. Just know that this is part of the “game”: you’re never as good as it seems during the good periods and never as bad as you feel when things are hard. Your overall performance (and the right way to think about your performance) lies somewhere in the middle.”
― Adam Grimes, The Art and Science of Trading: Course Workbook