100 Trading Quotes To Put Into Action And Change Your Life: The Series Begins

Everybody loves stock trading quotes.  However, for most they are huge time wasters.  Why would someone like me, who posts a quote on Twitter almost every day, say something like that?

It is because most of us read them, think about the meaning for a few seconds, nod and maybe even save the quote, but then forget about it and *never put the message to action*.  What is the point if you're not going to put those important words to use?

A few weeks ago I promised a post with my 100 favorite trading quotes.  After some deliberation, I have decided to create a series and go deeper into each quote.  I will show how I personally have put that quote to use in my own life, be it trading or just to better myself.  Most will apply to trading.

My goal is to complete the 100 trading quotes series in 120 days.  If you have not already, subscribe to make sure you do not miss any and get them directly in your inbox.

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Quotes will mainly come from three sources:

1. My own trading quotes, which are based on my experience going from a part-time to full-time trader, mentoring students and running a successful swing trade service on bullsonwallstreet.

2. Other traders that I respect and have influenced me.

3. People who have inspired me outside the trading field, like Bruce Lee, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Confucius.

If you have any great trading quotes, feel free to send them my way by leaving a comment below.

A Blast From the Past: Criminal Minds

A little over a year ago, I posted quotes from the hit TV show Criminal Minds that related to trading. Surprisingly, it's been one of the site's most popular posts. It seems a lot of civilians (aka non-traders) search Criminal Minds quotes on google. Here is the post in it's entirety:

One of my favorite shows on television is Criminal Minds, which I feel is the smartest show on television. The quotes alone are worth the price of admission. Here are a few that could be applied to trading. Take a read and think about how each quote relates to trading. You can learn more about each author by clicking on the name.

Emerson said, "All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle."

Faulkner once said, "Don't bother just to be better than your contemporaries or predecessors. Try to be better than yourself."

Einstein once said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

Samuel Johnson wrote, "Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those who we cannot resemble."

Shakespeare wrote, "Nothing is so common as the wish to be remarkable." "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."

Robert Oxton Bolton once wrote, "A belief is not merely an idea the mind possesses; it is an idea that possesses the mind."

Nietzsche wrote, "The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe."

Albert Einstein said, "Whoever undertakes to set himself up as judge in the field of truth and knowledge is shipwrecked by the laughter of the gods."

"The defects and faults of the mind are like wounds in the body; after all imaginable care has been taken to heal them up, still the will be a scar left behind." French writer François de la Rochefoucauld. "

"It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone." Rose Kennedy

Philosopher Kahlil Gibran wrote "Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars."

Gideon (character on show): "Try again. Fail again. Fail better."

The Right Side of the Market

"There is only one side to the stock market;....not the bull side or the bear side, but the right side. It took me longer to get that general principle fixed firmly in my mind than it did most of the more technical phases of the game of stock market speculation."

--Jesse Livermore

I pulled out this out in response to the e-mails I've received over the past month asking why I don't have any shorts in my watchlist and have been trading almost exclusively from the long side. Some have gone on to detail why the market "should not" be hitting highs, pointing to all sorts of economic stats and principles.

Guess what fellas . . . I agree that the economy stinks right now. I do believe that Mr. Bush and his cronies have caused irreparable damage to democracy, the constitution, the economy, individual rights, the poor, the middle class and foreign relations that will have long lasting consequences. I do think the market is overextended and due for a future correction, or even something more menacing. To put it mildly, I think the U.S. is a mess.

However, I am not going to let any of that stop me from participating in this bull run. I am going to ignore all of the economics stats and follow the trend, adhere to my setups and support and resistance levels, and place prudent stops. Short term traders don't make money by making macro-economic predictions. We make it by adhering to what the charts tell us.

At some point, the run will end and I will take some losses when it does. However, those losses should be small, as long as I adhere to my stops, and will be more than offset gains I am making now.

I don't care to be a bull or a bear. I just wanna be right.

A Zen Master on Genuine Insight

Followers of the Way, do not be deceived by teachers who everywhere say “I know Zen, I understand the Way,” and who endlessly deliver discussions like mountain torrents. All this is action that produces hellish Karma. If one is a true learner of the Way, one does not search for the faults of the world, but rather speedily applies oneself to attain genuine insight. If one only can see with perfect clarity, then all is completed.

- Rinzai (d. 866)

Friday's Additions to Watchlist and Quote of the Day

Watchlist:
Here are some new additions to the watchlist with notes:

HCR: pb 60 (breakout-pullback setup)
JASO: pb 20-21 (b-o setup)
WOOF: pb 39
CSX: pb 42-42.50 (thanks to Buffet and takeover speculation)
MEDI: pb 41-42 (bo-pb)
RRD: pb 38.50-39
AAPL: hammer confirmation?
CCOI: pb 25 (bo-pb)
SU: bo 82
GROW: multiple entries
CCJ: just watch for now (need deeper pb or bo)




Quote of the day:
I had to fight back from being seventh on the depth chart. My mother and father brought me along and taught me to never quit, and to strive to be the best.

--Joe Montana, greatest NFL QB of all-time

When Joe Montana entered as a freshman at Notre Dame, he was seventh on the depth chart. He ended up their QB and lead them to one of the greatest Bowl game comebacks of all-time. After college, he was drafted in the 3rd round of the NFL draft, with 81 players taken ahead of him. Montana ended up leading the Niners to multiple Super Bowl victories. It's not hard to see why I am such a big Joe Montana fan.

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Michael Jordan Trading Quotes

As you may have noticed in my "inpirational photos" post, I am a big Michael Jordan fan. Not only was he one of the most talented players to ever grace the hardwood, he also was one of the most hardworking and mentally prepared. Growing up, I watched and listened to everything Jordan related that I could get my hands on. What I took away from Jordan, more than anything, is that you must have confidence in your abilities, strive to continually make yourself better, be determined and outwork your opponent. Here are a few quotes, that as traders, we can all benefit from.

I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot... when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.

I play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.

I've always believed that if you put in the work, the results will come. I don't do things half-heartedly. Because I know if I do, then I can expect half-hearted results.

I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.

If you accept the expectations of others, especially negative ones, then you never will change the outcome.

If you're trying to achieve, there will be roadblocks. I've had them; everybody has had them. But obstacles don't have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it.

My attitude is that if you push me towards something that you think is a weakness, then I will turn that perceived weakness into a strength.

Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.

The game is my wife. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace.